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Business success is dependent on a solid financial foundation & success looks different to everyone & there is a lack of equity of access to resources and information for small business owners and independent contractors & there is a societal narrative making us believe “balance” is our ultimate goal & … There are so many “&”s that impact being your own boss. Let’s have some frank discussions on the basics of business with a holistic focus on everything that helps business owners define and find success.
36 - Building Relationships Turning Expertise Into Clear, Simple Messaging.mp3
Molly Beyer: [00:00:08] Welcome to The Ambiguous &: Business Basics and Beyond, the podcast where we have frank discussions on the basics of business with a holistic focus on everything that helps business owners define and find success. Each episode is a reminder that success isn't one thing, it's a whole lot of ambiguous ands. Like, subscribe, or follow, and let's explore these ambiguous ands.
[00:00:35] Hello and welcome to The Ambiguous &: Business Basics and beyond. I'm your host, Molly Beyer, and I'm here to lead you through frank and holistic conversations on the basics of business. In the last episode, we talked about referrals, what makes them work, what doesn't, and how to build a business through strong relationships and intentional connections. But here's the thing, your network can only refer you as well as you've equipped them to. And that starts with how clearly you communicate what you do. There's this thing that happens when you get really good at what you do. You start using more words to talk about it, not fewer. And somehow the better you get, the harder you are to understand. Complexity is comfortable for the expert, but not for the client. When I talk to other business owners, especially in technical fields like accounting, tax, legal, or even web development, they are incredibly knowledgeable. They know the ins and outs, the expectations, the exceptions, and the edge cases. But when they explain what they do, it can be really layered, nuanced, and frankly, confusing.
Molly Beyer: [00:01:37] Not because they don't know enough, but because they know too much. So here's the disconnect we all enter: your client is not looking for a full breakdown, every possible scenario, or all the technical nuance. But what they are looking for is three very simple things: do you understand my problem? Can you help me fix it? And is this going to make my life easier? That's it. If those three questions are not answered quickly and clearly, people hesitate. And hesitation is where sales go to die. I run into this all the time in my own work. It's whether I'm helping explain local taxes, bookkeeping structures, or even changes that impact things like health care premiums. The challenge is rarely in the accuracy. It's in translation, because you can be 100% correct and still completely miss the mark. If your client has to work to understand you, they won't feel confident working with you, and this matters in relationship building. And this really isn't just about marketing. This is about the relationships that we are working to build. Because when someone in your network is thinking about referring you, they're not pulling up your website and reviewing your services list. They're having a conversation. And in that moment, they need to be able to clearly and confidently say, this is who you need to talk to, and here's why. If they can't do that, they won't make the connection. And not because they don't want to, but because you haven't made it easy for them to do.
Molly Beyer: [00:03:09] This is where we need to add a communication filter. Before you explain what you do, really ask yourself, is this strategic or am I just information dumping? Does this create understanding or just more noise? And is this aligned with what this person actually needs right now? Simple doesn't mean shallow. It really means intentional. Instead of explaining your service, try shifting how you're starting the conversation. And so that really is starting with the problem, naming the impact, and then offering solutions. Because people don't connect with services, they connect with situations. Instead of saying, "we provide full service accounting and advisory". Try, "if you feel like you're working hard but still don't really know where your money is going, that's where we come in". Now someone can hear this and think, "oh, that's me", or "oh, that's someone I know". And this is really where that connection then starts to happen. This is the place that most people miss because your messaging isn't just for your clients, it really is also for your referral partners. If they can't easily repeat what you say, if they can't remember it, if they can't connect it to a real situation, then they won't use it. Clarity makes you referable.
[00:04:27] One of the biggest mistakes that I see people trying to sound more professional by being more complex. They use more jargon. They use a lot more detail. They use more explanations. But what it actually does is creates distance because clarity builds trust, and confusion creates doubt. This matters because confused people don't buy, they delay, they hesitate. They say, let me think about it. Clear messaging isn't about being better at marketing, it is about being easier to trust. If someone has to work really hard to understand you, they're going to assume it's going to be just as hard to work with you. So clarity is not a bonus. It really is the whole game. And this is where I want to bring out this theory and really into something practical because most of us have heard elevator pitches. We've sat through networking meetings, we've given weekly presentations, and a lot of them sound something like this. 'I'm a full service accounting professional offering bookkeeping, tax support and financial advisory services to small to midsize businesses'. So yeah, that's technically correct, but it's also completely forgettable. So this is where we want to sort of start shifting because there really is nothing wrong with that messaging, but there's really nothing sticky about it either. No one's going to walk away from that thinking, "oh, I know exactly who to send to Molly". So now let's take that same idea and shift it slightly. 'I work with business owners who feel overwhelmed by their numbers and don't really know where their money is going.'
Molly Beyer: [00:06:05] Now we've done something different. We've made it really specific, we've made it really human, and we've made it really relatable. Someone listening can now think, 'that's me' or 'that's my friend'. That's really the first step. So now let's take it one step further because this is where it then becomes referable. "I help overwhelmed business owners understand their numbers so they can make more money with less stress." Now we've connected the problem with the solution and the outcome. And that's the version people can actually repeat. This is something that I see in BNI style weekly presentations. People use their time to explain everything that they do, they explain their services, their options, or their capabilities. And at the end of it, no one really knows what exactly to listen for. So a stronger version sounds something like, "this week, I'm looking to be introduced to a business owner who keeps saying, I know I'm making money, but I don't know where it's going". That's it. Now your entire network has a filter for you. They're not trying to remember your services list. They're not listening for a specific conversation. And that's how referrals actually happen. This ties directly back to what we talked about last episode. If your messaging is vague, your referrals will also be vague. If your messaging is clear and specific, your referrals become clear and specific, because your network can only repeat what they understand of what you've told them.
Molly Beyer: [00:07:43] And now here's a quick elevator pitch reality check. Elevator pitches were originally meant to be short, clear, and engaging, but somewhere along the way they turned into mini brochures and brochures don't build relationships. Conversations do. A good elevator pitch should do one thing. It should open the door. Not explain everything. Not prove your expertise. Just really open the door to that next question, 'Oh, tell me more about that'. So here's a quick self-check for your messaging. Ask yourself, can someone repeat what I do after hearing it once? Can they connect it to a real person or situation? Would someone recognize themselves in what I'm saying? If the answer is no, it's not clear yet. And this is exactly why in the next episode, we're going to break down how to intentionally build messaging that your network can actually use, not just something that sounds good to you, but something that works in real conversations.
[00:08:45] Thanks so much for hanging out with us today. We'd love to hear your feedback on today's episode, as well as any requests for future content. Drop a comment or suggestion and join us next time for more frank and holistic conversations on the basics of business. Please also like, subscribe, or follow so you never miss an episode. And until next time, I'm Molly Beyer and this has been The Ambiguous &: Business Basics and Beyond. Have a wonderful day.