My three year old and I are skipping hand-in-hand on the beach when she stops mid-skip, looks up at me with inquisitive hazel eyes framed by cascades of bobbing brown curls, and asks a question that’s clearly been on her mind for a while: “Daddy, why you a grown-up?”
I’m momentarily speechless.
Not because I’m unsure of the answer.
But because I don’t think of myself that way.
As a grown-up, I mean.
Kids call us grown-ups
Because they want to grow up.
They’re looking for the loophole that gets them there faster.
But here on the other side,
It seems less fantastical.
I don’t think of myself as a grown-up.
Adult, sure.
Guy, of course.
Dad, definitely!
Not a grown-up.
And it gets me thinking about your Elevator Pitch.
Because you are such an expert at what you do
You forget what it looks like from the outside.
What it looks like to someone without your experience.
I made the mistake one day of
Calling myself an adult
In front of my daughter.
“Daddy, what’s a dult?”
But if you describe yourself in a way that people don’t understand,
You don’t get that clarifying question.
You don’t get a second chance to be understood.
They look at you sideways and move on.
And you watch your next big opportunity walk away.
So instead of saying you work with prospects,
Say you work with moms, kings, firefighters, or…
Instead of saying you work with small (or large) companies,
Say you work with law firms, or sports equipment manufacturers, community farms, or…
Instead of saying you work with companies to increase their profits,
Say you design and manufacture custom equipment for the medical industry.
Here’s a 3 minute and 12 second video on how to be more specific.