Communicating with insight

Whether they know it or not, most freelancers are in possession of unique insights. However, when I make this statement at conferences or workshops, it’s obvious that many don’t really believe it.  They say things like “surely all contractors are competing with broadly similar expertise” or “I’m a project-manager, like many others”.

When asked about our insights, we all tend to reach inside our toolbox. Out come the usual candidates: ‘structured approach’, ‘accreditation’, ‘stakeholder-management’, ‘technical expertise’, etc. This is what I call Level One: defining oneself by expertise or experience.

Many freelancers – loyal to their expertise above all else – operate at Level One. They communicate their value in terms of their experience or expertise.  The problem is… so do many others.

Level Two: Benefit Statements

Those who have done some business-development may have moved on to Level Two. They have sharpened these tools into benefit-statements, such as “We help you with better management reporting, so as to save you the money that gets wasted on poor decisions”.  Benefit statements are often described as Elevator Pitches, even though the length of some of them would require some pretty tall buildings!

So far, so good. As there are fewer people at Level Two, the chances are that you come across as more result-focused.  But as more and more people start using benefit-statements, this advantage is being rapidly eroded.

In any case, are these benefit-statements really compelling and engaging for a prospective client?  Unfortunately, many benefit statements glide past the ear as marketing clichés. The more polished the statement, the more mistrust it may create.

So how can you stay ahead?

Level Three: Communicating with Insight

In the course of the past eighteen months, I am starting to see a new level of communication emerging. These professionals educate their listeners, often by reframing some conventional questions or benefit-statements:

For example, take this statement, from a LinkedIn trainer: “Many buyers don’t have the time to read a full LinkedIn profile, so some skip directly to Endorsements. To get the benefit of LinkedIn, you need to understand how purchasers and recruiters actually use it.”

Leaving aside the accuracy of this claim (for the moment), let’s consider what’s happening. The trainer is challenging the reader / listener. They are inviting us to consider our LinkedIn profiles from a different point of view. Whether we agree or disagree with them, we are more likely to be engaged.

Shaping your insights

If you have any degree of experience – even if you are early in your career – you are probably in possession of more insights that you realise. The problem is spotting them.

In order to really communicate insight, we need to put down our toolbox.  This is not where insights are most likely to be found. Neither are we likely to find them in opinion, viewpoint, methodology, new approach or even in the latest legislation. 

The best insights are usually about our clients– not about us. They are about the problems and challenges that our clients face, the risks they run, the stuff that keeps them awake at night.

Try this: “You know how many service organisations have already done cutbacks. They have not only got rid of the fat, in many cases they have had to cut into the muscle as well. So the question that preoccupies our clients is how do you minimise risk when you are expanding capacity?”

There are three important elements to this statement:

1. It makes no reference to you… it’s all about the clients and their dilemmas.
2. It demonstrates you know their world. This is particularly powerful when you have a niche market.
3. It reframes the problem, before putting forward any solution

Once we start offering services, or even talking about our latest success, we are less likely to come across as insightful. But if you can talk about how a recent customer successfully redefined their problem (with your assistance of course), then you are well on your way to communicating with insight.

© John Niland

www.success121.com

John will be speaking in London and Bath on 12^th and 17^th March:

London

Bath