Profit Hacking Issue #13 - How to talk about your business

For the first time since COVID, I’d been networking live again this year.

Being able to explain what you do and provide value in various formats is a major advantage at an event of any size.

I wish I could say I knew this going into networking, but it took many bumpy conversations to get mine hammered out.

And it’s still a work in progress.

This newsletter is by:

Profit and Grow is a Profit Accounting and Tax Planning firm helping professional service businesses earn and keep more money by maximize their profit, minimize their taxes, improving cash flow, and making the wisest executive decisions.

If profitability is the most painful part of your business, stopping you from focusing on what you do best and achieving your dream, visit profitandgrow.com and book a call today.

Over the last year, I’ve met a ton of people. Many, I still have no idea what they do. They used industry terms and acronyms I’d never heard before. I glazed over completely and moved on to the next person.

I’m sure many feel the exact same way about me. Trying to squeeze the fractional CFO explanation into a introduction failed every time.

That was the inspiration behind Profit Accounting.

Something every business owner wants, paired with something every business owner needs.

And yet, at my last networking event, after crushing my intro, the guy ask, “So you can help me make more money?”

I said, “Yes, that’s right!”

“Why didn’t you say that?” he says… 😅 

Point is, no matter how good your spiel, there will always be tweaks.

Here are some versions you need on deck to get you started.

10 Second Greeting

This isn’t enough time to say much, so you’re going to want to hit the three most important parts.

[Name]

[Business Name]

[What you do - in an interesting way]

For example:

“Hi, I’m Daniel Talbott. Owner of Profit and Grow. I’m the kind of accountant that helps you make more money.”

Make sure you are clear and not using any industry jargon or acronyms.

Use plain language.

I replaced Profit with Money - and fractional CFO with Accountant

Now people ask if I prepare tax returns or can do their books, but it’s better than the blank stare I was getting before.

Elevator Pitch

The good ole elevator pitch. I’m no expert here, but mine works pretty well.

“I’m Daniel Talbott, owner of Profit and Grow. We help professional service, home service, and construction companies Maximize their Profits, Minimize their Taxes, Predict their Cash Flow, and make the best Executive Decisions.”

It works best to still lead with your name and business name, but replace what you do with the results you create. This plays into their self interest and will likely earn you more attention.

[First name]

[Business name]

[Who and how you help]

Three Minute Introduction

As a new member of local associations, you get a little longer to explain what you do.

These are local events. The plan is to cultivate lasting referral relationships. Go personal.

Here's the one I used this week:

“Hi, I’m Daniel Talbott. I was born and raised here in Vero Beach before moving off to San Francisco for a short time to learn about startups. Covid and remote work gave me the opportunity to come home.

10 years ago I was a Bail Bondsman, and I inherited a 20 year old family business. A couple years later, I killed it. I blame my own ignorance, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

Like what a Profit and Loss Statement was or what taxes to pay.

Lucky for you, I went back to school for accounting so you don’t have to.

[pause for comedic effect]

Since then, I’ve helped around 3000 small business owners - Maximize their Profit, Minimize their Taxes, Predict their Cash Flow, and make the best Executive level decisions.

I have a special place in my heart for professional service businesses. Especially ones inherited or planning to pass down to the next generation. I've been in your shoes!

If any of this sounds like you, I'd love to chat later.

Daniel Talbott, owner of Profit and Grow.”

This is your chance to make a first impression. You want the audience to feel like they know you and the only way I’ve found to do that is to share something real.

Show off a little personality.

But keep in mind that this longer format gives people plenty of time to forget your name and business. Remind them at the end.

It doesn’t matter if they remember your story, they will remember how it made them feel. People are much more likely to remember the beginning and the end, so make sure it’s your name.

10 Minute Talk - Spotlight Session

Each of these new networking events I’ve attended feature one member per event for a “spotlight”.

This is where we get into VALUE.

I’ve tried to build my "talk" into a Nesting Doll-like format.

10 minutes isn’t enough for nuance or Q&A, so we tackle the big topics in broad strokes.

The first 2-3 minutes, I use a version of my 2 minute introduction.

A little personal story and set up before getting into the tips and tricks.

Then I transition with a Fear statement.

“50% of businesses fail in 5 years, 90% will fail in 10.

Of the ones that make it, less than 10% will break $100,000 in revenue.

Less than 1% will break $1,000,000 in revenue.

While compliance is very important, I’ve never seen the past kill a business. Only failing to plan for the future”

Now they're nice and engaged. We roll into solving that problem.

“Each Month you should review your Profit and Loss statement. You don’t need to be an expert, but you need to know the important bits.

There are 4 pillars of your business financial health. Even if you know nothing else, mastering these will keep your business alive.

1. Revenue

2. Gross Profit

3. Net Profit

4. Cash

The 4 sections that make up a Profit and Loss Statement will give you these numbers.

1. Revenue - Income you earned

2. Cost of Sales and Services - What you paid to find the Income

3. Operating Expenses - What you paid to earn the Income

4. Taxes - What you will pay the government for earning the income here

Revenue minus Cost of Sales and Services = Gross Profit

As a percentage it’s your “Gross Margin”

Revenue minus Cost of Sales and Services, minus Operating Expenses = Net Profit

As a percentage it’s your “Net Margin”

All of that minus taxes is a crime.. I mean civic duty.

It’s the cash you’ll take home.

Call to action - Learn to do a weekly Cash Flow forecast. It doesn’t have to be hard.

Made simple: Cash Flow is waking up in the morning and looking at your bank balance. Write down the money you expect to collect that day and the money you expect to spend that day. The difference between the starting balance and what you have left over is cash flow.

Extend it to a week, a month, or a quarter, and you’ve got yourself a genuine Cash Flow Forecast.

OR - book a call with me… "

The TALK - 30-45minutes

This is the one you deliver at conferences, business summits, workshops, webinars, etc.

I follow the exact same format as above, but start to unpack my “nesting doll”.

I break down Revenue into it’s types

• Active

• Passive

• Project

• Reoccurring

• Etc.

And how to improve it

• Sell More

• Offer More

• Charge More

Then I break them down again.

How do you sell more?

> Tell people you know, Tell people you don’t know.

> Have people you know tell people. (Referrals)

> Have people you don’t know tell people. (Affiliates)

How do you offer more?

> Up Sell

> Down Sell

> Cross Sell

How do you charge more?

> Pricing methods

> Pricing increases

> Bundling vs. A La Carte

Then we talk about the ways to improve your Cost of Sales and Services

Like renegotiating with vendors

Tracking and improving Client Acquisition Costs

Reducing Churn or increasing buyer frequency with Customer Success activities.

Investing vs Spending - Optimizing operating expenses

Breaking down operating expenses in order of Return on Investment

Eliminating low ROI expenses

Investing in high ROI expenses

This is getting heavy, but you get the idea.

Take HOW you serve clients and format it into a nice little nesting doll of categories and topics. Then you can give a 20 minute talk or a 90 minute presentation on what you do.

What I can’t help you with is the nerves, anxiety, and stage fright. Maybe I’ll be able to write about overcoming those in a few years.

So… That’s how I’ve prepared to self promote in every available format. From a handshake greeting to a long format presentation on a stage.

I’d love to hear your framework for how you serve clients. Reply to this Newsletter or hit me up on LinkedIn so I can hear it!

Thanks for reading the 13th issue of the Profit Hacking newsletter. Past issues will be located on the blog section of profitandgrow.com.

If you need help with anything I talk about, like maximizing your profit, minimizing your taxes, understanding your cash flow, or making the best spending decisions, connect with me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielt6/

If you enjoyed this post, please share with a friend so they can join the (51) other profit hackers who receive these every Saturday!

By: Daniel Talbott