January 18, 2024
Problems vs Ingredients
Last week, I had a cold.
Slight cough, a bit of congestion, and some sneezing.
So, I went to the pharmacy to get something for it.
When I got there, do you think I looked for a medication that contained 10mg of dextromethorphan HBr and 5mg of phenylephrine HCI?
Obviously not.
I went looking for a medication that said “Quick Relief from COUGHING, CONGESTION, and SNEEZING” in big letters, right on the front label.
Here’s the thing...
When clients come to you, they really don’t care that much about what your “ingredients” are.
Things like:
- The long list of programming languages you know
- The long list of IDEs you are comfortable with
- The long list of project management tools you have used
- The long list of Creative Cloud applications you have experience with
- The long list of certifications you include on your resume
All they really want to know is whether you can help get rid of a problem that they want gone.
Don’t lead with your ingredients.
Lead with the problems you solve.
Yours,
—J