(Listen to this post, here.)

I bought a brand new car about a year ago. I wasn’t planning on it.

My 2013 Ford Focus was running just fine. It only had 117,000 miles (that’s three fortnights and half a stone for those of you in the United Kingdom) and I expected to drive it for many more years.

Plus, my stated stance at the time regarding car purchases was that I would never again buy a new one, instead opting for the improved investment value of a used vehicle.

But one day, my friend Matt – himself the owner of an older car – told me he was about to buy a new Chevy Bolt, a highly rated, inexpensive, all-electric car. That seemed interesting.

Plus, with federal and state tax credits and rebates totaling more than $11,000 (not a typo!) it seemed like the right decesion (okay, that’s a typo).  

So I made the move. 

Big Differences

Electric cars, as you’ve no doubt heard and maybe experienced, are different.

First of all, there’s no engine. When you pop the hood and look inside, you’ll see nothing but batteries and a ton of wires. It looks like some kind of 8th grade science fair project.

Second, they’re amazingly quiet. Half the time, I can’t even tell if the car is on. It’s only when I park and start to get out – and it yells at me – that I realize it’s still running.

Of course, it’s not all fun and games. You’re basically driving a computer. Which means it can do unexpected, computer-ish things.

For example, last week while leaving the supermarket, and for no apparent reason, it refused to get out of park or let me turn it off. Or maybe on – I couldn’t tell which state it was in.

Finally, after pushing several buttons, getting in and out of the car, locking/unlocking it with the remote several times, and buying a cup of coffee (hey, it couldn’t hurt), it miraculously fixed itself.

How? I have no idea. Somewhere in all that activity I must have stumbled on the electric vehicle equivalent of “control-alt-delete.” It reset and has been fine ever since.

What Really Matters

I could regale you with more electrifying specifics, but the point is, while my new vehicle and my old vehicle are technically both “cars,” they don’t have a lot in common in terms of how they get the job done.

And that’s fine. Either approach works.

Because the truth is, while I may prefer one technology and you may prefer another, what happens behind the scenes takes a back seat (haha!) to the primary reason most of us buy a car: cupholders. I mean, transportation.

Everything else is secondary.

Your Prospective Clients Don’t Care

One of the biggest mistakes many professionals make (both firms and individuals) when describing and marketing their work is putting way too much emphasis on the “technology” – the how and why of what they do – rather than the result and benefit to the buyer:

We rely on our five-point, hydro-chromatic, vestibular paradigm.

We are driven to deliver bespoke solutions that validate our 20-year commitment to excellence.

All of our paper and several of our employees are made from recycled materials.

All good stuff and absolutely, at the edges, it can make a difference.

But you have to first satisfy the primary concern of any prospective buyer: offering a solution to their problem(s).

Try This

I’m not the kind of person who tells other people how to live. But if I were, I might make the following suggestion:

Take a look at how you present to the world: your web site, LinkedIn profile, podcast, newsletter, spoken description to others of the work you do.

Collectively, all of that outwardly facing stuff is your marketing.

Now go through it and look for ways to talk more about the solutions and benefits you provide and less about your motivation, credentials, and (yawn) process.

You don’t have to do a comprehensive review and wholesale revision of everything. A little bit of focus and wordsmithing in this regard goes a long way.

I’ll be randomly pushing buttons in the supermarket parking lot if you need me.

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Discussion Questions:

1. What’s the largest tax credit or rebate you have ever received?
2. Did you ever participate in a school science fair?
3. What’s the most important problem your business solves?

Share your answers below…

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