Want to promote your business? Get over yourself.

That’s the first thing I tell a new client. Stop blah, blah, blahing about your employees’ 3,000 years of combined experience and your ability to do this and your knowledge about that and your corporate mission statement and your past successes. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. It’s about your prospect. What does he want? What does he need?

Instead of telling your prospect that you are great, show how you can empower him to be great. Instead of telling him how many clients you have, tell him how much business you can help him win. It’s a simple shift in thinking, outward instead of inward. And it involves knowing your prospect well, what his concerns are, what his goals are. Don’t talk in general about how you are a problem solver. Identify your prospect’s problems and offer solutions. Here’s a typical example of what I’m talking about:

A commercial real estate company that helps clients find or develop suitable office and distribution space wanted me to revamp their website copy. The original was mostly inward, about the company, in fact the headline was:

Experience. Strength. Performance.

Generic words like these are rarely compelling because they really don’t say anything. What’s the quality of the experience? How much strength? What kind of performance? There’s such a thing as poor performance, after all. And, most importantly, what do these words have to do with the prospect?

The new headline:

Ultimately, you’re not looking for a business building. You’re looking for a way to build business.

Okay, now we’re not talking about ourselves; we’re talking about the prospect, to the prospect, and at the same time showing that we understand what they really need–to be more successful. The supporting copy then reinforces the idea:

. . .we understand that you need more than distribution, manufacturing, or office space. You need better efficiency, added flexibility, a superior location, room to expand, and a whole host of other requirements that can make the difference in your success. That’s why we work hard to forge strong relationships with each of our clients, serving not merely as a landlord but as a real landlord partner. We can look beyond the usual and the ordinary to find or develop the perfect fit: a building for your business that will allow your business to build.

Sure there are plenty of “we” in this but also lots of “you.” Put the two together and you start to engage the reader one-on-one. You start a conversation. And that can lead to a relationship.