Back in my days as a TV Series Development Executive, I was charged with finding great ideas that would blossom into successful Television Series. My mentors taught me the key to potential success was the ability of a writer to explain what the series was about in ONE sentence. If the writer came to the first period and was still talking, the idea was too complicated to succeed.
The second consideration was identifying the audience. If you don’t know who you are appealing to you have no idea who will be potentially interested.
The same is true for any Business Leader who is launching an idea, a product or a service. I challenge the CEOs I coach to tell me what their business is about in 9 words or less. Studies have shown you actually have the luxury of 14 words to be effective in this age of noise.
Then I ask them to identify the audience they intend to reach. There can be many different “abouts” depending on the intended audience. We often hear the importance of clarity in messaging. Knowing which message to use for which audience is equally important. Be it internal motivation or external sales, What’s It About and Who Is The Audience?
The Corescent Group 