The world’s largest cocktail napkin

Who hasn’t done this? You’re speaking with someone – perhaps a potential customer at a networking event – and they ask what you do. They are intrigued by your elevator pitch and follow up with, “So exactly how do you do that?”

You grab a cocktail napkin and proceed to doodle a diagram of what they’ll experience when they engage your company. You walk them through the steps, drawing them out one at a time, perhaps adding brief bullet-point descriptions below.

Now, this person begins to “see” what you are saying because visuals are always better than words, and they ask for a meeting.

So why is it that almost no one formally details this graphic in advance and makes it part of their sales process?

In the Entrepreneurial Operating System, we call this a “Proven Process,” and it is one of the four critical questions to address in setting your Marketing Strategy:

1- Who is your Target Market?

2- What are your Three Uniques?

3- What is your Proven Process?

4- What is your Guarantee?

In my sessions with clients, we sometimes do an exercise I call “The World’s Largest Cocktail Napkin.”

I ask the sales director to come to the whiteboard we do a role play. I play the part of a prospect and ask, “So how do you do that?”

Then I give him/her a marker and say, “Now please draw your response on this flip chart. Consider it the world’s largest cocktail napkin.”

And after a bit of fun, we have a working draft – or at least an idea of the mental exercise that will be needed to create a Proven Process, which in its final form is a laminated 8.5” x 11” leave-behind.

As an example, here is the EOS Proven Process.

Please note that I’m NOT recommending that you have these with you and use them at networking events or initial meetings; that’s what your business card is for. The time to roll it out most likely is at a later, more formal meeting or presentation.

Arming your sales team with a graphic that is different from your standard “features & benefits” glossy is one of the dozens of time-tested ways to set your company apart to your target market. And who doesn’t want more of the kind of customers who see your value and don’t always beat you up on price? Having a Proven Process to leave behind after important sales meetings is a critical tool to have in your box if you want a client list full of ideal customers.