Today’s success track is focused on building value in you when people ask you what you do for a living.

So, what do you do? If you and I were to meet and I asked you “what do you do?,” how would you respond? So many people miss an opportunity to build value in what they do and separate themselves from the pack when they are asked the question.

For example, when people ask me what I do, which happens quite frequently as I’m traveling to various events. I could say, “I’m a speaker, an author, a consultant." Or, I could say, "I’m a motivational speaker” yet that response throws me into the pack with the thousands of other speakers. According to the National Speakers Association, there are 40,000 paid speakers in the U.S. and 13.000 of them call themselves “motivational speakers.”

To separate myself I use a Value Statement. When someone asks me what I do, my response is this:

"I run a consulting firm that helps companies increase sales and develop leaders by changing behavior.” And then I naturally pause, and then run into another quick statement providing the person a clear picture of what I do. So let me put it all together for you. When someone asks me “so what do you do?” – "I run a consulting firm that helps companies increase sales and develop leaders by changing behavior. For instance, you know when companies have kick-off meetings, national sales meetings, regional meetings or leadership meetings, I perform custom designed, interactive, high impact keynote talks or trainings which lead to increased performance in sales and leadership."

What I’ve done is separated myself from the “idea” or “image” that person may have had in their head if I would have just said a speaker. If they are a potential prospect, they typically follow with some questions and ask for a card.

My message to you is, don’t shortchange yourself by giving a common response that most people give – I’m a financial advisor, I work for New York Life, I’m a consultant… boring… and you’re thrown in a pile with all the others they may have met in the past.

Take a few minutes right NOW and design your value statement and separate yourself from the rest.

Make it a productive month and remember, this is your year to #RiseAbove

This article was originally published on April 11th, 2015 by Dan Lier on www.danlier.com.