How’s your title?
A few days ago I was having lunch at an all-you-can eat sports bar buffet with my friend George Ajazi, the man who is now offering free SEO services. He observed that SEO is so misunderstood by the mainstream business community, you can pretty much pick any title you want. Nobody will know what you do anyway.
What does a Web Analyst do? How about an Internet Strategist? Titles like that confuse and intimidate owners of small and medium size companies. If you don’t understand what somebody does, you’re not likely to entrust them with a pile of your money to do it.
Granted, some SEO specialists are dynamite at giving plain English explanations of what they do. That skill in and of itself doesn’t guarantee competence, but it’s a step in the right direction. The articulate SEO specialist will have more doors open for him than the ubergeek who speaks in computer code.
Does your title help people understand what you do, or make it more difficult?
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Brad,
Your comment here brings to mind a speech I heard at a Toastmasters (public speaking) club meeting a few years ago.
The gentlemen concerned spoke about what it was like to be a “Process Controller,” and the challenges associated with explaining his occupation in social situations, let alone actually understanding it himself. His description of the facial gestures which he received upon being asked about his job, as well as how quickly the conversation shifted toward a different topic made for a truly hilarious speech.
In addition, I am also reminded of how I once worked within the “Outsource Services” division of a technology company. This was one of two main divisions, the other of which was called “Workforce Management Solutions, or some similar name.” Needless to say, it took me a considerable amount of time to work out what the company actually did.
Andrews last blog post..Socially Responsible Investing part 8: Gambling and tobacco – a form of ethical investing?
Andrew, It’s interesting how “Workforce Management Solutions” combines three significant words in such a way as to mean absolutely nothing.
My inference as a potential customer would be, here’s a company that does absolutely nothing.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Meet the Director of Keyword Engineering or Something like That
Now you know why I love/hate to say, “Howdy. I’m Bob, and I’m a consultant.” Everyone has their own definition of exactly what a consultant is, from “man who arrives from out of town carrying a briefcase” to whatever. Hence the 30-second elevator talk.
Brad, this was hilarious! I love the picture too! I hate giving a title as it really does not convey what I do. It’s interesting because a client said something last week about my value that even I had not considered! However, there is no cute, clever title for it. I’m with Robert, we need the descriptive value proposition in addition to the title.
Karen Swims last blog post..5 Sizzling Tips to Fire Up Your Marketing
Brad,
I hope the ex-managers of my company try their hands at blogging – they will be excellent at coming up with keywords, even if it’s not clear what they are talking about
Your inference turned out to be almost correct. A year or two after I left, the company was sold – only just prior to bankruptcy and for less than one cent per share after being worth about $2.70 per share in its heyday. So I guess you could say that, literally speaking, they almost did reach the stage of doing nothing.
With respect to Robert’s comment, I would have thought that part of the confusion in relation to what a consultant does is because consultants seem to come in all shapes and sizes there seems to be a consultant for almost anything.
Andrews last blog post..Socially Responsible Investing part 9: Does ethical investing compromise investment performance?
Robert, A lot of people hear “consultant” and run away as fast as they can. At least you get 30 seconds to explain!
Karen, Those descriptive value propositions are so useful, and so hard to compose. Have you got something in mind for yourself? You’ve made me very curious.
Andrew, Consulting is too broad a term, and unfortunately customers tend to assume any consultant fits their worst mental model of what a consultant might be. “Sales rep” is much the same thing, which is why some companies go through such contortions to avoid using that title, even though the alternates they pick are even worse. No good answer.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Meet the Director of Keyword Engineering or Something like That
Actually, when I say I do PR, people are still a little confused about where public relations start and where they start. I have give them a few examples of the areas PR covers. Ironically, the Marketing part is a lot easier to understand, although there are still many who see it as sales or something in that area
I agree all these three fields interact, but really defining what each does is sometimes news for business owners.
Alina Popescus last blog post..Monday Reading Roundup Take #12
Andrew, Brad; you got that right! Most folks already have their conceptual definition of what a consultant is, and unfortunately it’s based on their own experiences, or what they’ve picked up from others.
Kinda reminds me of a sign I saw in an engineer’s office once: “We shoot every third saleman – and the second one just left”
Sometimes it’s everything you can do to get someone’s attention when they’re running away as fast as they can!
Robert Hruzeks last blog post..All Entries: What I Learned From Stress
Alina, many small and medium size businesses have a vague idea of what marketing is, and no real understanding of PR. I think that’s because before Web 2.0, PR was an expensive undertaking geared to print media. Today anybody can do PR effectively on the internet, so it’s a big opportunity for business owners!
Brad, well anybody CAN do PR but not all do it effectively.
Karen Swims last blog post..5 Sizzling Tips to Fire Up Your Marketing
Karen, Thank you for that clarification, and naturally I agree. I meant anybody can do it in the sense of being able to afford it.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Meet the Director of Keyword Engineering or Something like That
Hi Brad – I’m not keen on titles. A few years ago – I eventually decided to have no title. So one of the girls put a customer through to me as having a problem and just introduced me by my first name.
Afterwards the customer raved to one of my technicians about how great I was compared to the other girls and how much I knew. And she was kind of shocked when he came back with – well she really should know more, it’s her business.
So I hated having a title, I thought it was meaningless. Then not having one made my staff look bad when they weren’t. It’s a tough one.
Cath Lawsons last blog post..Be A Business Success Story, No Matter What Your Age
i’m glad you put up this post, Brad.
at my last agency, i was a “Client Solutions Consultant”.
what the heck is that?
and the chicken at lunch was pretty good. the sausage, not bad.
George Ajazis last blog post..Business Blogging – A Primer
Cath, In a larger organization you can’t win sometimes. As a manager I used to spend a fair amount of time devising titles, changing titles, trying to make titles consistent … titles are really of more interest inside a firm than outside.
George, Nice title – could it be any more vague?
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Meet the Director of Keyword Engineering or Something like That