How do I introduce my company in 30 seconds?

Most people answer the question "what do you do?" with a job title or a list of services. The listener retains nothing. A good short introduction is more a small story than a list: it says whom you help, what problem you solve and what the person gains.

The structure in six steps

1. Whom you help. "I work with small cleaning companies."
2. The problem they have. "They lose a lot of time organising schedules and replying to requests."
3. What you do. "I set up a simple way for requests to arrive organised."
4. What changes for them. "They spend fewer hours managing and more working."
5. A piece of proof. A case, a customer's sentence, a verifiable fact. No made-up numbers.
6. An invitation. "If you like, I can show you how it works in a short conversation."

The example is invented, only to illustrate the structure. Your version will have your words.

Three versions, for three situations

• The ten-second one: whom you help and what you do, in one sentence. It serves for a quick introduction or a signature.
• The thirty-second one: the six steps. It serves for a call, an event or a conversation after a presentation.
• The two-minute one: adds a concrete story about a customer (with permission) and what the result meant.

How to write, so it is said well

• Write as you speak. If the sentence sounds like text, rewrite it.
• Simple words, without jargon the other person does not know.
• One idea per sentence. Long sentences get lost aloud.
• No list of services. The list comes later, if the person asks.
• A concrete verb: "I help", "I set up", "I look after", instead of "I offer solutions".

Practise aloud

Writing is not enough: an introduction only works when said naturally. Read it aloud, record yourself and listen. Time it. Tell someone and ask what they understood, as explained in how to test a message. Adjust until the person can repeat, in their own words, what you do.

Adapt to the context

The same introduction changes depending on who is listening. For a possible customer, talk about their problem; for a partner, about what you can do together; for someone outside the sector, use an everyday image. The core stays. If you do not yet have the central sentence, start with the value proposition in one sentence, and for depth, see mission, vision and values. In Brand Strategy, the 30-second introduction is one of the first results to test.

Record yourself and listen

Write your thirty-second version, with the six steps, and record yourself saying it on your phone. Listen to the recording without looking at the text. Ask yourself: did I understand whom it helps? Did I understand what changes? Does it sound like me? Is there a sentence I stumble on? Fix the sentences you stumble on, because they are usually the ones that do not sound natural. Record again. When you are satisfied, say the introduction to three people who do not know the company and ask them to repeat it in their own words. If they can, it is ready. Keep the recordings: in six months, listen to the first and the last and see how much clearer your way of introducing the company has become.

In short

• A good short introduction is a small story, not a list of services.
• Six steps: whom you help, the problem, what you do, what changes, a piece of proof and an invitation.
• Prepare three versions: ten seconds, thirty seconds and two minutes.
• Practise aloud and test with people who do not know the company.

Quick questions

Do I need to memorise the text?

Memorise the structure, not the words. If you memorise the words, it sounds like a speech; if you memorise the order of ideas, it sounds natural.

What if I have several services?

Start with the one that best opens the conversation, and say there are more. Listing everything in the first seconds is what loses attention.

Can I use the same introduction in writing?

The structure works, but write to be read: shorter, with the link at the end. What sounds good aloud does not always look good on a page.