If you’re good at your work and the phone still isn’t ringing enough, look at how you describe what you do. You’re probably describing the job, and the buyer is shopping for a result. Sell the result they want, then show how you deliver it before, during, and after the work. Then set up a daily system that finds new people to tell.
What are my clients really buying from me?
On a recent show I talked with an owner who works as an auctioneer at nonprofit events. I’ve seen him do it, and he’s really good at it. His work comes from word of mouth and referrals, and he wanted more gigs.
I challenged him from the jump. I told him, “You’re a fundraiser who happens to auctioneer.” The only reason any nonprofit goes through all of the headache of a gala is to take care of their big donors and make as much money as possible. At the end of the day, it’s all about the scoreboard.
The transformation he provides is simple. When he comes to your event, you’re going to make more money. They’re hiring the transformation that you provide, and your marketing should talk about that first.
Is my tagline describing me or helping the buyer?
He planned to bill himself as the friendly auctioneer. He never shushes the crowd, he meets the board beforehand, and he stays for the whole night.
I told him that’s gift with purchase. It’s a bonus. If I’m choosing auctioneer A over auctioneer B, I choose the one whose website has story after story of revenue records.
Buyers want to know what changes for them once they hire you. Friendly is how he gets the result.
How do I show the value I bring beyond the job itself?
Frame your work as before, during, and after. Before the event, he can tell the nonprofit which auction packages to go get because they work, and which ones to skip. During the event, he learns who they are and gets the names pronounced right.
After the event, he sits down with them and reviews what each item brought in. The golf trip did well, so do it again next year. The wine tour didn’t, so drop it. When you do the after-event meeting, you’re getting renewed for next year.
What if the people I want already have someone?
He told me he didn’t want to take anyone else’s business. As his friend, I do. I want him to get all of the gigs.
Don’t mistake them having an auctioneer for being someone that doesn’t need your help. Just because the TV weatherman does the auction doesn’t mean the weatherman sits down with the revenue team and shows them how to make more money this year.
He goes to more galas than anybody in town, and he knows what works. That knowledge is his true value. He can offer it as a paid one-hour review, even to a group that already has an auctioneer.
How can AI find leads for me every day?
I’m doing this with speaking gigs right now. Set up a Google Alert for every phrase your buyers use when they announce the thing you help with. For him, that’s charity galas and fundraising events in his market.
Then have Claude run a scheduled task each day. It checks your Gmail for the alerts, researches each organization, finds the executive director and their contact information, and drafts an email to that person. Then it sends a message to your to-do list saying there are three leads that need to be handled.
The power of Claude, in my opinion, is that it can do the same thing every day, never forget, and never get tired. Nobody has the dedication to do that work on their own every single day.
What should I do this week?
Here’s the homework. Write one sentence that says what changes for your client after they hire you, and put it at the top of your website.
Next, list what you do before, during, and after the job. Then book an after meeting with your most recent client and review what worked.
Last, set up one Google Alert for the phrases your buyers use, and have AI draft the first outreach emails for you to review.
This came from Businessing with Pat Miller. Watch the full June 24, 2026 episode.