Have you ever been at a social event, and suddenly someone asks the inevitable…
“What is it that you do exactly?” This is a question that many dread answering. We may give it a good shot, and sometimes we nail it, and it’s fantastic! Then there are the times when you fumble around, and it’s just not what you wanted to say. Here is an opportunity for you to reflect upon how to answer this question in a way that gets the right person’s attention.
It’s called the “Hook and Carry.” Where you create an answer about your business or career that “hooks” the listener’s interest and “carries ” them forward into a more detailed description. Many years ago, I was in the financial services industry. I helped people with their planning for their financial future. I help people plan for retirement and many other things, and our company did more than just financial planning. I found that I would never quite nail the description and had to keep clarifying what it was that I did.
After years of not defining it, I decided to spend some time creating a phrase that would entice people who might be interested in what I had to say. So I was at a wedding, and someone came up, and we introduced ourselves and then- BAM! There was that question! And I replied, “I help people get out of debt 10 to 15 years sooner, and I help them retire five to 10 years earlier.”
Now THAT made sense to people! Especially ones who were looking for that service. People are interested when there is a measurable result that could change their lives!
And it didn’t matter who I worked with. It mattered that they got that specific result. That’s what they wanted to know! Suddenly those awkward conversations turned into opportunities for people to say, “Oh? How do you do that?” Hooks are typically short, bold and often shocking statements at the very beginning of your marketing. But in order to really hook your audience in, the hook must relate to your audience in a personal and emotional way. It needs to really connect with them, otherwise, it won’t hook them in and they’ll carry on. I was able to give a few examples that were appropriate and enticing!
If someone were to ask you this question, do you have a clear answer that has the right person hooked into the conversation because they want to know more because it will benefit them? Is it clear enough? Is it easy enough for them to understand? So I would encourage you to take some time to put this on your list of needs that you want to look at, put it into your schedule, and work on this daily or weekly. Have your business coach or advisor look at it and suggest tweaks! They’re short and designed to really hit home with the target audience. And don’t spend hours and hours at a time doing this. A hook is a single phrase or sentence that describes an offer’s primary benefit. When creating a Hook, emphasize what’s uniquely valuable about your offer and why people should care. Remember: it takes time. Crafting a hook is a creative exercise. The better your Hook, the more attention you will grab, and the easier it’ll be for your message to spread.
Emphasize what’s uniquely valuable about your service, and why the prospect should care. Brainstorm a list of words and phrases related to your primary benefit, then experiment with different ways to connect them in a short phrase. It can take time and several iterations to truly nail this concept, but the clarity and curiosity that the right “hook and carry” will be worth it in the long run!

A “Life Addict” who loves to help entrepreneurs and high achievers innovate and implement smart, inspiring strategies that lead to creating amazing businesses and lives. He understands that running a great business requires courage to own and elevate the good, the bad and the ugly in oneself and life. His 25+ years of experience and his laser ability to get to the core of what truly matters make him an agent for growth.
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