Start with Why
A friend of mine is applying for jobs as a UX designer and asked me to help her demonstrate her capabilities and experience against the job descriptions.
She has a portfolio with all the great work she has done over the years but when I opened it I immediately realised she put it together as an engineer, not a marketeer - she started listing all the great features of the apps and websites she designed without necessarily explaining what these products did for the user. The quality of her work doesn't currently shine through because she is not demonstrating why and how her work addresses the users' challenges and pains.
This made me think about Simon Sinek's Start with Why. So this is what I suggest you do if, like my friend, you are only talking about the details of the work you do (carbon calculations, environmental assessments, etc.) and not getting much traction for it:
Start with WHY: why should a client engage with you? What's in it for them? What challenges can you help them address?
e.g. your client struggles to engage with the younger generations or remain competitive in the market. By working with you to adopt sustainability, they can have a competitive advantage, and appeal to customers who are more sensible to these themes. You are helping them realise their business vision. This is the golden ticket that will open all the doors.
HOW are you going to do it?
By providing consultancy, showing them case studies of others who have done it successfully, helping them set up an environmental management system, reviewing their targets etc.
WHAT will be the outcome?
Carbon calculations, ISO14001 certification, optimised and cleaner operations: a demonstrable shift towards a more responsible business that can be used in their marketing materials and, as a consequence, attract more customers.
So don't start from the end as virtually no one is interested in carbon calculations per se... instead, engage with others by explaining to them what pain your work will wash away.
This article was originally written for the Green Gorilla weekly newsletter. If you liked it, subscribe to receive more articles like this and learn how to communicate sustainability better, how to be more productive without selling your soul to the work devil, and how to make an impact in the world. Here is the link: https://newsletter.thegreengorilla.co.uk/