Some companies have never articulated what it is they are offering. They have no elevator pitch. Their site assures us they are the best and that they deliver optimal solutions.

They proclaim that they are different from the other guys. They assume you have at the forefront of your mind every known fact about the other guys. They boast about what they are not, instead of what they are.

I start out by knowing nothing about your company–just like most people who are not already your customers. I study your existing information and interview your people who you think should have input. Then I present a rough draft. Often I make errors because I don’t know enough about you: this is the process by which I remove the impurities. I move the best information toward the front, to where it can be seen first by potential customers.

I call my process “zone refining” after a method of purifying metals by causing a narrow molten zone to travel slowly along a solid rod  to one end,  where impurities become concentrated. Lop off the end with the impurities and do it again.

I take all the existing information about your company and put it in the cauldron and start distilling it. I exam each datum and decide whether it is more important or less important, and shove the less important ones to the back. I add more information as the client inspects and comments upon my iterative drafts.

And then you have a fresh, clean explanation of your company.