We often tell an anecdote during pitches about consulting for an agency in the medical services sector. We went into a second meeting armed with a fairly brutal critique of their “About us” page (they had asked us to do it BTW, we weren’t just being gits for no reason).
The tricky part was when they told us they’d spent two days ‘perfecting’ their current “About us” page, labouring over each and every drop of hyperbole, the intricate description of their backgrounds, their combined years of experience, their business ethos and trademarked processes… (it went on a fair while).
The problem is, no one hires you because of that stuff. Yes it’s nice to be reassured, but think about all the funky new agencies with young, spunky talent, winning work with nothing but skateboards and stunning creativity (and just how impressive/relevant do you think “we’ve got 225 years of combined experience in our team” really is?)
So (we ventured at the time, and say to you now) why not let yourselves be defined by your successes and results. Rather than “We were founded in 2012 and Dave used to work for a big agency”, why not lead with “We’re the guys behind the 75% increase in Visa’s sales last year”?
Such an “About us” can’t be denied. If I say “We’re the smartest agency in London” you could challenge it. If I however told you “We’re the agency that created the campaign that got Youngs into Waitrose”… well, feel free to challenge it, but (unless I’m a complete liar) I’ll be able to prove the statement.
An “About us” created using this approach achieves much: you get to name-drop a client you’ve worked for (establishing credibility), you get to show the kinds of results your work leads to (to get them fantasising about enjoy similar success) and you come over as smart enough to know that cunningly squeezing a case study into an “About us” page has way more value than talking about how you’re always “on time and on budget”.
It might seem picky, but we’re talking about cold channel new business. EVERY second on a call and every inch on an email or web site is critical.
Don’t waste time talking about the office dog and how quirky you are when you could be selling your brilliance to a potential customer.
Happy hunting.