What should I say when someone asks 'so what do you do?'
Lead with the outcome: 'I help [who] [achieve what] so they can [bigger benefit].' One sentence.
Use this structure: "I help [specific person] [achieve specific result] so they can [realize the bigger benefit]." One sentence. Under 25 words.
The most common mistakes: starting with your title ("I'm a fractional COO"), explaining your methodology, or trying to cover everything you do. All of these make the answer too long and too vague.
Lead with the outcome, not the process. "I help newly promoted VPs stop putting out fires and start running their team like a system" is an answer someone can act on. "I'm an executive coach" is a category they have to decode.
The Growth Navigator free tier builds this sentence with you. Or read the full one-sentence guide for the structure, traps, and testing method.