A One-Sentence Test for Defining Your Core Offer

If you can’t say it simply, clients can’t choose it.

A few years ago, when I was making angel investments in Seattle tech startups, a particular frustration started to emerge for me with many of the companies that were pitching us.

The founders would have a beautiful pitch deck. A lofty dream for the future. Impressive technical skills.

But then I would ask one simple question: “What does your product actually do?”

They would stare at me in bewilderment, as if I were an idiot or hadn’t been paying attention during their entire pitch. Then they would repeat some of the flowery, Silicon Valley tech-speak they had already blurted out earlier, something like, “We are disrupting supply chain logistics by modernizing the scalability of end-to-end location services enablement.”

I would then usually repeat the question, they would repeat the answer, and I would give up in exasperation. I obviously didn’t invest in these companies.

But occasionally, I would get real answers. “We make graphite from air for lithium ion batteries.” “It’s a robot that picks strawberries.” Great, here’s a check!

If a startup founder can’t explain to me in one sentence what they actually do, then I’m not investing. In a world where we each see 10,000 marketing messages a day, the same thing applies for your messaging about your services.

If it takes three paragraphs to explain what you do, prospective clients are going to hesitate. They do this not because they’re uninterested or don’t need your services, but rather because of uncertainty.

Clarity in your messaging defeats this uncertainty.

You should be able to explain your core offer in one sentence. You may have heard the phrase “elevator pitch” in a business context — it’s effectively the same thing.

A core offer is not everything you can do. It’s the primary shift you’re known for delivering.

Practical Framework: The One-Sentence Offer Test

• Name the client:
  Who is this specifically for, without qualifiers or caveats?

• Name the problem or desire:
  What persistent challenge or outcome are they actively seeking?

• Name the transformation:
  What changes as a result of working with you?

Put together, your sentence should sound like this:
“I help [specific people] move from [current state] to [clear outcome].”

Here are some examples for different wellness modalities.

• Massage therapist:
  I help working moms reduce chronic tension and pain so they can move through daily life with greater ease and comfort.

• Mental health counselor:
  I help teens navigate anxiety and life transitions so they can feel more grounded, resilient, and emotionally steady.

• Yoga instructor:
  I help busy, stressed individuals reconnect with their bodies and breath through accessible yoga practices that support calm and strength.

If you need multiple sentences, extra context, or footnotes, the waters are still murky.

Think of your core offer like a lighthouse. One strong beam guides the right boats home. Too many lights just blur the shoreline.

Clarity attracts. Complexity repels.

If this feels useful, you’re invited to subscribe to join the Bizorca Pod to refine your core offer together, calmly and collaboratively.