Crafting Your Elevator Speech

How you answer the question “What do you do?” can have an enormous impact on your business success. It can be the deciding factor in whether a brand new conversation moves toward a new business opportunity for you or toward mindless chatter about the event you’re attending and the weather. We tend to answer that question with a label and then start describing our process rather than the benefits of working with our company. “So what do you do?” “Sales for Gigantico Corp.” “Oh, really? Tell me more!” “Well, I fly out of Raleigh, mostly working the eastern seaboard on closing the big deals. I did go to Europe for a deal last year, though. That was pretty cool! Anyway, I used to be with Gigantico Corp’s biggest competitor, Super Systems. So how about you?” Ring a bell? So, what’s the answer? It’s your Elevator Speech. The elevator speech is an essential skill in the successful businessperson’s arsenal. Simply put, an elevator speech is a 30 to 90 second pitch that you can recite from memory during the length of an average elevator ride. It is a highly effective way to quickly reach out to prospective clients or buyers because it clearly highlights key features of your business, service, or product in a way that gets the listener excited. It captures your audience quickly, and it’s a great launching point–even in a formal presentation. A carefully crafted elevator speech is something that you can use over and over, every time you shake a hand. It will give the person a reason to call you, and a reason to remember you. A good elevator speech answers unasked questions while making a few key points about your offering. Here are some key items to consider including: * Who are you? * What is your product or service? * What problems does your product or service solve? * What is your market? * Why are you interested in your target audience? * What is your profit model? * Who is behind the company? Expand on your team’s background and achievements. * What is your competitive advantage? * Who is your competition? * What differentiates you? * What do you want others to know about you or your offering? * What action should your listener take next? Your elevator speech should be fluid and effortless. It should be sincere, with a compelling hook to draw the listener in and have them asking you more questions. It should be confident and friendly, not canned. Maintain eye contact and don’t ramble on, but don’t rush it. Take your time saying it, and let your passion for what you do shine through. You can pull in stories or examples, but don’t use insider terminology that will cause your listener to detach because they can’t follow you. Be sure to ask for something at the close, such as a business card or an appointment. Your elevator speech is something that you’ll want to write out, edit, and rewrite, removing unnecessary words and confusing sentence structures. Practice it in front of the mirror or with friends and family. You can memorize it if you want to, and you can also develop variations to use in different situations. A great elevator speech will set you apart from the crowd and open many doors for you. Come on, let’s hear it!

To Your Success!

Eric Bryant
Reposted from WeepleInc.com