An effective Elevator Speech is one of the most important marketing and networking tools for any small business. Why? Well because there are so many opportunities to put it in play, and therefore many chances for an elevator speech to get you into a conversation with potential clients.
These opportunities include:
- Networking events
- General conversation (have you ever been asked: “So, what do you do?”)
- Answer Phone messages
- Website copy
- Email signatures
- Presentation opening statements
and many more. The key requirement is to have your listener/reader think: “Hmm, that sounds as though it could be something I am interested in (or I know someone who might be) – I would like to hear more about that”
This is called a desired response and will lead to further contact and/or conversation. When that happens: Elevator Speech mission accomplished!
There important elements to consider when putting together your elevator speech, but keep this goal in mind – you want the audience to be hungry to learn more about you and your company.
A summary of these elements, with some samples:
Name and company – minimize this. Sad to say most people will forget this as soon as you tell them. Don’t believe me? How often have you had a 5 minute conversation with someone who asked you at the end: “Sorry, what was your name/company name again?”
Avoid lengthy descriptions of your company – the most common mistake here. Make mention of it by all means especially if the name gives a hint of what you do, but it only needs to sound like this:
“Hi, I’m Jerry with Acme Chiropractic”
“Hi, My name is Jerry with Acme Remodelling”
Target Audience – go for a balance of detailed focus and brevity. This will take some work but the tighter you can define this, without spending 5 minutes defining it, the better. For example:
“I work with women over 40 who are suffering from nagging back pain and are frustrated they can’t find a long term solution” (Chiroprator)
“We are focused on families looking to sell their house who want to maximize the resale value by remodelling, but are on a tight budget and are confused as to which work to have done” (Remodeller)
“We help business owners who are concerned they don’t have adequate insurace coverage and are confused as to whether they have enough, or are paying to much and are OVER insured” (Insurance broker)
“Our clients are small business owners who want to get leads from the internet and are frustrated their website isn’t getting it done and don’t know what to do next” (internet Marketer)
These samples have a few things in common:
- Brevity
- Focus
- Emotion – they speak to the emotions of the target audience.
If you do nothing else with your elevator speech, consider using these samples as a starting place for your 30 second introduction – the attention is gained in the first 10 seconds and following this approach will help you get that attention from your ideal clients.