Grab People’s Attention with an Effective Elevator Speech

Grab People’s Attention with an Effective Elevator Speech

I know what you may be thinking, “An elevator speech? What’s that?”

An elevator speech is a concise, carefully constructed overview about you, your business, and your products or services. It’s called an elevator speech, because it’s a talk you can give to customers and prospective business partners during the time it takes to ride up an elevator. And it is one of the simplest, but most effective, tools a small business owner can have in their sales and marketing toolkit.

Now you may be thinking, “But I don’t ride in that many elevators. So why do I need it?” Well, you don’t just use an elevator speech on elevators. You can also use it to introduce yourself and your business to others in business or social situations.

Think about the last time you went to a networking event and someone asked you what you do for living. Did you say something like, “Hi, I’m Bob Jones. I’m the owner of ABC Company.”? While that’s fine, it doesn’t really tell the other person what you do at ABC Company or how you can help them.

Your elevator speech should address the following questions:

• Who are you?
• What is your company?
• What products and/or services do you sell?
• Who are your ideal customers?
• What customer problems can you solve?
• What should the audience do next?
• Have you piqued the interest of your audience?

Also, as you write your elevator speech, you should keep these tips in mind.

• Keep it short and sweet. Ideally, the length of your speech should be under one minute when talking comfortably, without rushing. This equates to about 150-250 words.
• Keep it your words conversational in style.
• Don’t use any industry jargon. Everyone should be able to understand what you do, especially if they don’t know your industry.
• Carefully edit your talk. Take out unnecessary words. Add additional phrases so it flows better.

For example: “I help fulfill dreams. My name is Jane Doe and I’m a Realtor® for F.C. Tucker. As a long-time resident of Indianapolis, I have extensive knowledge of the neighborhoods and developments in Carmel, Fishers, Castleton and the greater Indianapolis area. With my familiarity of current real estate market conditions, I can help you find your dream home at the right price. You can get my free report, ‘Everything you need to know about buying your first home,’ at my website, www.janedoerealtor.com.”

Once you’ve written your elevator speech, you need to practice it until it flows effortlessly off of the tip of your tongue during conversations.

A well-crafted elevator speech can help turn those spur-of-the-moment introductions into new opportunities for your business.

To your success!

 B^{3 –} Be Bold, Brilliant and Boundless!