You finally get the chance to meet that big prospect at a networking event and you know you’ve got a tiny window of opportunity to connect with him to make your introduction. You manage to approach him to introduce yourself, and he says, “Nice meeting you…and what do you do?” You launch into some spontaneous rambling verbiage about your products or services in an unimpressive and in a not very memorable style. Mr. Big smiles weakly and says, “Nice meeting you.”
As he walks off, you realize you have just blown a big opportunity to advance the relationship to get his business. What could you have done differently to maximize those precious seconds to make a compelling impression?
What it takes is a well crafted “elevator speech”. According to business expert and author Jeff Mayer, a brilliant elevator speech will set you apart and sell the benefit of your services to a prospect in a very brief exchange.
In his book “Opening Doors with a Brilliant Elevator Speech”, Jeff explains that to get new business, you have to pass the “so what” test. He says that if you can say “so what” after you tell someone what you do, you are not selling your benefit to the customer. You simply become just another provider vying to sell your products or services. So how can you create a unique introductory statement of your business expertise and present it in a way that creates a real “WOW” for the other person? You need a brilliant elevator speech.
In my interview with Jeff he said, “An elevator speech is a brief description of what you do and who you do it for. It describes how you offer value, benefit and quality to your customer or client” in a way that doesn’t allow them to say “so what” but creates a differentiation in how you do what you do to stimulate conversation and hopefully advance to more business. If you can keep the conversation going, you are on your way to more business.
So exactly how do you craft a dazzling elevator speech? It should be of the length that you could share with someone in an elevator on a three floor ride. Many times 7 to 12 seconds will do it, but remember the shorter the better! Every word counts and the crafting of the message is critical.
Here are a few suggestions from the expert to get you started:
- Take out a piece of paper and write down all the services you provide for your customers. Think about how you help them save time, money, improve productivity, etc.
- Brainstorm why people choose to do business with you
- Write out what you do in such a way that it encourages more conversation. For example, instead of saying I’m in real estate, you might revise it by saying: I specialize in helping people get the most for their money when they buy or sell properties.
- Break the statement down into two parts: What you do and then how the customer derives the benefits from working with you. To use the example of a financial planner you might say: I help people build wealth by managing their money so that it works better for them.
- Write out and perfect your elevator speech, and then
- Practice, Practice and Practice!
You will find that this elevator speech will be used in hundreds of ways, hundreds of times a day. There are several ways you can use it, including telephone calls, voice mail and email just to name a few. If you are using a well crafted elevator speech, introducing yourself and what you do becomes effortless, fun and highly productive.
If you really want to maximize your business opportunities, invest in designing an elevator speech that takes you to the top!
