Debra M.
Developer of individuals and organizations to improve performance, manage change and execute strategy.
I'm looking for examples of "elevator speeches" and tips on creating elevator speeches for small businesses.
I'm giving a presentation and would like real life examples of "elevator speeches" or elevator speech "hooks" to share with a group of small business owners. I'd also like to share tips from existing business owners on what has and has not worked in developing and/or using an elevator speech.
Good Answers (6)
Brian V.
Operations Manager, TRC Services
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I think elevator speeches should be as individual as the business and the person delivering the elevator speech. It should sound natural [so reherse until it does :)], but it should be very close to that person's 'natural language' so it doesn't sound like a marketing blurb someone else created if an actual conversation starts.
Also, know what it means. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with the first topic, but if someone stops and asks what something means you should be able to tell them.
This isn't for a business, but it's about 30-45 seconds of who I am and what I've done (for interviewing purposes). Please forgive the blatant 'plug' for myself, but it's the only way to give an example as you requested:
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I have over 20 years experience working with vendors, reviewing, analyzing and negotiating contracts – 15 years directly associated with information technology. I have developed the ability to research needs, develop strategies for meeting those needs and work with vendors to provide cost-effective services.
My success has been based on an exceptional ability to understand technical jargon and relate this information to non-technical people. This has helped me assist others in solving technical problems and also help senior management understand technical requirements and how these requirements translate to business results.
Throughout I have led teams to do some fairly complex tasks. Managing one project in particular allowed me to work with a cross-departmental team which created a scheduling program that had immediate return on investment for the organization. Another team I led resulted in the installation of a call center which aided the Hurricane Katrina and Rita victims who were displaced to North Texas during the disaster.
Dave M.
Partner at The Minnesota Sign Guys
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Debra - website below gives memory hooks sorted by profession. Developed by Beth Anderson an assistant BNI Director for Minnesota this site will certainly give your business owner some ideas.
At weekly BNI meetings, each member gives a 30 - 60 second commercial. You have to be very focused on the message you want to convey to be successful at this. Tell your group to use the PAR formula for developing their speech:
P - problem, start with the problem you can solve for the target customer
A - action, what action are you recommending
R - results, what will be the result for the customer
I like to add an A to the end, ask for the business.
The bueaty of this approach is you can use ANY problem to engage the customer, i.e.
Mr. CEO, good morning, my name is Dave Mason with Phoenix Signs. I just came from a networking meeting and your name came up with a friend of mine at XYZ company. He was telling me that, even though you and he don't compete, you do sell to like companies. He was asking if any of us knew you for an introduction. If you are interested, I'll take one of your buiness cards and I'll email you and he an introduction and let you guys go on from there. I know you'll like him and it could be a great opportunity for both of you.
Thanks - I'll do it as soon as I get back to the office. Here is my card. If I can be of further help, please feel free to give me a call or email.
You have provided help to this person by connecting them with someone who can help them grow their business. You have their business card. You have permission to contact him again.
Just an example.
Good luck!
Links:
Nobody likes to be sold - they just want solutions to their problems. The opportunity to deliver an elevator pitch is most likely as small talk or when asked by others what you do. The real trick is to be concise yet a bit vague. If the recipient truly is interested, they will want to know more.
Where these pitches fail is when they become "speeches." Nobody wants to walk away wishing they did not ask or that they did not get trapped in the "elevator" with you. Think of the cocktail party where you were cornered by someone who is telling you more than you ever wanted to know and who leaves you wishing you actually knew less on that topic.
Keep it short.
Keep it quick.
Keep it clever.
Keep it BENEFIT oriented.
Make it something that will encourage questions.
"I help businesses become more profitable with tools that keep employess accountable."
"I help customers stay informed of their businesses news and sales."
"We reduce custoemer's frustrations with customer service so that they buy more and remain loyal."
Thomas C.
B2B Content Marketing Copywriter | Fueling sales pipelines with quality leads so more prospects engage with you.
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You may enjoy Chris O'Leary's book, Elevator Pitch Essentials.
I just finished reading it and it's a great start-up guide for those new to pitches.
Chris covers all the areas necessary for a successful pitch as well as including three very different types of pitches:
1. Company pitch
2. Book pitch
3. Personal pitch
It's easy to customize your own pitch by pulling different ideas from the three different pitches. Good luck with yours!
Links:
Elizabeth C.
Web & Marketing Copywriter | Send the right message to your clients!
The best advice I received on elevator speeches is also how I approach the way I write for my clients -- keep it conversational, and get the other person to nod their head to say "yes."
A variation on my own elevator speech:
"You know how when you work with your web developer to create your website, and the developer says, 'we can make the site look like this and do this,' [the other person usually starts nodding here] and then he asks you, 'so what do you want your website to say?' and you have no idea? [the other person usually vigorously nods now] Well, companies hire me to help them figure out what their website should say."
Susan R.
Business Networking Keynote Speaker, International Bestselling Author of How To Work A Room ® & F2F Communication Expert
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The answer you received with the Borscht Belt story cracked me up. It has an element of truth. The reality is that we need to be able to communicate on the spot. An elevator speech or pitch tends to sound like one. In Face to Face: How To Reclaim the Personal Touch in a Digital World, I recommended working on spontaneity and impromptu comments based on the situation of the moment. It acts as the "ice breaker", puts others at ease, and allows for further exchange.
Craig Harrison is the elevator speech expert. Visit his site.
Links:
More Answers (3)
Jeff W.
Engagement Manager at ProSource Solutions LLC
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Two very successful psychoanalysts occupied offices in the same building. One was 40 years old, the other over 70. They rode on the elevator together at the end of an unbearable hot, sticky day. The younger man was completely done in, and he noted with some resentment that his senior was fresh as a daisy. "I don't understand," he marveled, "how you can listen to drooling patients from morning till night on a day like this and still look so spry and unbothered when it's over." The older analyst said simply, "Who listens?"
Face it, elevator jokes are much better than speeches.
Kare A.
Leadership Team for Branding, Communications and Community at Deloitte
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http://sayitbetter.typepad.com/say_it_better/2009/07/how-a-fertilizer-and-a-snack-stand-out-and-you-can-too.html
http://sayitbetter.typepad.com/say_it_better/2009/07/create-a-tag-line-to-be-top-of-mind-in-your-market-.html
Tip: Notice the three-part, elevating quotability power of his comment:
1. Be brief and specific …
2. Providing an unexpected mental picture (“in the fox hole with me”), and
3. Leavening one’s remarks with self-deprecating humor.
