How's Your Elevator Speech?

Look, every entrepreneur and professional sales person needs an elevator speech. Let me explain.

How many times a year are you asked the question, "What do you do?" I'm sure you hear the question often especially when you're working and at social gatherings.

When I ask people, "What do you do" I'm amazed at how few people can articulate crisply, clearly, and concisely what it is they do.

How's Your Elevator Speech?

Last week I joined an organization called Y.E.S. which stands for Young Entrepreneurs of Sarasota. I knew about this organization for quite some time and I assumed "Young" meant under 30.

It wasn't until I read an article in the local paper which declared young meant anybody under 100 years of age. So I joined right away.

It was a networking lunch and boy did I meet some characters. The host of the event asked how many of the attendees were unemployed and I was surprised to see about 20% of the hands bolt upward.

I got to talking to a guy and asked him, "What do you do?"

He says, "I sell insurance and I'm just getting started."

I couldn't resist offering some advice. Of course I asked for his permission to do so.

Look I said everybody who sells insurance says, "I sell insurance." I suggested, "You need an elevator speech" and I told him what that was and offered an example.

You could say, "I'm in the protection business. I protect and insure cars, homes, and commercial properties."

Now if I had more time I probably could make it even better. He immediately said, "I like it - it sounds different and professional."

Of course, I already knew that.

There were approximately 100 people at this networking lunch. After the buffet lunch, the program MC asked for a show of hands for everybody who was attending for the first time. About 20 people raised their hands.

He said, "All first-timers will get 10 seconds to say who you are and what you do." Sounds like an elevator speech to me.

He just so happened to call on David, my friend the insurance guy, first.

David says, "I'm in the protection business. I protect and insure cars, homes, and commercial properties."

The MC gets excited and says that's perfect - that's just like how we want everyone to introduce themselves.

Across the room, David looks at me and I look at him, and we both knew he nailed it.

So what do you do?

You shouldn't have to think about the answer to this question you should know how to respond without thinking and without blinking.

Think of it as your "Elevator Speech." To be effective you have to spend a reasonable amount of time preparing your elevator speech.

Look - if I said to you "Take 20 minutes and describe the kind of work you do" that would be easy. You would just start talking, actually just start rambling on about all the things you do at work.

Ah, but an elevator speech - that's different. This must be short and sweet. So you'll have to play with the words until you get it right. You can't do this in 10 minutes.

It's a must if you want to have a spectacular career in sales.

Last year I held an "Elevator Speech" contest. About three dozen people sent me their elevator speeches. Most were truly pathetic and horrible. One person wrote a 1000 word essay.

One person however got it right and he blew me away with what he sent me. He was the president of a small public-relations company. Here's what he sent me.

"Our business is making your business unforgettable." It's simply brilliant and it's only seven words.

Let this be your model as you design your elevator speech.

Imagine there were four public relations companies competing to win a large account. Also imagine each company was given an hour for a presentation to senior management.

I'm sure several companies would come in loaded with PowerPoint slides.

I'm also sure that people listening to the sales presentations would be overwhelmed with data and information.

I'm also sure that very little of what was said and shown via PowerPoint would be remembered.

But when the senior management team hears the elevator speech "Our business is making your business unforgettable" they won't be able to shake those words from their minds.

It will stick - and that's exactly what you want your elevator speech to do, "Stick."

Those carefully thought-out words probably will also stick it to the competition - and that's good too.

Give some thought to preparing, in writing, your own brilliant elevator speech.

Make your "Elevator Speech" a good one if you want it to stick!

How's Your Elevator Speech?
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Shy? Five Networking Questions To Expand Comfort Zone

Networking is by far the best vehicle for building businesses, careers, and your circle of influence. It is through networking that we find advice on personal and business challenges, learn of job opportunities, and develop new business. Yet to many, the social aspects of networking events are far outside their comfort zone. Whether it be shyness, introversion, or a lack of confidence in what to say, many at a networking event will gravitate to people they know and loss the opportunity to meet new people.If you are among these people, it is probably safe to say that your shyness or introversion has helped you build tremendous listening skills. This listening strength is a great weapon for you during networking events. The main problem you are probably having is that you are so focused on your discomfort with talking to strangers that you forget how great it is to be in a conversation with you.

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That's right! Great listeners are fun to converse with because they allow the other person to do the talking. People love to talk about themselves.

With the other person talking, they are typically revealing things about themselves and getting you to the point where you are no longer strangers and your comfort level with them is the same as your comfort level with your best friends.

Shy? Five Networking Questions To Expand Comfort Zone

How do you get them talking to you when your comfort zone stifles your vocal cords?

The best way is to expand your comfort zone just long enough to deliver short, open-ended question.

An open-ended question, one that cannot be answered with a number of the words "yes" and "no".

They force the other to talk while you listen. Here are some examples:

= What kind of work do you do?

= How did you get into that field?

= What do you like most about it?

= What do you find most challenging?

= If you had a magic wand, what one thing at work or home would you change?

These questions will get you in a conversation where you will be able to do what you do best - listen. As they open up they are very likely to touch on something that you like to talk about. When that happens, talking will be easier for you. Until this happens, a gentle nod or "oh", will make you a great conversationalist in their eyes and they will want to be around you.

Eventually the conversation will get back to you, but do not dwell on that. By the time it happens your comfort level will have risen to the point you will be okay with it.

This article cannot end until the issue of stretching your comfort zone for that initial question is even realistic. It is not easy to stretch one's self outside of the comfort zone. In fact, it is extremely difficult. The problem is that when we think of stepping out, we are opening ourselves to potentially endless stress. However we can all step out for short periods of time. Think of a burning building. We would not think of casually walking around in a burning building - even if we had full firefighting gear. The most experienced firefighter struggles with that fear each time they must fight a fire internal to a home or office.

Yet they do it.

Why?

Because they know they can muster the adrenalin to do it. Now consider yourself. What if it were house and the Fire Department had not arrived? Would you be able to go into the inferno for a leisure stroll? Of course not - you would not even try. Now, what if a loved one was still inside? I venture to say you would not even think about your comfort zone, you would run inside. When you are at a networking event you CAN expand your comfort zone for very brief periods of time if your focus is on the briefness of the expansion and the rewards from venturing beyond its confines.

Are you frustrated by your networking experiences? MaxImpact's Catapult program is a powerful coaching program that will expand your horizons and connect you to your dreams. When you reach the point that you are willing to invest in your dreams, contact MaxImpact at 248-802-6138 or via email to info@getmaximpact.com. Remember, success is available to anyone - they just need to know how to tap into their potential.

Shy? Five Networking Questions To Expand Comfort Zone

Rick Weaver is an accomplished business executive with a wealth of experience in retail, market analysis, supply chain enhancement, project management, team building, and process improvement. Building on a strong retail background, Rick moved to full supply-chain involvement, working with hundreds of companies to improve sales, processes, and bottom-line results.

As Rick's interaction in varied industries expanded, he became troubled as he increasingly noticed that people and companies had untapped or unfocused talent.

Coupled with Rick’s passion for training and development, popular style of interactive workshops and seminars, and strong desire for continuous improvement, he founded Max Impact Corporation to be singularly focused on helping individuals and organizations achieve high performance.

Rick is a popular speaker at seminars, workshops, and conferences. He has spoken in 43 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, and in Canada and Puerto Rico. He is available to speak at groups of all sizes.

Contact Rick at 248-802-6138 or rick@getmaximpact.com.

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