What's your elevator speech?

[singlecoil]

You're in a lift and you have maybe thirty seconds to tell somebody (who might be a potential customer) about what you do before the doors open on his or her floor and the opportunity has passed by.

I'm still working on mine. I can convey what I do given two or three minutes and an attentive listener, but I know I need to do better.

[V8mate]

singlecoil said:

I can convey what I do given two or three minutes and an attentive listener, but I know I need to do better.

No-one cares what you do; your only chance is that they may be interested in what you can do for them.

Focusing on that, should assist with brevity and a more successful approach.

[TheRoadViking]

I help retailers improve the ROI of their interest-free credit offering, with a 96% acceptance rate.

Nice simple and the point. It works quite well as a linked in intro.

[singlecoil]

V8mate said:

singlecoil said:

I can convey what I do given two or three minutes and an attentive listener, but I know I need to do better.

No-one cares what you do; your only chance is that they may be interested in what you can do for them.

Focusing on that, should assist with brevity and a more successful approach.

Thanks for the advice, but I am happy to be able to tell you that what I am sharply focused on what I am able to do for them. That's the actual problem. I could tell them what I do quickly enough, but conveying the benefits of it from their POV is what takes the time.

Anyway, never mind me, let's here yours.

[TheRoadViking]

singlecoil said:

V8mate said:

singlecoil said:

I can convey what I do given two or three minutes and an attentive listener, but I know I need to do better.

No-one cares what you do; your only chance is that they may be interested in what you can do for them.

Focusing on that, should assist with brevity and a more successful approach.

Thanks for the advice, but I am happy to be able to tell you that what I am sharply focused on what I am able to do for them. That's the actual problem. I could tell them what I do quickly enough, but conveying the benefits of it from their POV is what takes the time.

Anyway, never mind me, let's here yours.

Because I work in a reasonably complex industry, I used the elevator pitch to get my foot in the door, then actually get to the detail of their circumstances further into the process.

[951TSE]

singlecoil said:

You're in a lift and you have maybe thirty seconds to tell somebody (who might be a potential customer) about what you do before the doors open on his or her floor and the opportunity has passed by.

I'm still working on mine. I can convey what I do given two or three minutes and an attentive listener, but I know I need to do better.

Traditionally the elevator pitch was delivered to a CEO of a company after you'd camped out outside his office all day as you didn't have an appointment. You then had from when he got in to the elevator to when he got to his chauffeur driven limo to get the magic words "Call me tomorrow and we can talk some more". It's no good on the way in as the prospect can forget all you've said in a day and he's protected from you by a secretary / colleagues.

As for your problem treat it like you would any other presentation / speech, write it down and the tailor it to the prospect, then pare it down to the length of time you think you have. Also keep it simple, no jargon unless you're in the same industry.

[designforlife]

My company tried to get me and other employees to memorise ours... their script made no sense, so i binned it.

I (and many others) don't work in the sales dept so i have no idea why they thought it relevant to make it a company wide thing.

[anonymous-user]

singlecoil said:

Thanks for the advice, but I am happy to be able to tell you that what I am sharply focused on what I am able to do for them. That's the actual problem. I could tell them what I do quickly enough, but conveying the benefits of it from their POV is what takes the time.

Anyway, never mind me, let's here yours.

Maybe worry about grammar and spelling rather than unlikely 'elevator (lift!) speeches'.

[wisbech]

"which floor?"

[bolidemichael]

It's the first time that I have ever heard the term 'elavator speech'. I have always known it to be the 'elevator pitch'.

[CasioPasio]

wisbech said:

"which floor?"

[Frimley111R]

Forget the lift analogy, it's about telling a potential customer/client what you do succinctly. I've heard elevator pitches used at networking events and by sales people on the phone. It's no bad thing that have it nailed down, you never know when you'll need it. It can even form the opening to your website.

[Monkeylegend]

If you only get the chance to talk in the elevator you have probably already been classed as a failure.

Probably the only way to redeem this situation is to utter the immortal words "Going down"

[madmover]

For the main business I'm active in:

We provide rehabilitation to people who suffer with neurological conditions such as CP, Stroke, Parkinson's, brain injury etc. We also provide expert witness reports to solicitors in order to assist with the litigation towards serious or catastrophic injuries resulting from accidents or medical malpractice.

What we do is actually quite complex and can't be discussed quickly due to how wide our services span (surgery, physio, OT, Speech and language, psychology, Botox etc etc) however the above usually sums things up pretty well.

[GetCarter]

singlecoil said:

You're in a lift and you have maybe thirty seconds to tell somebody (who might be a potential customer) about what you do before the doors open on his or her floor and the opportunity has passed by.

This is wrong on so many levels.

[Leithen]

GetCarter said:

singlecoil said:

You're in a lift and you have maybe thirty seconds to tell somebody (who might be a potential customer) about what you do before the doors open on his or her floor and the opportunity has passed by.

This is wrong on so many levels.

[softtop]

We help clients increase their win rate of business in the public sector by writing their tender responses and helping them promote themselves better.

[Davie_GLA]

Nice try, Bannatyne!

[bolidemichael]

softtop said:

We help clients increase their win rate of business in the public sector by writing their tender responses and helping them promote themselves better.

'We complete tender responses on behalf of clients, in order to help them promote themselves better and increase their win rate of business within the public sector.'

Features then benefits, always.

[bristolbaron]

Monkeylegend said:

Probably the only way to redeem this situation is to utter the immortal words "Going down"

Wanna share a lift?