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Suggest You - Networking Your Way to Profits: Part 2 'Creating Your Elevator Speech'
Ethics are the focus of much discussion and media coverage in the post-Enron and WorldCom scandal tainted world of business. Leadership, always an area of study for organizations of all types and sizes, is receiving even more attention as a result of corporate and other forms of corruption (such as the recent events with Tom Delay in Congress and the “K Street” lobbying investigations of Jack Abramoff and others in Washington, DC). But when it comes to ethics-based leadership, while there is a growing volume of literature there are few role models (at least those who are still living and breathing, rather than in the history books and biographies). Given these circumstances, where
3) Be specific wherever possible. If you can quote figures that catch people’s attention it makes your speech more memorable and people seek you out to find out more.
Let me give you my elevator speech to demonstrate what I mean…
“You know how some companies send out sales letters and get very low numbers in response, which means they spend hundreds or thousands of pounds ($) on printing and postage with very little return, don’t you?
Well, what I do is incr
MarketingSherpa released the free summary of their annual E-mail Benchmarking Survey in a way that could teach Jenna Jameson a few tricks. Anne Holland and Tad Clarke have become masters of the tease and the slow reveal.And yet beyond the sales tactics are some fairly interesting and not-so-surprising conclusions.1. E-mail ain’t so bad. Two thirds of B2B marketers and three-quarters of B2C marketers see it as increasing in impact in spite of the hype generated by the flavors of the week -- social networks, mobile communications and marketing by widgets.2. Conversion is all about the design of your forms. How it looks and how easy it is to use can improve opt=-i
Have you ever been introduced to someone and when you ask what they do they’ve replied “Oh, I’m an accountant” or “I’m a solicitor/attorney” or “I’m a financial adviser”. Ya-awn! Bo-oring!
Did you know that there are different aspects to accountancy, finance and the law that can be quite fascinating. No, really! But only if they hit your hot-spot. Because when someone says ‘accountant’ or ‘finance adviser’ it is so-oo easy to assume we know all we need to know, isn’t it?
But how about…
“Well, you know how some business owners are just too busy to keep an eye on the financial aspects of their business, which means they are often paying too much tax or worse, missing the danger signs of the business heading for insolvency, don’t you?”
“What I do is keep an eye on the business finance, save on taxes and provide timely management reports, which means the business owner can still keep their finger ‘on the profit pulse’ whilst driving their business growth.”
Don’t you think that sounds more interesting than “I’m an accountant”?
And once you’ve got your main ‘Elevator Speech’ sorted you can distil it down into a 1-liner like this!
“I stop companies over-paying on taxes”
Developing Your Own Elevator Speech
Find the answers to these questions and you have the start of your elevator speech.
Step 1: What is the real problem you can solve for people? If not a problem, how can you enhance their life or experience – home, personal, health, wealth or business?
If you’re not sure, ask your existing customers or clients what they were specifically looking for when they purchased from you.
Step 2: What was the consequences of this problem or lack of something? Were they losing sales? Friends? Income? Home comforts? Again, ask your existing customers if you are not clear about the ‘which means…’
Step3: What do you supply (product or service) that addresses this need? How can you resolve their problem?
Step 4: What benefits will people enjoy? What are the consequences of taking advantage of what you offer? Are they happier, richer, healthier, more profitable, more productive?
Now hone the answers you’ve got into short, succinct statements and precede each with the template words:
Step 1 “You know how…
Step 2 “Which means …
Step 3 “Well, what I do is…
Step 4 “Which means …
Nuances to Consider
A few things to keep in mind;
1) Always say “You know how some people/companies/businesses…” Nobody likes to be told they’ve got it wrong. You have to be subtle; saying some people or some companies implies it’s a problem other people or companies have – not you or the person you are speaking to. If he identifies with the problem you describe he can ask questions and if he doesn’t, you haven’t insulted him by implying he does.
2) Being an observant sort of person, you probably noticed in the examples I included the words “don’t you?” at the end of the first ‘which means’, didn’t you? Including these words gets the other person nodding their head (or thinking “Yes”) in agreement with you. It involves them in what you are saying, starts to create rapport and opens them up for the ‘solution’ you are going to describe.
3) Be specific wherever possible. If you can quote figures that catch people’s attention it makes your speech more memorable and people seek you out to find out more.
Let me give you my elevator speech to demonstrate what I mean…
“You know how some companies send out sales letters and get very low numbers in response, which means they spend hundreds or thousands of pounds ($) on printing and postage with very little return, don’t you?
Well, what I do is incre
One of the most powerful leadership tools available is the ability to facilitate a meeting or a work session. Too often, these gatherings are a disorganized jumble of unprocessed ideas that leave participants frustrated and feeling that “nothing much got accomplished”.Effective facilitation is simple. With a bit of practice, anyone can learn how to do it. There are 10 key steps to becoming a master facilitator:1.Prepare in advance. Put yourself in the role of a participant and think through the logical elements that need to come together in order to achieve the desired outcome.2.Define the meeting objective. Finish the sentence: ‘the purpose of th
“What I do is keep an eye on the business finance, save on taxes and provide timely management reports, which means the business owner can still keep their finger ‘on the profit pulse’ whilst driving their business growth.”
Don’t you think that sounds more interesting than “I’m an accountant”?
And once you’ve got your main ‘Elevator Speech’ sorted you can distil it down into a 1-liner like this!
“I stop companies over-paying on taxes”
Developing Your Own Elevator Speech
Find the answers to these questions and you have the start of your elevator speech.
Step 1: What is the real problem you can solve for people? If not a problem, how can you enhance their life or experience – home, personal, health, wealth or business?
If you’re not sure, ask your existing customers or clients what they were specifically looking for when they purchased from you.
Step 2: What was the consequences of this problem or lack of something? Were they losing sales? Friends? Income? Home comforts? Again, ask your existing customers if you are not clear about the ‘which means…’
Step3: What do you supply (product or service) that addresses this need? How can you resolve their problem?
Step 4: What benefits will people enjoy? What are the consequences of taking advantage of what you offer? Are they happier, richer, healthier, more profitable, more productive?
Now hone the answers you’ve got into short, succinct statements and precede each with the template words:
Step 1 “You know how…
Step 2 “Which means …
Step 3 “Well, what I do is…
Step 4 “Which means …
Nuances to Consider
A few things to keep in mind;
1) Always say “You know how some people/companies/businesses…” Nobody likes to be told they’ve got it wrong. You have to be subtle; saying some people or some companies implies it’s a problem other people or companies have – not you or the person you are speaking to. If he identifies with the problem you describe he can ask questions and if he doesn’t, you haven’t insulted him by implying he does.
2) Being an observant sort of person, you probably noticed in the examples I included the words “don’t you?” at the end of the first ‘which means’, didn’t you? Including these words gets the other person nodding their head (or thinking “Yes”) in agreement with you. It involves them in what you are saying, starts to create rapport and opens them up for the ‘solution’ you are going to describe.
3) Be specific wherever possible. If you can quote figures that catch people’s attention it makes your speech more memorable and people seek you out to find out more.
Let me give you my elevator speech to demonstrate what I mean…
“You know how some companies send out sales letters and get very low numbers in response, which means they spend hundreds or thousands of pounds ($) on printing and postage with very little return, don’t you?
Well, what I do is incr
Each business has its own unique needs and concerns when it shops for property to serve its business needs. Each business owner is concerned with whether to lease or buy, how much space is needed, what kind of property is needed, how much to pay for the purchase or lease, how to negotiate the best price, how to negotiate the best terms, and how to find the best location. The following six points need to be considered before leasing or buying business property:1. Lease or Buy: It is usually better in the long-run to own your business property. However, that may not be the case if you are short on cash. It may be a better decision to lease a facility when you a
If you’re not sure, ask your existing customers or clients what they were specifically looking for when they purchased from you.
Step 2: What was the consequences of this problem or lack of something? Were they losing sales? Friends? Income? Home comforts? Again, ask your existing customers if you are not clear about the ‘which means…’
Step3: What do you supply (product or service) that addresses this need? How can you resolve their problem?
Step 4: What benefits will people enjoy? What are the consequences of taking advantage of what you offer? Are they happier, richer, healthier, more profitable, more productive?
Now hone the answers you’ve got into short, succinct statements and precede each with the template words:
Step 1 “You know how…
Step 2 “Which means …
Step 3 “Well, what I do is…
Step 4 “Which means …
Nuances to Consider
A few things to keep in mind;
1) Always say “You know how some people/companies/businesses…” Nobody likes to be told they’ve got it wrong. You have to be subtle; saying some people or some companies implies it’s a problem other people or companies have – not you or the person you are speaking to. If he identifies with the problem you describe he can ask questions and if he doesn’t, you haven’t insulted him by implying he does.
2) Being an observant sort of person, you probably noticed in the examples I included the words “don’t you?” at the end of the first ‘which means’, didn’t you? Including these words gets the other person nodding their head (or thinking “Yes”) in agreement with you. It involves them in what you are saying, starts to create rapport and opens them up for the ‘solution’ you are going to describe.
3) Be specific wherever possible. If you can quote figures that catch people’s attention it makes your speech more memorable and people seek you out to find out more.
Let me give you my elevator speech to demonstrate what I mean…
“You know how some companies send out sales letters and get very low numbers in response, which means they spend hundreds or thousands of pounds ($) on printing and postage with very little return, don’t you?
Well, what I do is incr
Psychologists put four monkeys into a cage. In the cage, they erected a pole with a platform on top of it. They put a huge bunch of tantalizing, ripe, yellow bananas on the platform. Soon the monkeys smelt the bananas and eagerly started to climb nimbly up the pole to get at them. Immediately, the psychologists started squirting the monkeys with strong jets of icy cold water from fire hoses. They did this every time the monkeys tried to get to the bananas, and, naturally, soon the monkeys gave up trying. They sat around getting hungry. Then the psychologists removed one of the monkeys and replaced him with a new monkey who had never experienced the wrath of the fire hoses. Soon the
Step 1 “You know how…
Step 2 “Which means …
Step 3 “Well, what I do is…
Step 4 “Which means …
Nuances to Consider
A few things to keep in mind;
1) Always say “You know how some people/companies/businesses…” Nobody likes to be told they’ve got it wrong. You have to be subtle; saying some people or some companies implies it’s a problem other people or companies have – not you or the person you are speaking to. If he identifies with the problem you describe he can ask questions and if he doesn’t, you haven’t insulted him by implying he does.
2) Being an observant sort of person, you probably noticed in the examples I included the words “don’t you?” at the end of the first ‘which means’, didn’t you? Including these words gets the other person nodding their head (or thinking “Yes”) in agreement with you. It involves them in what you are saying, starts to create rapport and opens them up for the ‘solution’ you are going to describe.
3) Be specific wherever possible. If you can quote figures that catch people’s attention it makes your speech more memorable and people seek you out to find out more.
Let me give you my elevator speech to demonstrate what I mean…
“You know how some companies send out sales letters and get very low numbers in response, which means they spend hundreds or thousands of pounds ($) on printing and postage with very little return, don’t you?
Well, what I do is incr
Special Kids eventually grow up to be special adults and they can be very active members of society and pay their own way and function fine with a little supervision. All this without burdening the taxpayer you see?One way they can help society and themselves to a fair paycheck to pay for an apartment and their living expenses is to work with an Organization, which runs a mobile fleet washing business. We had worked thru such a plan back in 1999 with a New Jersey Special Kids Organization to do just that. Corporations with car pool vehicles and fleet ride share vans would pay for the services and the kids would help do the washing to pay for the organization, staff and even
3) Be specific wherever possible. If you can quote figures that catch people’s attention it makes your speech more memorable and people seek you out to find out more.
Let me give you my elevator speech to demonstrate what I mean…
“You know how some companies send out sales letters and get very low numbers in response, which means they spend hundreds or thousands of pounds ($) on printing and postage with very little return, don’t you?
Well, what I do is increase the response to those letters by anything from 262% to 353%, or even more, without spending a penny (?) extra on print and postage, which means they get a substantial increase in sales and profits.”
The figures you quote, which must be truthful because you may be asked to substantiate them, makes your speech far more credible and intriguing.
Develop and Practice
Work on the real solutions you offer, especially if you can identify something that is unique to you or your company. And use the speech whenever you can. At first you will feel awkward giving this little ‘speech’. But after practising and saying it a few times it will become more natural.
At this stage you might be tempted to change the wording. Do be careful – the structure is important. You don’t want to lose the opportunity to intrigue new people you are introduced to, and getting the opportunity to expand your network of contacts. Creating a very ‘woolly’ version of this powerful technique might do just that.
In the ‘Networking Your Way to Profit – Part 3’ article I reveal Your Hidden Marketing Opportunity… until then keep working on your Elevator Speech…
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