One of the most common questions when meeting someone new is “What do you do for work?”

This is just general chit-chat for most people but for anyone who is an entrepreneur, there is an added twist.

Depending on what we do, the answer to that question could mean a new customer or business partner or not.

We can’t be sure if what we offer is going to be of benefit to the other person, but if we can frame it in the right way, there is the greatest possibility of them really hearing us with an open mind.

What makes the difference between this scenario playing out beautifully vs. brutally?The key to getting good at this is an exercise in crafting a compelling Elevator Pitch.

The Elevator Pitch

One of the best ways to ensure that question is answered well is to practice what you could say and have a number of versions of what to say.  This is commonly referred to as an Elevator Pitch.

The idea with an Elevator Pitch is to be able to communicate what it is that you do clearly and concisely enough that if you were on an elevator, you would be able to give them a strong impression of what you do before they got to their floor.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpNIdg7nRJw[/youtube]

How to Write a Compelling Elevator Pitch

There are three key areas that I like to focus on when writing an Elevator Pitch:

 

Meaningful and Relevant to the Person

Clear and Concise

Communicated with Emotion


Being Relevant and Meaningful

This is the single most important area to focus on.  It’s useful to ask yourself in all of your marketing and presenting “Why should they care?”  If you answer that question first and uncover what’s in it for the other person you are on the right track.

Benefits over Features

It’s really easy to go on about all of the features of what it is that we offer, but it’s  a huge mistake to lead with this.  Instead focus on how what you do benefits others.  Remember, someone who buys a drill doesn’t really want a drill, they want holes.  The drill is just a device that enables them to get what it is that they really want.

It’s important to keep things in balance and not just be going on about all of the benefits without covering some features that allow these benefits.  You have probably heard the expression “Sell the sizzle, not the steak”.  This is true as long as the person gets the steak.

Ask Great Questions

It’s almost impossible to know what matters most to someone unless you know more about them.  Ask questions to find problems that what you offer could help them solve.  If you can offer a solution to help someone with a pain they know that they have, you shift from someone trying to sell something to a friend and advisor.

How to be Clear and Concise

Practice writing Twitter style “Sound Bytes” about what you do.  Cover different aspects of what it is that you do and come up with a 140 character or less sound byte for each.  Keep going and practice, practice, practice.

 

How to Communicate with More Emotion

Any time we communicate with others about what we do, it’s essential to be in a strong state and emotionally engaged with the person and with what it is that we offer.  By focusing on what we love most about what we do as well as how it feels to help others with what we do, it makes it easier to be more connected and empathetic towards them.

A good practice in state management is to sit and get yourself into a bored and tired, low energy state.  Once you are there focus on your business, how much you love it and the stories of everyone who you have helped already.

Then get to that bored and tired state.

Now focus on all that you have done and focus into the future and imagine all of those people who you haven’t met yet who will have their lives changed by you and keep expanding.  Make your vision as full and big as you can.

That’s what you should bring to people.  Neither you nor they deserve any less.  You never know how what you can help a person and by mastering these three areas, they will be the most open to what you have to say.

The Elevator Pitch Exercise

1. Write down what you have been telling people in answer to “What do you do?” (In 30 seconds or less)

2. Write the most dry and sterile version of what you do.  (30 seconds or less)

3. Use everything that was covered in this post and make the most powerful and compelling elevator pitch that you can.  Once you have one great version, write another to address a different type of person with a different need.  (Each version should be 30 seconds or less).

Keep Practicing and this will get easier and easier and you will have a larger number of standy Elevator Pitches to draw from.

 

To your massive impact!

 

Paul Reimers

 

P.S. If you enjoyed this post, I would love it if you could share it on Facebook, Twitter and social bookmarking sites like Digg.

 

 

 

 

Tagged with: • • • •

Filed under: Marketing

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!