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DO YOU HAVE A GOOD ELEVATOR SPEECH? By Tom Reilly Author, Value Added Selling (McGraw-Hill, 2003) The elevator speech has been around for at least as long as there have been elevators, probably longer. The elevator speech is a succinct overview or quick summary of your value proposition. It’s a sales pitch in the time span of an elevator ride. It’s your verbal business card. Introduce yourself and your company. Explain what you do. Tell them who your customers are. Tell them what makes you unique. Tips for elevator speeches: 1. Keep it short—30 seconds or less. 2. Planned does not mean canned. Rehearse until it sounds natural and conversational. Use your natural style and conversational rhythm to make it sound like you. 3. Have three separate elevator speeches—one for purchasing agents that focuses on logistics, one for product users that focuses on application issues, and one for business owners or top management that focuses on profitability and productivity. 4. Passion sells and enthusiasm is contagious. Infect the prospect with your natural excitement for what you sell. Develop the attitude: “Of course they’ll want to do business with us.” 5. When first developing your elevator speech, write down as much as you think is relevant; you will edit it later. 6. Practice makes perfect. Consider it organic and evolving. Try different variations until you find the right mix. The elevator speech is one of those old chestnuts in professional selling that we sometimes forget about. Bring it out and dust it off. Try it on your next cold call, which I know you’re making. |
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