An elevator speech is a short description of what you do that is told to someone else in the time it takes an elevator to go from the bottom floor to the top. It’s the traditional way that business associates introduce themselves to one another and answers the question “What do you do for a living?? Good elevator speeches last about ten seconds and contain enough creativity and information so they’re remembered long after they’re given.When asked “What do you do??, the worst answer you can give is “I’m an ________________? (accountant, or lawyer, or consultant, or whatever). Answering like this only tells your listener what you are, not how you help others. When you label yourself this way, you forgo any discussion of the benefits you provide to others and leave this up to the listener to figure on their own.
Photo by frozenquack.
Shazzlicker on July 13th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
Hi Dane,
I wish I could get the rest of this article without being sent in a loop by the link to sign up to their free service.
Rick on July 13th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Dane,
VC’s and entrepreneurs call them elevator pitches, BNI calls them 60 second commercials, Dave Kurlan calls them Postioning Statements. You may want to suggest his book at http://www.baselineselling.com .
Russell P. Rozanski on July 14th, 2006 at 6:16 am
Hi Dane,
Great advice. I work with business owners every day and frequently find that don’t mentor their employees or staff to have this kind of mentality. We are always selling ourselves and the services our companies provide. Thanks for the resource.
Harold Jarche » The value of elevator pitches for free-agents on July 14th, 2006 at 9:01 am
[...] Dane has a short post on the importance of elevator pitches and how it’s more important to explain what you do instead of what your job title is (e.g. I’m a consultant). [...]
Scott Ingram on July 16th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
An elevator speech is just the beginning, and very few folks are good at describing precisely what they do in 30 seconds…
If you’re really looking to build your network you might want to follow your brief introduction with an invitation.
Why don’t we grab a cup of coffee. I’d love to learn more about you and your business. Maybe there are some ways we could help each other?
Happy networking!
Scott Ingram
http://www.NetworkInAustin.com