Marketing Action Club BLOG

Elevator Speech Examples – How do you make your Elevator Speech stand out when your business is unfamilar to most of your audience?

How about some elevator speech examples when you are in a less competitive business? There is good news and bad news in this situation.

When your business is not something most people come across every day, you have the advantage that your elevator speech will likely be novel to those listening. In contrast to the networking event where there are 5 people who essentially give the same message, in your case you will almost certainly be the only one.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that your audience will not have any idea what you do and you need to get that across quickly and in a manner that grabs their attention and that they understand.

You may have heard examples of elevator speeches that leave you thinking: “huh? I heard the words but I didn’t understand what that person does”. That isn’t a reaction you want. When there is a lack of understanding there tends to be a lack of action.

The businesses I am talking about includes any that defy an easy label. Examples are endless but could include various specific forms of consultancy, coaching, niche specific services that help businesses save money and so on. The fact that they are specific is the challenge – how do you get people to understand and identify themselves to you as potention clients?

How do you gain attention in this situation?

Here are some fictional elevator speech examples with an explanation of the thinking:

“I work with small business owners who are frustrated that although they love their business, it has taken over their lives and they are beginning to resent the lack of time they have to spend with their family”

This example identifies the target audience and the issue they are dealing with. It avoids the use of terms that might confuse such as “coach” and invites the listener to think about who they know that might fit that definition. It also invites the question: “How do you do that?” which is a good thing.

Another example:

“We are focussed on fast growing, medium sized businesses that are struggling to bring the right people into the business to manage such growth, and are concerned that they are not keeping up with legal and administrative issues as they bring people on board so fast”

Again, identifies the target and a couple of issues. The language is simplistic, avoiding jargon, and keeps the focus on the challenges the ideal clients are facing. 

In summary, the solution to the challenge of having an unfamiliar service is essentially the same as it is when describing a familiar one:

1. Clearly defined client niche – especially important when your service is specialized
2. The nature of the issues those clients face and their concerns
3. No “traditional” elevator speech material about your services, experience and where your office is located.
4. Avoids jargon – a particular temptation when you work frequently in a very specific niche.

These elevator speech examples follow this model and the great news is that once you have grabbed attention and are in a conversation with a prospect, they will likely not have been exposed to your type of service before. They may not even have realized there was a solution to their challenges. That is a great conversation to have!

For more step-by-step advice on creating a real ATTENTION GRABBING 30 Second Elevator Speech, visit http://www.30secondElevatorSpeech.com