Grabbing attention is something that happens pretty quickly in a networking setting. People are there to talk to others of interest and they will likely hear many intros over the course of the event/evening/day and so you need to merit their attention quickly. The following things are in play therefore:

1. Practical time constraints – you are unlikely to have 10 minutes to talk to one person. Don’t bank on it anyway – they have, and you have, plenty of other people to meet
2. Decision time – you’ve heard how fast people make decisions as to whether they like you, whether they like your appearance in a job interview and so on. The same is true here – your listeners will not take 5 minutes to form an opinion. it is more like 10 -30 seconds
3. Attention span – people will move onto something more interesting if they are not engaged with your message quickly. Keeping it under 30 seconds grabs attention but isn’t enough to answer all their questions so they will want to know more
4. Politeness – you don’t have permission to talk endlessly at a networking meeting. You need to be respectful of other people’s time.

These are all reasons to keep in ming that 30 seconds is your limit, unless specifically told otherwise. Taking less time is OK (as long as you have a compelling message in that time) but going over is not!

Put together your own 30 Second Elevator Speech – www.30SecondElevatorSpeech.com

There are many ways to do this well, but  5 extremely common ways businesses typically sabotage their efforts to grab attention with their introduction.

1. Talking About Yourself

2. Assuming Others Understand You

3. Irrelevent Information

4. Trying to be Cute

5. NOT Trying

For a longer article on what these are, plus tips to avoid making them here is a link to our full length article in Ezine Aritcles:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Elevator-Speech-Examples—The-FIVE-MOST-Common-Mistakes&id=4806450

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

Given that a well thought out elevator speech is an effective marketing tool, how about some elevator speech examples?

Before getting to that it is worth noting that every business is different, even when they outwardly seem very similar. Indeed an elevator speech that really stands out can seem to be a difficult goal when your business is highly competitive.

You may have attended a networking event where there were at least half a dozen businesses in broadly similar fields.

Examples include: Financial planners, Insurance Agents, IT support companies, Chiropractors, Real Estate Agents and so on.

So how do you gain attention in this situation,where introductions typically all sound very much alike?

Here are some (admittedly fabricated) elevator speech examples showing how you can differentiate yourself from the competition, and some of the thinking behind them:

“I work with the recently divorced who are struggling to put their finances back together and are confused as to where to put their energies and how to identify their financial priorities”

Clearly identifies the target audience, and the challenges or concerns that audience is dealing with.  The specific target audience definition is key.

Another example:

“I focus on contractors who need insurance for their work and are not absolutely sure they have fully appropriate coverage. They are worried they might be either over or under insured and seek the reassurance of an agent who specializes in their issues”

Again, concentrates of a defined target and their issues, and in this case also offers a measure of your uniqueness – in other words your specialization.

These are just a couple of examples of an elevator speech that will help you stand out from your competition. The key points here are:

1. Clearly defined client niche
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.

These elevator speech examples cover a situation where you are in competition with many others, and where your profession is well known. It’s important to find what differentiates you in this case. These examples suggest a way to achieve that, and break the pattern of what others are saying.

In this way you will sound fresh and interesting and clearly distance yourself from the competition – that is attention grabbing.

Are you ready to start consistently grabbing more attention with your 30 Second Elevator Speech? Check you this step-by-step online program at http://www.30secondElevatorSpeech.com

Everyone has an elevator speech. When you are a small business owner you will be asked about your business and what you do. Unless you are not going to say anything, you will give an answer and that, like it or not, is your elevator speech. It will create an impression, and you want that to be attention grabbing for the right reason, which brings us to elevator speech humor.

People are attracted to humor, of that there is no doubt. There is a place for it though, and “being funny” is a skill that not everyone possesses to the same extent. It can seem as though an elevator speech is an ideal place for humorous delivery, but there are several reasons to treat this thought with great care:

1. Time – there is a reason the elevator speech is sometimes called a 30 second introduction. You don’t have long. There isn’t time to tell a long story or anecdote. You will lose your listener.

2. Humor is very personal. Something you find incredibly funny will leave others cold. If you are talking to an ideal prospect, and they don’t find your elevator speech amusing, they are likely to be confused or worse…..

3. The risk of giving offense – an elevator speech that upsets someone certainly grabs attention, but not in a good way! You can’t assume that a clever play on words that is perfectly innocent from your perspective, is equally inoffensive to everyone. It is a risk you don’t need to take

4. Pressure – coming up with a great elevator speech takes focused effort and practice. Looking for an amusing spin on that puts a lot of pressure on you that you don’t need.

5. Irrelevance – it is easy to come up with an amusing elevator speech that doesn’t actually help your prospect understand that they might want to learn more about you. They MAY remember your speech, but not actually what you do.

So, there are many reasons to be cautious with your elevator speech when it comes to humor. It CAN be effective, but there biggest risk is assuming that amusing is always good – sometimes being clever actually causes confusion, and a confused mind goes away, rather than engaging with you.

The good news is that humor is not essential. You will get great results when you develop an elevator speech that addresses the issues and challenges faced by your target market. They will engage with that and want to find out more about you – you have grabbed their attention even if you didn’t leave them laughing!

For a step by step how to guide to giving your elevator speech real purpose, visit www.30secondelevatorspeech.com

Whether you call it your 30 second introduction, elevator speech or elevator pitch, it is one of the most important tools in your small business marketing tool kit.

Perhaps the most commonly asked question in the business world is “So, What do you do?” Being able to answer that question in a way that really grabs their attention is the first step.

However you get one chance at it! You need to ensure that you connect in those 30 seconds and to do that, you need to stand out from the crowd.

How do you do that?

Most elevator speeches sound similar. They are primarily a combination of a sales message, perhaps with a tag line or company message, and a list of services. Often there will also be some factual information about the company itself – where their office is located, how long they’ve been in business, years business experience and so on.

There are three main drawbacks to this approach:

1. It sounds the same as most others
2. It is primarily about YOU – and why should your prospect care at this point?
3. You are selling

Most people are going about their business thinking primarily about themselves, not about you. They are looking for solutions to challenges and problems with which they are dealing, they are looking for help.

When you list what you do you are asking them to relate their issues to your services but more importantly, you are not speaking to them on a channel they are listening to – in other words you are talking about yourself and what is important to YOU.

When your message also sounds like numerous examples they have heard before, there is even less chance you will stand out and grab attention.

How do you change this?

1. Define your ideal client in as much detail as you can. Who is your business set up to serve?
2. What problems, issues or challenges is your business set up to solve
3. Stop talking about yourself – when asked what you do, tell them who you help and the problems they are dealing with.

This will sound so different from a standard answer, you will break the pattern they are used to. They will relate to what you say and even if they are not a prospect, they may know someone who is.

In short, you will stand out, and grab their attention.

Do you want to grab more attention with your 30 second introduction or elevator speech? If so I invite you to check out http://www.30SecondIntroduction.com for a step-by-step interactive program.

The business is Amazon. For reasons that are unimportant in their details, suffice it to say it wasn’t Amazon’s fault in any way, a gift for delivery in time for Christmas failed to arrive at all. It was returned to Amazon. On contacting them they got back to me quickly with an apology, a full refund and an offer to waive the shipping cost to ship the items to a different address.

It’s a good recovery, and it’s above what was really required. Remember this isn’t their fault, but they are acting as though it was and making amends accordingly. This is from a large organization, one that you may think wasn’t too bothered by a small order like mine.

The lesson here is that it is never too late to make a good impression. Amazon’s business model is set up to be automated, but of course, things can always go wrong – human error for example. At these times a great opportunity arises to fix it, and actually create a better impression in the minds of your customers and, guess what? They will tell others about it. How are you fixed to create this impression with your clients?

At this time it is worth taking stock of what you have achieved in your marketing efforts this year. It is a good time to reflect on what you have learned, what you know now that you didn’t when you set out on this year’s marketing journey.

Perhaps you have met someone who influenced your efforts positively. Maybe it was a book that gave you particular insight, a new way forward or possibly you had one or more “marketing ah-ha” moments when you made a quantum leap forward.

Whatever it was, developing a mindset of getting better will certainly have thrown you some opportunities of which you took advantage. So take some time to take stock of what those things are (they are always there!) before looking forward to next year, which will be the subject we discuss next week!

Happy Holidays!

This is perhaps an area small businesses can excel. It is not uncommon for “customer service” to be cited as a benefit of using a small business and you, as the owner, have ultimate control over the delivery of your service of course. It is also an area where lessons can be learned when corporate organizations do it well.

Recently I came across an example from one of the ultimate corporate bodies, Starbucks. It is east to critique this organization for delivering the same experience the world over, and the fact that the coffee can be pricey. However there is no denying the quality of that consistency and success of the brand in delivering what it sets out to do.

This success sometimes leads to a busy store of course. The other day I was waiting in line while the staff rushed to complete everyone’s order quickly and correctly. I did have to wait, but not for long. The longest wait was to pay, so much so that my coffee was ready before I was first in line to pay.
I was handed the coffee and told it was “on the house”. What is my feeling towards Starbucks as a result? Hugely positive. All the more so because it is unexpected. There is an assumption (at least there was for me) that this didn’t happen here. The cost to the organization was minimal in overall terms. It isn’t something that happens all the time and isn’t giving away huge amounts of profit. The goodwill generated however is priceless.

This happened many months ago and I still tell people about it. This is outstanding customer service, truly give to get even if I never go back to that particular coffee shop. What can you do in your small business to generate such good feelings in your prospects and clients?

For some businesses, this is critical information. When you are a retailer, or a salon for example, it is very important people know where to find you. However, let’s be honest, for a great many endeavours, where they are physically located isn’t that important. Even when location is a major factor, it probably isn’t of sufficient relevance to be the first thing you tell others.

Why? There are a few reasons this isn’t where you should start:

• It isn’t very relevant – your office is administrative, so where it lies doesn’t affect the service you provide
• It is about YOU – it’s your stuff. Making your message about the issues and challenges faced by your target market is all important. Your location doesn’t tick that box
• Everyone says it – as mentioned above, it is a common tactic. It is safe, certainly not likely to offend, but therefore bland as well. When everyone says the same thing, it loses a huge amount of impact
• It wastes time – you don’t have long to grab attention!

Eliminating this approach will give you time to focus on a more attractive message. That message is much more effective when based in the problems, issues and challenged your target market is dealing with. Unless your location addresses those issues, best to leave it out!

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