Bright Ideas #104 – Take Your Elevator Speech to the Next Level in 5 Simple Steps

The first part of your elevator speech is easy. Simply introduce yourself and your company. The rest takes a bit more thought and preparation. So I’ve broken it down into 5 simple steps.

>>Step 1 - Identify your ideal customer.

And I don’t mean small businesses, or women, or anyone with money.

Dig deeper than that and try to come up with a profile of the person who most needs—and is able to buy—what you sell.

For example, it would be easy to say my clients are small business owners. But that’s not detailed enough. Instead, I’ve narrowed it down to the following...

I work with businesses that have less than 20 office employees, have been in business at least 2 years, and are struggling to grow for one of three reasons:

1) They have relied solely on referrals and word of mouth, and it isn’t enough anymore.
2) They are stuck in the feast or famine cycle and burning out.
3) They’ve tried of wasting time and money doing their own marketing and getting little or no results.

The goal is to get the listener to see themselves, or someone they know, in your story.

>>Step 2 - Explain the problems you solve, or the needs and wants you meet, for your ideal client.

I tell people that “I help savvy entrepreneurs take the stress, struggle and confusion out of marketing and growing their small businesses by offering a variety of free resources, as well as products, services and workshops via my Website www.success-stream.com.”

>>Step 3 - If you have time, share some of the results you’ve created as well.

When I have a full minute, I add this piece in...

“I’ve had clients see a 300% increase in response to one ad by just making a few of the changes I suggested. And I’ve written sales letters for clients that pulled so well they had to quit sending them out. I’ve also saved clients from wasting thousands on tactics that were never going to bring in enough business to justify the cost.”

>>Step 4 – Give ‘em a reason to take action now.

Offering something for f*ree is an easy way to take your elevator speech to the next level and get interested listeners to take action. I like to offer folks the opportunity to sign up for this e- newsletter or my F*ree 7 Sins report.

>>Step 5 – Repetition is key.

Repeat your name and business name one last time, along with your tag line if you have one. This is the very last thing they are going to here you say, so if they forget the rest, hopefully they’ll at least remember this.

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An Example to Follow
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Just to make sure this is all crystal clear for you, here’s a copy of my 1-minute elevator speech. Of course, just like a resume, I tweak it to suit different audiences and situations.

“Hi, I’m Stacy Karacostas with SuccessStream Sales and Marketing Solutions. I help savvy entrepreneurs take the stress, struggle and confusion out of growing their small business.

If you have a terrific product or service, but are having trouble taking your business to the next level…if you are tired of wasting time and money on marketing and advertising that doesn’t get results…or if you are sick of being stuck in the feast or famine cycle, I’ve got a variety of products,
workshops, services and free resources to help you get more bang for your marketing buck on my Website www.success-stream.com.

Here’s a couple examples to give you an idea of what I do...I helped one of my clients increase response to an ad by 300% just by making a few, simple changes. Another of my clients had to quit sending out the sales letters I wrote because they couldn’t handle all the new business that came in.

If you’d like to learn how to get these kinds of results from your own marketing, without spending a dime, I invite you to sign up for my write a free, weekly e-newsletter, Bright Ideas. It’s filled with practical tips and ideas on marketing, sales, copywriting and more. Just put a star on the back of your business card and hand it to me. I’ll get you signed up.

Again I’m Stacy Karacostas at SuccessStream, providing practical solutions for turning your small business into a big success.”

Once you’ve got your elevator speech scripted, practice it until it flows naturally. Then keep tweaking it to suit the audience or get better results. Happy holiday networking!

©2002-2006 Success Stream. All Rights Reserved. www.success-stream.com

Do you have a marketing, advertising or writing question you’d like to have answered? Email me and you might see the answer in a future edition of Bright Ideas.

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©2002-2006 Success Stream. All Rights Reserved. www.success-stream.com

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