While on the phone with a client I heard a familiar lament–How do I express what I do in my 30-second commercial?
No wonder it’s so hard to capture that moment of your audience’s attention. I’m a coach, speaker and author, and here’s what I did yesterday:
- Coached clients
- Packed for a speaking engagement
- Blogged
- Wrote 2 thank you notes
- Submitted a report to an association I volunteer for
- Invoiced a client
- Ordered a tablecloth for an upcoming trade show
- Made an appointment for a massage (self-care is a big part of my life)
- Debriefed my Community call
- Watched a relevant youtube video
- Listened to a podcast by Seth Godin
- Had a planning session with my marketing consultant
- Met with my advisory board
- Shared meals with close friends
- Meditated (2x)
- Walked several miles
I’m certain that your day was equally diverse, yet networking functions require you to capsulize who you are in a half-minute. I suggested to my client that WHO she is speaks louder than WHAT she says. It may be easy to state, “I’m a lawyer or a consultant” but most of us simply make up what that means anyway based on historic knowledge of others who call themselves by a similar label.
Does anyone have a good solution to this common issue? I’d love to know and will be happy to share it with every entrepreneur I know.
Jane, here is a wonderful piece on Fast Company about this very issue: http://www.fastcompany.com/3004484/problem-your-elevator-pitch-and-how-fix-it
@Nancy
Bless you! What a terrific summation! So glad to share it with my readers.
Thank you for making me feel better about how I so strongly dislike giving a rehearsed elevator pitch, and that is precisely why I never give one.
I love making personal connections first and then sharing what I do as I learn what my networking ‘buddy’ does.
By the way, this all happens within 3 minutes!
@Scarlett
Made me feel better too. Occasionally someone knocks it out of the park with theirs, but mostly it’s what you describe–the 1:1 connections and sharing that work best. Thanks for commenting.
I find it easier to say who I help and how I help them rather than describe what I “do” – so “I help busy working mothers be the best mom they can be”. It’s simple, it’s friendly, and it invites the inevitable response of – ‘how do you do that’ – to which I can respond in more detail.
Plus – this puts in my regular speaking voice rather than sounding rehearsed which soooo many elevator pitches do.
@Jennifer
It even reads friendlier and more accessible. Thanks for sharing this tip with us.
@Jane
It always helps to answer the question in a way that clearly communicates your special assets. And keep it to one sentence. For example, I say: “I create videos that help my clients get more sales.” It’s better to be short and intriguing than more detailed and less intriguing. The response is often: “What do you mean videos that help your clients get more business?” Exactly the response I want 🙂
BTW, great Fast Company article (on above link). To some extent the answer depends of the environment. Which is why I always try to avoid the loud, distracting networking events filled with people asking “So what do you do?”