If you are a member of a Chamber of Commerce, Trade Association or Professional Referral Group, you will probably have an opportunity to deliver an “elevator speech” to the other members. These brief opportunities to address a roomful of people can be great opportunities for your company.
This is a chance for you to make a first impression with many of the members. When done well, your elevator speech will motivate the attendees to want to work with you.
Over the years I have heard literally thousands of elevator speeches. The vast majority of them are not effective. Their presentations are delivered off the cuff and do not motivate anyone to want to do business with them. In fact, most of the attendees have already tuned them out before their presentation is over. Whatever they said will not be memorable, and it will not motivate anyone to take action.
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This Biz Tip article is the first of a two-part series on developing and delivering a great elevator speech. Here are a few fundamental non-negotiables for developing and delivering powerful elevator speeches.
- You must start with your goal in mind. What action or behavior do you want the audience to do as a result of your presentation? Do you want them to buy your product or service?
- If you want an effective and powerful elevator speech, you must invest some time designing and practicing it. If it is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Be prepared in advance, do not just “wing it” ever again.
- You may not get it perfect the first time, so gauge the response of the audience. This will determine if what you have is working or if you need to try a different approach. Did the audience take the action or change the behavior you wanted them to?
Be sure to read next week’s Biz Tip article on tactical tips for elevator speeches.
Bill Nordbrock
Bill Nordbrock is vice president of community relations for SCORE Southern Arizona, a nonprofit group that offers free small-business counseling and mentoring by appointment at several locations. For information, go to southernarizona.score.org, send an email to mentoring@scoresouthernaz.org or call 505-3636.
