For Powerful Business Networking, Elevate Your Elevator Speech

For some reason, the term elevator speech makes me feel sleepy. These self-introductions tend to be dreary and boring. They follow a predictable fill-in-the-blanks pattern.

The first time someone explained the concept to me, he used Option 1: You know how stressed-out people get when theyre moving? Well, I have a three-step easy-move system...

Yawn.

Option 2 starts off more marketing oriented. I work with solo-preneurs who are struggling to sell themselves without sounding sales-y.

True. But Ive discovered a better way to tell my story...by telling a story.

Recently I met a financial consultant who opened with, I help clients manage money. For example, one client was a recently divorced woman who just suffered a devastating financial loss. She was afraid shed have to declare bankruptcy. Two years later, shes living in her own home and buying investment property...

Well, I may have gotten a few details wrong, but that was the gist of her story. Everyone in hearing distance leaned over to ask, Can I have your card?

So I went home and, just for fun, created some examples from my own experience.

For example, one client had a beautiful calling card website but all the revenue came from face-to-face networking events. We overhauled the website, added an e-course and created a section to showcase her services. Now the website brings in serious inquiries and occasionally a sale after a single phone call.

For example, I wrote a press release for an arts groups annual seminar. The story got picked up by the big city papers and a couple of suburban weeklies. We tripled attendance rates from the year before and the group had to go out and find a new meeting room.

No success stories? Too new?

For example, a client might come to me with a brilliant information product on a hot topic and a track record of zero. I would help the client discover hidden benefits, develop some bonuses and write a direct response sales letter that would bring in revenue almost immediately.

Isnt this a lot more fun than, I help people who...

After all, an elevator speech is copy, just like your web site and your sales letter.

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., coaches and writes copy for service professionals who want to increase the marketing potential of their websites. Visit http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com Get a free download of 7 Best-Kept Secrets of Client Attracting Copy http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com/subscribe.html

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