You are at a networking event. Someone asks you what you do. Are you a little flustered and stuttering over what to say? Meanwhile that person is thinking “Oh my gosh this person is gushing on and I still don’t have a clue what they do. Sorry I asked.”
If someone reacts internally that way, even if you don’t know they are actually thinking that, you have missed a great opportunity. They have shut you down. They are figuring out how to get away from you and move on to someone else. This happens so many times at networking events.
Or have you ever been to one of those conferences where the leader tells you to get up and tell five people what you do in the next five minutes. Ugh!! You could be sitting next to someone on an airplane, standing in a line at Starbucks. “Hey what do you do?”
If you had only created and memorized exactly what it is your do and how you help people, and be able to say it in one minute. Your one-minute elevator speech. Then someone might stay and listen wanting to learn more.
Well I have a super quick way to help you figure out how to create your one-minute marketing speech. With this little exercise, you will be able to fashion one together in a flash. Get out a pen and paper and get writing. Follow these five little steps.
- What is your product? Is it a service? Or something more tangible like books, a restaurant, or theatre.
- How does your business (product or service) help solve someone’s problem or add comfort or luxury to their lives?
- Make it personal so that the person hearing your one-minute speech gets your passion and wants to hear more.
- What makes your product or service so unique or special?
- What is your why? What is that something special about you and your mission that made you pick this particular business and want to deliver it to your customer.
Now take the answers to those five questions and craft it into your one-minute speech. Check your time when you are done. If you go over a little, it’s no big deal. But no longer than 90 seconds.
Your Elevator Speech can be converted into many other opportunities. You can use it as a business statement. It can be in written form as well as orally. For example, you can use it in an email, or as the summary in a proposal. It makes a great header for your business plan. You can use it on your website and most importantly as we said at the beginning, if you are at a networking event and someone says “what do you do” you have an awesome answer. If it is appealing enough, your audience will keep listening or reading.
I thought I would share my one-minute elevator speech. What do you think? I clocked it at 57.42 seconds.
You can take your fabulous one-minute speech and frame it in a video. Now you have a calling card that you can use on Facebook, in your email signature, or even on your website.
By the way, there may be times when you only have 7 seconds. Here is my 7 second statement:
Hi I am Janet. We help small business owners with their online marketing and show them how they can do it on a shoestring budget.
