Have you heard the expression "elevator speech." In case you haven't, it's a brief explanation of what you do for a living, or what your company does, given in the time it takes for an elevator ride. Preparing an elevator speech forces you to really think about what you do that's different from your competitors, and to distill it down into a short statement. The goal of a good elevator speech is to get the listener to ask you for more information.
While you may not spend a lot of time in elevators, you certainly meet people all the time who ask you what you do. It's a perfect opportunity to plant the seeds for future business and referrals. "I sell widgets" isn't likely to make much of an impression but "I'm in the business of saving homeowners hundreds of dollars each year on their energy bills" is sure to invite the question, "How do you do that?"
John Jantsch, in his "Duct Tape Marketing Newsletter" calls it a "personal marketing message" or a "talking logo". He offers the following formula:
" Here's the pattern: Action verb, (I show, I teach, I help) target market, (business owners, homeowners, teachers, divorced women, Fortune 500 companies) how to xxxx = solve a problem or meet a need that you know your marketing has.
Now ask yourself, "Who wouldn't want to know more when you heard a talking logo that spoke directly to you?" Communicating a powerful message like this will get you referral appointments too."
As Jantsch points out, the next step is to be prepared to answer the "How do you do that?" question. Once you're asked for more information, that's your invitation to explain how you can help THEM. Try it. It works. And the best part, it costs absolutely nothing!
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