How Is Your Elevator Speech?

Your elevator speech may not be doing its job.

You network. You go to WordCamps, trade shows, meetups, and vendor fairs. You attend seminars and conferences. But you don’t seem to get new business, or even get noticed at all. What are you doing wrong?

It might be your introduction – or “elevator speech.”

An elevator speech or “pitch” is a brief introduction to another professional in which you share your name and other business information about you and/or your company. It’s called an “elevator speech” because you’re supposed to be able to complete it in the time it would take an elevator to take you from the ground floor to the office floor…usually about 30-45 seconds.

Think of it as a live, in-person tweet: 280 characters or less.

OK, so you can use more than 280 characters, but you get the idea. Just like a tweet, an elevator speech should be carefully crafted to include all of the important information, but in a way that is engaging and memorable. So what should you include?

• Your name
• Your position
• Your business name
• What your business does
• What your business purpose is
• Something interesting to make it memorable

My elevator speech goes something like this:

I’m Michelle Frechette, Director of Community Engagement at StellarWP. I help our WordPress plugins get well-deserved recognition in social media, podcasts, blog posts, events and more. I would love the opportunity to show you how StellarWP brands can help your business be even more successful. We’re Stellar for a reason.

So what did I include?

• My name (Michelle Frechette)
• My title/position (Director of Community Engagement)
• My business name (StellarWP)
• What my business does (WordPress plugins)
• My business purpose (helping other businesses be more successful)
• Something memorable (We’re Stellar for a reason.)

And notice how I said “help your business be even more successful?  That is purposeful. No one likes others to put down their business or imply that they aren’t successful. When you’re trying to do marketing, that’s a dangerous line to tap dance on! By saying “even more successful” I acknowledge their current success, and let them know I can help take them to the next level.

Ready to stand out? Push the “UP” button and ride the elevator all the way to the top!