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Develop Your Elevator
Speech
by John Boe
April 6, 2002
You might be wondering, what
on earth is an elevator speech and why would I want to develop
one? An elevator speech is a short but powerful statement that
gives another person an understanding of what you do for a living.
The reason that it is called an "elevator speech" is
that you must be able to communicate what you do quickly, say
from the fifth floor to the ground level of a hotel. The key
to an effective elevator speech is to only give enough information
to cause the other person to ask you for more information on
what you do.
Top salespeople always ask the other person what they do for
a living. People prefer to talk about themselves and what they
do rather than listen to what you might have to say. This is
especially true if you are talking to another salesperson and
they perceive you to be a potential prospect. Show interest in
what they tell you and ask them one or two questions about what
they do.
After they have finished answering
your questions, they will generally be curious about what you
do for a living. This is when you give them your elevator speech.
Be careful not to overwhelm them with a series of benefit statements
on what your product or service can do for them. Don't tell them
how good or how big your company is; just tell them why organizations
and individuals come to you.
If you say your first statement
correctly, they will ask you one or two follow up questions just
to clarify your statement. For example, this is my elevator speech.
Remember, by this point they have already told me about themselves
and what they do for a living. If I decide that they are a potential
prospect, I tell them; "I work with organizations that are
serious about increasing sales production and with executives
interested in improving their recruiting program." My elevator
speech creates the environment for an interested prospect to
naturally want to find out more information about what I do and
how I do it. Only give enough information to cause the other
person to ask you for more information on what you do.
If you haven't developed your
elevator speech, do it today. Practice your elevator speech in
the mirror every morning until you have it down pat, and then
try it out on your next prospect!
John Boe, based in Monterey, CA, is recognized as one of the
nation's top sales trainers and motivational speakers. He helps
companies recruit, train, and motivate salespeople to achieve
peak performance. John is a leading authority on body language
and temperament styles. To view his online Video Demo or to have
John Boe speak at your next event, visit http://www.johnboe.com
or call (831) 375-3668. Subscribe to John's FREE monthly newsletter,
The Prospector: http://www.johnboe.com/newsletter.html
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