Anatomy of an Elevator Speech

By Schuyler Melby

The Anatomy of a 30 Second Commercial:

In today's entertaining market we all have to do a little more to make get noticed by our clients and customers. Many people looking to increase their exposure have added networking to their marketing repertoire. This is a great way to exponentially boost your marketing and get introduced to vast numbers of potential clients you would not otherwise have access to. Additionally, the people that you network with can become your extraneous sales force, turning cold calls into warm (if not hot) referrals, and who couldn't use more of those. The biggest challenge that faces most new, as well as seasoned, networkers is getting their message, ideals and persona across in a limited and concise manner. Most networking events give only a small window of opportunity to present yourself and your company, whether they are chamber events, networking groups or social mixers. It is our your job to introduce yourself, divulge what you do and who you do it for, as well as develop some kind of rapport quickly and effectively. If your approach is off, you come off as a bad used car salesman (sorry, good used car salesmen). However, if you do it well, the results are personal introductions to interested and active clients. So it is very important to make sure that you have created some phenomenal commercials and know them well enough to deliver them without error or hesitation. Each 30 Second Commercial is comprised of four distinct parts. The following explains what should be included as well as where and when to deliver them.

The Intro:

The intro is fairly simple in that it is your name and the name of your business. The "fairly simple" part is a brief description of what you do. For example, mine is "Hello, I'm Schuyler Melby with Beyond You Unlimited, Personal Intuitive Business Coach." It is very important that his introduction be exactly the same every time you introduce yourself in any business situation, and should roll out as easily as breathing (I like to think of this as the Drunken Monkey Scripts - it should be so ingrained that even drunk as a monkey you should be able to deliver this immediately and confidently.) The reason for this is two-fold; one reason is to make your intro more memorable for yourself, the more you say it the easier it will become to say it. The second reason is to make you more memorable to those people whom you introduce yourself to. A consistent message leads to being more memorable. It can be referred to as Personal Branding.

The Message:

This is a brief description of what you do or offer your clients and can and should change with every telling, depending upon the networking situation. In one time networking environments, the message should be the most expressive and compelling without becoming a lecture. In a networking group, you want to change and vary the message to deliver all aspects and variations of your business to the people in your group. We all do a great deal more than just one thing, so it is important that you let everyone know all that you do. There is nothing worse than listening to another group member brag about the deal they made with someone else for a product or service that you offer and forgot to mention. The main purpose of this part of your commercial is to Arm your networking sales force. Just remember to keep your message upbeat and focused on delivering a solution to specific problems, don't bore or scare your group. Fear based selling is a poor marketing tool, but that is a different topic.

The Ask:

Now that you have armed your group with what you do, you need to Aim them at your target market. This section will tend to come up as normal conversation in a one-time networking event and should not necessarily be part of your commercial, but is crucial in a networking group. The other members of your group are your extended sales force and need to know who you are looking for specifically. I cannot express how important it is that you solidly know who your target market is and express that to your group. You don't know who everyone else in your group knows and that will work in your favor, allowing you to be as specific as you want or need to be. Please, please, please just do not use the word anyone or someone. In order to facilitate an introduction, the group members must be thinking of someone specifically and the word anyone is too broad to create a mental connection. Instead link the Ask to the message (since they are already thinking of that) and personalize it; your Aunt, Mom and Dad, Brother, Neighbor, Partner, the creepy guy down the street, etc. The main idea here is that the more specific you get, the more likely you will be introduced to the right clients. You can even use names and positions, for instance John Doe, the HR director at a large corporation. Once again you never know who they know. I have seen and experienced this work numerous times. Just keep in mind that your ask needs to change as you try new target markets and marketing strategies.

The Hook:

Use this section to bookend your commercial, which will help solidify your needs in the group's collective mind. Repeat your name and company, as in the intro, but use a unique and memorable phrase or slogan. This is a variation on mnemonic methods; the more memorable the hook, the better your group will remember. In this case, often Cheddar is Better. Sometimes the cheesier the hook the more memorable it will be. Use a rhyme, play on words, and humor (well, appropriate humor). Finishing off your message with a smile or laugh will ingrain it into the minds of your audience more than without it. Much like your intro, the hook should remain constant and always be delivered at the end of your commercial for the maximum impact and retention.

The most useful application of this formula is in developing a strong Intro and Hook. Then come up with as many different versions of the message as you have aspects of your business. Finally, create a few Ask scripts to cover the clients that you want to be introduced to. By doing this you enable yourself to mix and match your scripts as you need them in order to create a readily available library of commercials ideally suited for various upcoming networking events. Piece together a matching Message to the right Ask and you are ready to go make the connections that will lead to solid, personal introductions to your new clients and customers.

The next steps are to create the right message for you and your business as well as locking in your target market and developing the right introduction and hook. For more assistance in achieving the right success with networking you can visit http://www.BeyondYouUnlimited.com. Or if you are looking for a new and innovative networking opportunity please visit http://www.GoABRA.com. Schuyler Melby is the founder and head coach of Beyond You Unlimited, a Personal Intuitive Business Coaching Practice. His analytical and innovative problem solving, compassion and intuition, a thirst for knowledge and a desire to share what he has learned with others has given him a unique perspective with which he helps others find solutions to achieve their goals and dreams. Find the solutions to the issues that seem Beyond You at BeyondYouUnlimited.com.