Elevator Speeches Revisited

Here’s the best elevator speech I’ve ever heard, from a good friend who is a financial planner. He doesn’t use that title when he networks, because there’s too much baggage and negative connotation connected with it. When someone asks him what he does, he simply says “I help take people from fear and frustration to financial freedom.’ Short, pithy, generates questions and is memorable.

Elevator speeches typically start a networking conversation, where the initial goal is all a about information. You are either seeking information that can help you or are willing to share information that can help someone else. It can be a very transactional and short conversation, like ‘Do you use a contact management software program’ or ‘Is this chamber of commerce worth joining?’ Simple as that.

Depending on the type of information you’re seeking or sharing, that initial exchange can lead to a longer conversation, more conversations or even evolve into a mutually beneficial business relationship. But, those relationships initially begin with the simple act of sharing information … and that begins with a short, engaging and listener-centric elevator speech.