The Dreaded Elevator Speech

I first heard the phrase "elevator speech" in the early 80s. The idea is that you should be able describe your business / idea / work in 10-20 seconds (the amount of time you might be in an elevator with someone). But not just describe it but describe in such a compelling way (find just the right "gotcha" wording) to have your elevator-mate wow'd over by the time they got to their floor, begging you for more information.

Even as a word junkie, with a pretty decent vocabulary at hand, I found it an impossible task.

I've been coaching a therapist re-opening her practice after 6 years off. One of the first things she was anxious to do was write her "elevator speech". She was excited, thinking I would give her the exact right words to ensnare potential clients with the brilliance of her words. She'd just memorize it and shoot it out every time she got near a potential client.

She wasn't exactly right and she wasn't exactly wrong.

You may not call it an "elevator speech" but a lot of us have become aware that we only have a short amount of time (generally no more than 1-2 sentences) to describe our work in a way that engages the listener or piques their interest. When they are engaged / piqued they are open to hearing more. That's when you have the time to create a connection.

I teach a seminar on business plans (in July in DC, at the national AMTA convention in September). In discussions with a friend who's also a retired CFO (Chief Financial Officer) about executive summaries and mission statements, he said something that helped me get clear on this:

The Executive Summary is truly the "hook" or "pitch". Clearly it has importance if someone is looking for external funds but it's also the pitch that's used to "sell" to friends; it's intended to pull all the aspects [of the business] into a cohesive narrative. The mission statement is almost one level higher and where the individual (or management) is permitted to dream -- within the scope of resources identified in the plan.

So this is where the small business person / massage therapist usually freaks out but they need to see that they "speak" their Executive Summary every time they talk about their "business" to someone else.

While I can't wrap my brain around an elevator speech, I can craft a good mission statement (it helps to have good guidance; Jim Horan's One Page Business Plan in my case). A good mission statement says something creative, imaginative, and Big about how your practice will make a difference in the world. Mine is:

Help people live more peacefully in and with their bodies, while extending a spirit of acceptance, compassion, and hospitality.

I have this statement (or some version of it) everywhere in  my marketing material. My website, my FB page, my "new client" card, everywhere. It gives me a consistent "image". When it's a thing I speak, it's something like this: "I help people live in their bodies and I help people live with their bodies."

So, what do you do.......?



p.s. That's my mission statement. You'll have to draft your own!  :)