You may have heard the term “elevator speech” before, but perhaps you didn’t really understand what it meant. In short, an elevator speech is that 15 to 30 second window that you have someone’s attention whom you’ve just met. You might only have time to introduce yourself in an elevator, for instance. Typically, the person may ask, “What do you do?” Your answer is your elevator speech!

The goal, of course, is to have an intriguing answer that will make everyone want to find out more about you and your business. Unfortunately, many people simply provide their job title, assuming everyone knows they type of work someone with that title performs. But what does that really tell about your business or area of expertise?

A compelling elevator speech provides the benefits of what you do for your clients or customers in a way that almost requires them to ask more questions about what you do. People want to know what’s in it for them. If you can’t tell them what you do for a living by explaining what’s in it for them, they will lose interest very quickly, likely thinking that what you do does not even apply to their needs.

So how do you prepare an elevator speech that will spur interest? The first thing you need to think about is how your particular profession can be helpful to them. What can you do to solve their problems or make their life easier?

Here are a few examples:

  • An accountant or financial planner: “I help people to create a firm financial foundation so that they can retire early.” Wow! Who doesn’t want to retire early on a firm financial foundation? I’d want to learn more!
  • Online marketing specialist: “I help business owners become experts in their field.” Sounds a lot more interesting than creating online content and posting it all over the web, right? And what business owner doesn’t want to be the expert?
  • Life or business coach: “I remove barriers that hold people back, and then watch as they achieve their goals.” Everyone has challenges in their lives. If I met someone with this elevator speech I would think they really had excellent skills or unique techniques that could help me.
  • Photographer: “I capture and share the unique beauty in every person.” The trick is to customize your elevator speech for your audience: “I capture and share the unique beauty in every person for businesses, so that customers feel as though they know and trust who they are working with simply by seeing your photo.” Doesn’t that sound like a must have to you?

Remember that the whole idea of an elevator speech is to open a conversation with someone who might be interested in your product or service. You don’t need it to be long or drawn out at this point. You simply want to pique their interest and make it memorable. Once they seem interested, then you can set up a time to talk to them about what you offer and how you can help them specifically.

Take some time to think about how your skills benefit your client and write up a couple versions of your unique elevator speech. Then, try them out on people. You’ll be surprised at the changes in response from the people you meet!

Mardie Caldwell is a successful entrepreneur and businesswoman. Starting and owning her own businesses for over 35 years, she has a wealth of knowledge and skills that apply to all businesses, regardless of the niche or audience.

Often sought as an expert in her field, she has made countless media appearances including Larry King Live, The Today Show, Inside Edition, Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC, Headline News, PBS, BBC, and many more.