You probably have an elevator speech – a brief description of the benefits you deliver to clients that enables you to communicate the value of what you do so simply. (Ideally, worded as a solution.) I am going to suggest that you actually have two speeches, the first to get them to focus on you if they are prospective client, and the other to give them a reason to come talk to you.
To be effective, and elevator speech has to first break their attention and then communicate your value. If you have not successfully gotten their attention, no message will get through. We all have thoughts running through our head all the time. Frequently, it is not what we happen to be in a conversation about. It’s the grocery list. Or the bad meeting we just left at work. Or the pretty girl across the room.
If we can break through those preoccupations, we can test for interest. If there is no interest, any message we deliver will be ineffective.
Here is the idea: have a short, direct statement to grab attention and test for interest. If you say “Freelancers come to me to help them assemble a benefits package like the one they had the corporate world” and they respond “Interesting. Was that Red Sox meltdown the most amazing fail you ever saw?” You know what you need to know – this new friend is not your target. And you have just spared both of you a pointless and unnecessary detailing of your work.
But, if they are in your target market, they may respond “Really? I thought I would have to leave benefits behind when I started consulting. How do you do that?” You now have their attention and they have qualified themselves. You have permission to tell them more, perhaps another three or four sentences. You can list a few challenges your clients face, and describe the unique expertise you offer to overcome them.
When I meet a new advisor, I like to ask “What do you do?” So many advisors have little idea how to communicate the value they deliver. Some have given it a little thought, and do a decent job describing what they do, but in a way I would find uncomfortably long if I had no interest. Consider how you communicate your value proposition. Try
