How to Create an Elevator Speech
An elevator speech is a 30- to 60-second speech that summarizes your company’s offering and value to a potential customer. Despite the name, elevator speeches can be used anywhere and at any time such as in the buffet line at a convention or waiting for the hotel shuttle at the airport. A carefully-crafted elevator speech should spark interest in a potential customer.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Write an introduction line that includes a greeting and stating your name and the name of your company. For example: “Hi, I’m Bob Doe, owner of Supergreat Company.”
-
2
Draft a value statement that presents your main product and your main value proposition. For example: “We help customers lower their tax debt and maximize returns by seeking out hidden deductions and carefully evaluating each customer’s individual situation.”
-
-
3
Compose a competitive advantage line that tells potential customers why you are different from competitors. Do not state a negative about competitors, just a positive statement about your own company. For example, "We specialize in small businesses, so we've become experts at identifying commonly-missed deductions for companies like yours."
-
4
Summarize a success story. For example, say: “Just last year I had a client that came to me because his business was faced with a $10,000 tax debt. We re-evaluated his data, found some deductions that the previous accountant missed and were able to reduce his debt by over 80 percent. It turned out that our fees were lower than his previous tax service, too.”
-
5
Write an invitation to action. For example, “I’d be glad to talk more with you about your business' tax accounting needs when it is convenient for you.”
-
6
Practice your speech. Record yourself and play back the speech to hear how it really sounds.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Elevator speeches can also be created for an individual, such as a person seeking employment. In this case, substitute “potential employer” for “customers” and “yourself” for “your company.”
Offer the listener a card to get in touch with you later.
