Please notice that the title of this blog post refers to an introduction rather than the standard elevator pitch many of us were taught to use when promoting ourselves and our businesses at networking events.
The problem with the standard elevator pitch is that it lacks the flexibility to fit various situations and the various people you might meet whom you could actually serve.
What’s worse, when people memorize them, they often feel awkward to deliver and come out sounding like a robo call.
So I would like to propose a flexible five part way of introducing yourself that you can adapt to use depending upon the person with whom you are conversing.
PART I — ACTION
In other words, what actions do you take to serve people? For example, do you:
- Teach
- Mentor
- Support
- Train
- Help
PART II — AUDIENCE
In other words, whom do you serve, teach, mentor, support, train, help?
- Entrepreneurs
- Business people
- Retailers
- Contractors
- Coaches
PART III — ISSUE
In other words, what problem do you help them solve? For example:
- Poor sales
- Bookkeeping issues
- Social media outreach
- Virtual assistant help
PART IV — RESULTS
In other words, what results or solutions do they get from what you offer them? For example:
- Achieving their income goals
- Accurate and up to date knowledge of their financial situation
- Reaching more of their ideal clients
- Be able to delegate routine tasks to other people to do
PART V — BENEFITS
In other words, what are the real reasons they might decide to become a client or customer of yours? For example:
- So that they can enjoy the lifestyle they desire
- So that they can make sound business decisions based on facts
- So that they can grow and expand their business
- So that they can free up their time for the tasks that in their zone of genius instead of wasting valuable time on tasks easily delegated to others
EXAMPLES OF HOW THESE FIVE ELEMENTS APPLY TO MY OWN BUSINESS:
- I coach entrepreneurs who feel jittery and unsure when trying to promote themselves and their business, how to communicate the value of their services more effectively; so that they can attract more customers and achieve their income and business goals.
- I mentor women who are subjected to gender bias, on how to create clear, concise, and compelling messages; so that they gain the confidence to communicate their expertise with poise and authority in any speaking situation.
- I counsel leaders and managers on how to create effective teams; so that they can get their people to take the right actions in an atmosphere of cooperation and excitement in achieving their goals.
MY INVITATION TO YOU:
- Write your own list of at least five examples for each of these five elements
- Using the lists you have created, write out at least five variations of ways to introduce yourself
- Practice aloud introducing yourself using variations of the five elements several times a day
YOUR REWARDS:
- You will feel more and more confident about introducing yourself to any people in any situation
- You will be able to share your expertise with much more poise and confidence
- You may actually start looking forward to meeting people at networking events
- You will be able to use networking to build the relationships that underpin any truly successful endeavor
If you feel so inspired, please introduce yourself in the comment section below, using these five elements as a model.
