Career Networking 2 – 15 Second Elevator Statements

In Networking 1, the First Five Minutes, I mentioned Elevator Statements (EVs) and how they are critical to successful networking. So what’s an Elevator Statement? Here’s what they aren’t. EV’s aren’t speeches or pitches. I have an absolute aversion to the word pitch. Whenever a person pitches to me I know they want something, usually [...]

Career Networking 2 – 15 Second Elevator Statements is a post from: Career Renovators Express.com

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Career Networking 1 – First Five Minutes

Elevator Statements aren’t …

In Networking 1, the First Five Minutes, I mentioned Elevator Statements (EVs) and how they are critical to successful networking.

So what’s an Elevator Statement?

Here’s what they aren’t.

EV’s aren’t speeches or pitches.

I have an absolute aversion to the word pitch. Whenever a person pitches to me I know they want something, usually to sell me something.

It’s usually not about my needs, it’s about my money.

EV’s don’t produce instant careers, or instant anything.  They might induce you to by a raffle ticket for a charity, but that’s about all.

However an EV can produce an opportunity to develop or renovate your career or produce some business opportunities.

The only purpose of an EV is to start a conversation and gain permission to continue that conversation.

During that conversation you can build initial credibility, become liked, which can lead to trust and further down the track a relationship, a personal one like a date, or friendship or a business relationship.

If you are smart, you’ll first discover a lot about the person you are chatting with.

You can achieve this by just asking non-intrusive questions and then really listening to their answers.

During that conversation you will be able to discover what they do for a living, whether they a single, and even if they work for themselves, a corporation, have their own business or whether they are in-between jobs.

You’ll also discover whether that person is a genuine prospect, who might want the solution you have to enhance their organisation or themselves.

If they’re not a genuine prospect just enjoy their company or politely move on.

If you’re still asking them questions and listening, in no time they’ll generally ask you “What you do?”.

This is the opportunity for you to use an Elevator Statement, which must be a truthful statement not one you make up to scam them to get their business.

After your EV, they might show a little more interest and ask you, “How do you do  that?”

If they are really interested they will ask you more questions and for your business or personal card. You might then ask if they would like more information.

You can point them to your website or find out if they would like a further chat. If so, ask for their business card or ask permission to ring their assistant for a suitable time for an appointment to discuss the person’s needs and possible solutions .

Being able to place your hand on their office door handle is a fantastic outcome of your elevator statement and your networking skills.

Check out the free videos at  http://www.careerrenovatorsexpress.com

Networking can be learnt and Elevator Statements can be crafted easily and quickly.

Everything is easier when you know how.

The Power of an Elevator Statement. First, EV’s are a very short statement of what you do that meets the needs of the person you are talking with, which will engage that person.

Usually your statement should be an average of 35 to 45 words long.

The average person speaks at about three words a second, which gives you a maximum of 15 seconds to deliver your EV.

The aim of the statement is to elicit a question from the other person – “How do you do that?”.

This gives you permission to engage the person a little more.

You might remember the aged care CEO, Winston, at the dinner party, who award my company a significant contract to manage a crisis at his organisation.

A few weeks before the dinner party, at sunny afternoon Sunday barbeque, we first met.  We spent some time talking about our football teams, Melbourne FC and Carlton FC.

We ‘chin-wagged’ (Aussie slang for an enthusiastic conversation) for about an hour about the virtues and skills of various players, and of course the coaches.

Eventually, our conversation turned to what we did.

With a question, Winston revealed that he was the CEO of the oldest aged care facility in Australia.

Then it was my turn. “What do you do?”

“My company, Taking Control Communications, helps organisations manage issues and crises, particularly in the media and with critical stakeholders,” was my answer – just a 19 word and a seven seconds EV.

Then we went on talking about something else and enjoying the sun, beer and food.

Before I left the barbeque, Winston asked for my business card.

A couple of weeks later Winston rang and invited me to dinner, during which in his study he asked me how I conducted my business. The pyramid of connection started to expanded.

By the end of the evening he told me his crisis and asked me to submit a proposal to meet his needs.

Winston accepted my proposal, which over a year returned over $100,000. Over the years, Networking and EV’s have yielded many more contracts, large and small.

Sometimes networking produces quick contracts, within days.  It depends on how urgent the potential client’s needs are.

Now when someone asks about Career Renovators Express, the EV is:

“Career Renovators Express helps anyone create a secure and sustainable career, even if they have little money or haven’t a clue how to get started.”

So What Happened with Winston?

A number of things.

Our chat about our football team created a mutual ‘likeability’ factor.

My business card named my website,. My website listed my credentials, and some people and organisations with whom I worked, which Winston checked. He contacted some of them to see if I was any good at what I did.

That brought the ‘credibility’ factor into play.

The elements of this networking process were:

Social Likeability
Questions
Listening
Patience
An Effective Elevator Statement
Confirmed Credibility
Trust creation and development
A Door Handle to an important office
and finally no ‘pitch’

This whole process took about six weeks to achieve.

Networking takes time, which is the reason you should network carefully and intelligently every week. I have two or three potential business relationships evolving at the moment.

By the way, Winston and I are friends and have been for about 10 years.

Elevator Statement Anatomy

Elevator Statement consists of number elements.

First, the Name of your organisation.
Second, What the organisation does or you do them
For Whom.
Third, “Why” do you or organisation do what it does or you do.

Note there is no”How” at this stage

If the person is interested in  the Elevator Statement, they usually ask “How?”.

“How?” is a Permission question which lets you to tell them more, not too much though. You need to engage them not drown them in a flood of information!

In the case of Career Renovators Express the “How” is based on:

Re-defining what a career needs to be in the 21st Century;
What your education didn’t teach you to thrive, not just survive, in the ever changing  21st Century;
By an on-line course, webinars, and even one-on-one Skype counselling;
Achieved with a reasonable investment and a premium fee for Skype Counselling;
The Outcome of the program is  a success producing plan to create or enhance your career
Much and more.

Now, here’s the anatomy of the Career Renovators Express Elevator Statement: “Career Renovators Express (Name) helps anyone (for Whom) create a secure and sustainable career (What and Why), even if they (Whom again) have little money, have been made redundant, are retired, are in a career slump or want to return to work quickly.” About 15 seconds and 43 words long.

You’ll notice this EV is a little different from the earlier version, which brings me to my final point.  Regularly visit you EV and revise or expand it if necessary.

Sorry, another final, final point, practise your EV until it has moved from the page to your head.

Why not have a go at constructing your Elevator Statement about yourself or your organisation.

Till next time, when I’ll outline how to construct a three minute  speech, how it can enhance your career.

Cheers for now … Christian Peterson

In the meantime you might like to check out the free videos at  http://www.careerrenovatorsexpress.com

 

Career Networking 2 – 15 Second Elevator Statements is a post from: Career Renovators Express.com

Related posts:

Career Networking 1 – First Five Minutes