This story appears in the
March 2006 issue of
Entrepreneur.
Subscribe »
Your reps need an elevator speech-a 15- to 30-second sales sound
bite that succinctly communicates your company's offerings.
Dianna Booher, author of Speak With Confidence, offers these
guidelines:
- State what you do in terms of benefits. People don't
really care what you do--they care what you can do for them.
A rep for a sales-consulting company might say, "We help
salespeople really engage buyers when they deliver sales
presentations." This causes listeners to say, "Oh, yeah?
We have problems with that."
- Add a credibility builder. Mentioning well-known clients
shows that others value your services. A marketer could reference a
high-profile project by saying, "We just wrapped a big web
campaign for XYZ Co. that boosted sales by 20 per-cent in the third
quarter."
- End with an open question to engage the other person. A
rep pitching an event-planning company might ask, "How could
your last event have been improved?"
- Be quotable. Make the speech memorable enough to be
passed along to others who might be interested.
- Deliver your speech off the cuff. Instruct reps to talk
as an advisor or a friend, rather than as a salesperson.
- Skip industry jargon. A rep should sound like he's
talking to his brother, not to a prospective boss.