An easy way to improve your networking is to learn how to improve your elevator pitch.
Let's face it, when you're self-employed you're usually excited about what you do and will often tell just about anyone that asks.
But this little speech can be very powerful and, if done right, can open doors when you get the formula right.
In this short video you'll learn some of the key things that will make your elevator pitch much more effective.
And there's also couple of quick real-life examples to give you some ideas.
Your elevator pitch gives you the opportunity to get across what's great about what you do in a short space of time.
If you belong to a networking group (such as BNI) then you'll be required to develop, and also to improve, your elevator pitch.
The better you are, the more business you're likely to win.
The concept of an elevator pitch is this:
Imagine you're in an elevator and someone asks you what you do. You know you only have a few seconds to get across the key things so you need to get to the point very quickly. Hence an elevator pitch.
Ok, so how to improve your elevator pitch:
They key thing is to make what you do all about what customers get out of it.
In other words: What's In It For Me?
Avoid just reeling off a list of what you can do. Largely because your audience isn't all that interested in what you do, they want to know if you can make a difference to them in some way.
You need to turn your service or product into something that people can see how it works and how it helps people.
A great way to do this is to use short case studies.
e.g. "one of our customers bought this from us and this is how it improved her life/business etc".
It takes a bit of practice but it's worth spending some time on.
Largely because a great elevator speech will help your audience to remember you and it'll improve the response rates from your networking.
Want more on building your business? Check out:
Why you should never stop marketing! (article)
Why most people suck at sales and what you can do about it. An interview with Gary Foster. (podcast)