Want To Get Sales Leads? Skip The Elevator Speech
Many new and small businesses try very hard to get sales leads. Every industry is competitive, right now, and conventional wisdom states that nothing beats face-to-face interaction. However, over the years, this personal interaction has turned into the elevator speech, and it ends up losing more sales leads than it generates.
What Is The Elevator Speech?
Imagine you get on an elevator with a stranger. You may not know much about this person, but holding onto the philosophy that “everyone is a potential customer,” you try to make the stranger interested in your business before the elevator ride is over. So to generate sales leads, a person must be able to give a dynamic and engaging pitch in under 60 seconds.
Why The Elevator Speech Has Reached The Basement Floor
The elevator speech was big among small businesses and robust startups, and peaked about a year ago. The method was the equivalent to a “But wait, there’s more!” pop-up ad on a website. In short, no one likes to be talked at, or given a blast of information without getting to know the person first. Many people find the elevator speech to come off as confrontational, and unnecessary, when a casual two-way conversation would work much better. In fact, after someone gives the speech, most potential sales leads are inclined to avoid interaction. The elevator speech, and similar pitches, run one of two ways. First, they are telegraphed a mile away, and any sales leads run for cover. Second, sales leads evaporate because the potential client has just been given a lot of information in a short period of time, when their minds were probably on something else. In short, it is disruptive.
Generating Sales Leads Without “The Speech.”
While it is true that nothing can compare with human interaction to gain confidence from potential customers, there are better methods than giving an elevator speech. Hold public demonstrations to show off what your company does, and then interact with the audience personally. Go to trade shows. If you are courting specific clients, see if they are available for a phone call or to go out for coffee. We all carry our personal offices with us in the form of smartphones, and something as simple as a Skype call can go a long way in getting sales leads than “the speech” can. Be creative.
We are all a lot busier these days, and prefer to automate our professional lives with email and social media. However, truly engaging and participatory conversations will generate sales leads and beat out the dreaded elevator speech every time.
