Get ready for that question Somebody walked up to me after a recent speech and said, “In 15 words, why should I do business with you?”

You need a good response. After you have created an elevator pitch and are comfortable presenting it, condense it even further. You might come into contact with someone who may have heard hundreds of elevator pitches and wants something even more concise. They may want 15 words. You have to be ready.

The 15-word response I responded, “I can turn your problems into solutions. I’ve been doing this since 1992.” That was 13 words (five seconds). It met his criteria and helped establish a dialog. We ended up talking for another 10 minutes. When you have an answer, you look competent and invite new business. If you don’t have one, you may end up looking inexperienced to a prospect. I am sharing a few more similar responses for your review. They’re all 15 words or fewer:

I can turn your problems into solutions. I’ve been doing this since .
I can turn your problems into solutions. How can I help you today?
I’m a business owner too. This works for me and my business.
My customers are jumping for joy!
I was skeptical at first, but I gave it a shot. It works great!
My product is not the cheapest, but it is the best value.
You won’t have to think about anymore.
Pay me to think about . You’re running a business.
It works. It works right. You won’t have to think about it at midnight.

Embrace one of these or create one of your own. Create a worksheet to help you answer the “Why should I do business with you?” question. Write the date in the left column and your 15-word responses in the right column. Get ready for this question. You may need a 15-word response tomorrow.

Daphne’s Answer I have a friend, Daphne the Dancer. Daphne already has sufficient information for three elevator pitches. She tells me, “I don’t know what to do. I’m working at my 9-5 job, I’m still teaching at the health club, and I’m launching my business. Can I get 90 seconds to recite three elevator pitches in a row?”

“No. That would confuse everybody. Stick with what you are pursuing. That is how you want people to remember you. That is where you’re looking for help, vendors, customers, and referrals. It’s OK to say what you are pursuing as long as you’re not physically at the 9-5 job or the health club when you say that. Keep your separate occupations separate. It’s also OK to tell people you are launching your own dance studio and it won’t happen in a New York minute.”

“OK. I am going with: ‘My name is Daphne Prancer. I dance. I have danced professionally in 10 countries. I have taught dance locally since 2005 and am opening Daphne Dance Company soon. I am looking for dance students of all ages. It’s OK if they’re deaf-I know sign language.’”

“That sounds pretty good. Let’s move on to another item. What will you say when you don’t have enough time for the elevator pitch? You may have someone approach you and say, ‘Why should I do business with you?’ Daphne, you may be surprised by how many people cannot answer that question quickly.”

She replies, “I can see that happening. How about these:

‘I can help you become a great dancer. That is what I do.’
‘My students have had great results.’
‘I’m not the cheapest, but my students appreciate the quality.’

“How will I know how much time I will have? Somebody may give me enough time for an elevator pitch and the next person may ask me, ‘Why should I do business with you?’ How will I know?”

“Ah yes, that could be a toughie. Here’s something I’ve noticed. Folks who want the 15-word response will usually dart across the room to get to you and then they will get in your face. If you see someone make a beeline to get to you and then stare at you like a cat stares at a mouse, they may be too impatient for the elevator speech. Give them a 15-word response.”

Create your elevator pitch and your 15-word responses today. You may need them tomorrow.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Germanos

If you are launching a new startup business you have undoubtedly been advised to write a business plan. Most consultants and coaches will convince you to write a business plan before you even think about starting a business. Well we all know that Facebook has been the most successful startup in the world over the past 5 years, so it only makes sense to look at Facebook’s business plan. Wait… did Facebook have a business plan? I think it is clear that Mark Zuckerberg didn’t sit down and write a 50 page document, it probably looked more like this:

1. Be Cool – Facebook wanted to be cool. In fact, according to the movie “The Social Network” Mark Zuckerberg was afraid that advertisements early on in the life of Facebook might squash the cool factor and effectively kill their momentum as one of the world’s fastest growing companies. So for as long as possible Zuckerberg refused to include advertisements on the website in order to keep the cool factor that attracted millions of college and high school students during the early years.

2. Gain Eyeballs – Step number two in the Facebook strategy was simply to gain as many eyeballs for as long as possible. The team focused on building an infrastructure that kept users on the website for minutes even hours at a time. They made the website so addictive in a sly way that users don’t realize that they were playing right into the hands of Facebook. The more time you spend stalking your friends on Facebook the more opportunity for advertisers to catch your attention and get you to click on an ad. So be cool, and gain eyeballs.

3. Innovate – The last piece of the Facebook business plan is simply to innovate. Facebook changed the way that friends and family connected, but they became truly innovative when they changed the way that businesses connected with each other. Mark Zuckerberg has been known to tell his team to Fail Big. You have to fail big if you want to create innovation that can change the world.

That is the Facebook Business Plan in a nutshell. In 2011, many innovative web-based startups have the exact same strategy. If you are a web-based startup and you don’t have a written plan, do not despair, you might be able to simply borrow from Facebook. Good luck in your startup ventures!

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_Hoeksema