August 27, 2008

Back to Basics: The Elevator Speech

Posted by Kevin | Print This Article

The “elevator speech” is a cliche among professionals of all stripes, including association executives — you know, how can you explain what it is you do in 30 seconds or less? The purpose is not really to spring it on unsuspecting people riding down with you to the parking garage, of course, but to help focus your marketing and communications efforts on the things that really matter.

Though it’s a well-known concept, many associations get it wrong — let’s face it, many of us do a LOT of things for a lot of different constituent groups within the markets we serve. This form of feature-creep can actually be crippling in our marketing, especially when we focus that marketing on what it is we DO. Many associations, when asked what they DO, will spout off a few vague concepts that really mean little to those who aren’t already in the fold — things like education, promoting the industry/profession, or worse, words like “advocacy” or “networking.”

Here’s a better way to do it: When someone asks “So, what does your organization do?” (or when you are attempting to craft a marketing piece as if the recipient had asked such a question), you should actually answer a completely different question, which is: “What challenges do you solve?”

On one of the ASAE listserves today, Vinay Kumar offered a similar take on this concept, complete with a lengthy example, which he agreed to let me reprint as follows:

For example, let’s say I am an association that represents chiropractors and one of the versions of my elevator speeches can go something like:

“We work with overwhelmed chiropractors who are sick and tired of not having enough clients. Every time payroll comes around, they are worried if they’ll able to meet along with their other expenses. Our association, The Association for Successful Chiropractors” develops and provides ABC solutions that help our chiropractic members double their revenue, allowing them to easily make money and have the life they dreamed of when they first became chiropractors.”

Of course, if the person is interested, then they will ask “Geez, how do you do that?”. Then there is another set of conversation that can take place but we won’t go there for now. All I can say is that still don’t go into what you do. Instead turn the conversation around ask about their situation and learn about their issues. If you ask, they’ll tell you and that’s very valuable information.

What you DO should not be your focus. Instead show how you solve the real challenges of your market and help members and customers reach their individual goals.

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