The Elevator Speech

A few months ago I was sat in a meeting here when we all tried to come up with an elevator speech. Now this is an American term and it's nothing to do with speeches to elevate you. No, it's much simpler than that.

The idea is this - you get onto an elevator (I want to say "lift", I really do, but then I have to rename the whole thing and that's a whole other kettle of fish. Incidentally, who prepares fish in a kettle? Exactly - it makes no sense at all.) and you find yourself face to face with the Chief Big Kahuna of the biggest potential client you can think of - it's Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Alan Sugar all roled into one - you may have your own icons, but those are some of mine.

Now, you've got the time it takes from the closing of the elevator doors to the time Mr Fatwallet gets to his floor to impress upon him what you do, why you're special and most importantly, why his company should be doing business with yours.

To make this challenge fair, we allocate thirty seconds for the whole thing - people like this tend to head for the top floor anyway. So do you have an elevator speech? Have you ever tried it on anyone and what was the result?

Reasonable questions I'm sure but actually, in the world of exhibitions, thirty seconds is a lifetime. How long do you think you have to make a good impression at a trade show? The answer is 8.3 seconds. It's the same amount of time for the female of the species to size up a potential mate. In 8.3 seconds the deal is either won or lost.

Now you can't deliver an 8 second pitch with .3 seconds for questions so how do you make that first impression? Simple - be different. Be bold but for heaven's sake, don't be tacky. There was a time when having a member of your staff standing at the front with a flashing yoyo was all the rage - but that time is over. Flashing yoyos are so last millennium. Same goes for bouncing balls and sunflowers that dance to music - been there, done that, picked up the complimentary T-shirt.

Not only are these ideas old and tired, what's worse is that they're not relevant. If your company is using a slogan about things "bouncing back" then OK, the ball makes sense. But if you're trying to become market leaders in the world of agricultural technology, what message does that ball send? I'll tell you - it says "we came to a trade show, we hope you'll come and talk to us and if we're really lucky, you'll remember us after you leave". WOW! Strong stuff indeed - remind me to pick up my complimentary frisbee on the way out - it'll look great on my Financial Director's wall!

Times are tight. We know that. So if you're going to spend less money then take the time to spend it wisely. You don't HAVE to give a gift at a trade show if all you're planning on doing is handing out 10p pencils to everyone who walks by. That's not marketing - it's charity, and you can do better than that.

So Mr Alan Branson-Gates has walked up to your stand and has seen some interesting product and has already been offered an intriguing gift. We're up to 8.2 seconds when he says "That's very kind thank you.....so what does your company do?" BINGO - get your sales cap on, throw your brain into 5th gear, rev the engine and LET'S ROCK!!!!!

You see? Targetted, relevant merchandise is what you need to be thinking about. You don't have time to be flipping through catalogues hoping to see something vaguely interesting and quite frankly, there really is no reason why you should.

Stop what you're doing, take a deep breath, grab yourself a coffee and let's start again. List these things:

1. What is the exhibition I am attending?
2. What is the theme of my stand?
3. If I had to sum up what makes me special in 8 seconds, what would I say?
4. Who is coming to this exhibition?
5. Who do I REALLY want to meet there?

If you were able to answer all of those in under a minute, the chances are that you rushed it. That's fine, we're all busy people but come on, you've spent some serious money on this stand haven't you? The space, the artwork, transportation, not to mention the time you and your team are going to have away from the office - it all adds up. You need to think about this, actually that's not quite right - WE need to think about this. What you need is a partner - someone to act as a sounding board for your answers to tell you if your message really works.

Well the good news is that you've got one. And the really good news is that he'll do it all for FREE! That's right - zilch, nada, diddley squat, zip. Is this person mental? I think we all know the answer to that one, but the truth is that he just flat out loves helping people come up with good ideas. OK, enough of referring to myself in the third person. I live for this stuff - for the chance to help you grab Alan Sugar by the throat as he walks past you and scream "Sugar - you're hired!"

So email me your lists, along with the date of the event in question, and we'll start hammering out a plan of action that will make you proud of your stand.

Next week, Merchandise Mania are exhibiting at the National Incentive Show at the NEC Birmingham. We're on stand E60 and our stand will have you talking to us for much more than a few seconds. There's a chance to win a digital photo frame, get a free marketing consultation and even get an autographed copy of this blog - please print it out and bring it with you, I'll bring the pens and who knows, maybe I'll even let you keep one.

The show is on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10am to 5pm (4pm Thursday) and we look forward to seeing you there. Mention this blog and win a bonus prize.