Tag: entrepreneur

Viewing 1 - 15 out of 15 Blogs.

My research only turned up one song about elevators; a children’s song that’s way to annoying to repeat. Similar research on songs played in elevators generated the same results; songs too annoying to repeat. I guess I’ll have to summarize my series on successful elevator pitches without a forty year old pop song. Na, that wouldn’t be any fun, try this: in 1968 the Rolling Stones first released “Sympathy for the Devil” on the Beggars Banquet album. In the opening line of th... Read More

Staying with the pop music theme, The Doors #1 Hit single from their January 1967 debut self-titled album “Light My Fire” was the group’s first big success and a earned the band significant radio play. The band and especially lead singer Jim Morrison never hesitated to ask for what they wanted, and usually got what they asked for. Once again I’m tight-walking a thin line of relevance to bring you Rule #7 for successful elevator pitches: End with a call to action.
Let’s say tha... Read More

Seriously, how does telling me that you’re the president, founder, vice president of business development and secondary market strategy, and chief cook and bottle washer help ease my pain? This is my biggest elevator pitch pet peeve and Rule #6: Nobody cares if you’re the president.
You only have a few seconds, so don’t waste any of them giving a list of your titles and qualifications. Remember rule #1: It’s not about you.
Whenever I hear a business owner giving... Read More

One sure fire way to run off a prospective customer is to start into a complicated diatribe on why this feature of your business does this or why that feature solves this problem and on and on and on. We’re talking elevator pitches and Rule #5: Keep it simple.
You can’t create a story for every SKU in your product database. Most companies have dozens to thousands of product and service varieties. The object here is to identify the top several products or services and create a compel... Read More

David Gates 1977 classic “Hooked on You”, performed by Bread tells the story of a man who falls in love and gladly pays the price to be with the woman of his dreams. We’re still talking elevator pitches and you’re wondering what mediocre 1970s soft rock hit has to do with anything. Well, it’s a loose connection at best, but does lead me to Rule #4 for creating successful elevator pitches: Start with a hook.
A hook is a question or statement that is enticing and grabs the perso... Read More

In my last entry I talked about crafting a contrived or chamber of commerce elevator pitch where you are introducing yourself to a large group and need to be memorable. In this entry, I’ll talk about the second type of elevator pitch, the sincere or person-to-person pitch. This is your cheese plate of elevator pitches.
Well, what the heck is that supposed to mean?  I’m glad you asked.
Everyone is different. Everyone has different needs and different pains. While you ca... Read More

We’re talking about elevator pitches. Sometimes you give your pitch even when nobody asked you what you do.
There are two basic styles of elevator pitch: contrived, for use at chamber or networking functions where you’re going to introduce yourself to a group and a sincere one-on-one pitch that is customized for the person to whom you’re speaking.
The contrived pitch may be silly, bold, or even outrageous, depending on your business. While you never want to make a fool of... Read More

So, what do you do?
How many times do you get asked this question at a networking event, from potential service partners or in the grocery store?  It happens all the time, right? Do you have a good answer? 
The answer is known as your elevator pitch. The idea being, you enter the elevator and the person standing next to you asks what you do. You have the length of time it takes to ride to the lobby to tell your story in a way that make the person ask for more details.... Read More

...it’s what the customer believes.  And nothing else really matters.
I’ve lost count of the hopeful entrepreneurs who get frustrated with me to the point of saying “You just don’t get it!” It almost makes me laugh just thinking back on these conversations. It would make me laugh if it wasn’t so tragic. These folks are operating in the It’s All About Me mode. They don’t understand that their customer just doesn’t care. Customers care only about themselves. How wil... Read More

It’s in my knee right around…no, not that kind of pain. What’s your customers’ pain?
One way you can get the upper hand on your competition is to really consider the way your customers do business. What are their issues? How do their buying processes match up with your selling processes? How do the quantities of product they need in an order match with the quantities that you sell in a unit?  Maybe you should ask.
These economic times require you and your team to b... Read More

If you believe all the advertising hype on the internet about fill in the blank business plans, you’d think that’s really all there was to it. Fill in the blanks business plan, one-page business plan, connect the dots business plan, what’s next, the Crayola business plan? Let your child’s kindergarten class write your business plan with a box of 64 crayons!
Lest anyone misunderstand, let’s be clear: it’s not the business plan document, but the business planning that’s impo... Read More

Many years ago, a friend/mentor gave me a sheet of paper with his 5 rules for success. I've kept that paper over the years and was inspired to create my own rules for success several years ago. It has changed over the years in small ways. The words have been shifted, but the overall meaning has remained the same. Each year I get the document out, dust it off and make an attempt to mentally refocus on it. Here it is:... Read More

Are you a small business owner or entrepreneur? The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library provides monthly workshops and seminars on a range of professional development topics.   If you are looking for ways to grow your business, improve your professional image, or develop your knowledge of legal issues for small businesses, the fall line-up of Small Business Lunch & Learns will help.   Designed to be concise one hour workshops, the Lunch & Learns will fit into your busy sch... Read More

Have you always dreamed of owning your own business? Would you like to be your own boss? Get started now by attending Huntsville-Madison County Public Library's �Start-Up 101,� a one day mini-conference for entrepreneurs, on Monday, September 26. The event will be held at the Downtown Library, 915 Monroe Street, in Huntsville. Full details and registration information are available at www.hmcpl.org/startup.       The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that small firms ac... Read More

Procrastination Paralysis   Are you like me? Sometimes I put things off that I should be working on. There are days when I add to my "to do" list but don't get much crossed off. I know I should get that article written, send out that email, or make that phone call. Instead I stall. I find ten other things to do. I procrastinate. Get another cup of coffee. Clean off my desk. Anything to put of... Read More