Do you really know what you do? What is your elevator pitch?
So many people struggle with telling others what they do when they are asked. They dance around the question and then 20 minutes later the person who asked them has a glazed look on their face and is thinking - why did I ask? – or what was the question again?
Is this you? Do you know what your elevator pitch is when meeting someone for the first time? Can you tell someone what you do clearly in the time it takes to get from one floor to the next in an elevator? If you don’t then you need to practice.
Top ten percenters (T10Ps) as I have described in my new book ‘No Sex at Work’, know how to communicate clearly what they do and they keep it simple. If you meet someone for the first time and they ask you – ‘So what do you do in the company?’ One or two sentences should do it and keep it simple. Your elevator pitch is also a great way to break the ice with someone to get the conversation going.
Here are some really easy ones – which one are you?:
If you are Head of Legal – you could say – ‘I keep the company out of trouble – I’m Head of Legal’.
If you are the CFO – you could say – ‘I make sure we are profitable as a business’.
If you are Head of Sales – ‘I run the area responsible for bringing in the business’.
Head of Product – ‘ I am the ideas person’.
Head of Operations – ‘ I make sure we have efficient systems in place’.
Head of HR – ‘ I make sure our employees are happy and that we hire the best talent’.
Receptionist – ‘I am the face and the voice of business, so I make sure everyone who walks into our office or who calls is taken care of’.
Customer service – ‘I make sure our customers are happy and are with us for the long term’.
Administration or compliance – ‘I cross the t’s and dot the I’s so our standards are met with no issues’.
Marketing – ‘I make sure the market knows who we are and that we have a great brand’.
IT – ‘I come up with innovative technology that has market leading customer experience.
Think about what is the value that your role brings to the business - that is your elevator pitch. Don’t complicate it. Keep it simple and wait for the receiver to ask you more.
For more tips on how to get from A to B in your career successfully ‘No Sex at Work’ is available at all good bookstores and online through amazon: https://lnkd.in/gMCTQTY - ‘No Sex at Work’ is a finalist for The Australian Career Book Award 2021 – hosted by the Royal Society of Arts Oceania.