Let's face it, most elevator pitches are boring and some may even be considered cruel and unusual punishment. So today, I'm gonna show you how to craft the perfect elevator pitch for business networking.

Hey, I'm Melissa of RogerandMelissa.com. It's amazing how often I see people trying to connect by introducing themselves, the company name, stating the service or the product that they offer, bragging about it, or over-explaining it and then being surprised when others don't respond positively.

News flash, they don't really care what you do. What they care about is how they might benefit as a result of doing business with you. 

Now, be sure to stick around to the end because when it comes to your introduction, as a bonus, I will share the three main types that you need to be the most effective in any situation.

Your introduction to others shouldn't be a sale pitch or an annoying commercial, but rather just a well-crafted strategy intended to engage, influence, and encourage your audience to speak with you further and to build a relationship. That's why we actually call it a pep talk instead of an elevator pitch.  Think about it. Webster's Dictionary defines pep talk as a, "Brief, intense, "and emotional talk designed to influence "or encourage an audience." 

Exactly! A short, sweet, benefit-filled picture of what you have to offer in order to create a response from them. That is the perfect way to introduce what you do when you're networking. 

In most situations, this is the first impression that the new contact has of you, and it can either set you apart and make you stand out, resulting in a beginning of a great relationship that will ultimately turn into business, or it can show the unclear version of you. That unsure version that may not know your purpose, your goals or the solutions and benefits that you provide.

You wanna begin building a rapport, right from the start, to establish your confidence, and your value and your credibility. So first, let's look at what the goal of a pep talk is. The only goal is to grab their attention, or relate what you do and how it's important to them. Taking them from a perceived problem that they may or may not know that they have, towards a solution that you provide. To engage them, and create interesting intrigue, and to cultivate curiosity and have them asking you for more information. That's the goal.

So let's specifically call out what your pep talk should not be about. It's not a report of boring facts and figures, scientific explanations about what you know and how you do it, it's not a recap of your products and your services that's common knowledge. Chances are, they already know a little bit about your industry, what it does and how it works. It's not a statement of your personal greatness. Sorry!

It's not a history lesson of your company, or why you're on this road or what the vision is that you have for the world. If you do a great pep talk, those can be talking points later on in the relationship.

But now, what should the pep talk involve? Start with an offer, but not a normal sales offer. Give them the opportunity to look at their own life and their business. Analyze their situation and offer them a solution. The way you talk about what you do, should inspire them. It should get them thinking, Wow, what if, how great would that be? I need that, she can help. Instead of, "Hi, my name is Melissa and I'm with rogerandmelissa.com. And as business coaches, we, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." 

No, start with a rhetorical question, some advice, wisdom, experience or benefit to them that they can relate to. "Hi, I'm Melissa and I show people how to use the most effective, proven marketing strategy that they've never thought of using for gaining new clients and having more impact."

Now, see how I've started to draw them into wanting more? Or, "Hi, I'm Melissa and I can show you how to expand your circle of influence and increase your profits tenfold, this year, through engaging with audiences and maximizing your contacts."

So that's a powerful statement, almost a promise. And you see how, with this non-traditional way of introducing myself, presented in terms of what they can gain, how they can really use what we offer, where they can understand it, it's engaging, it's impactful, it's energetic and most likely, will motivate them to act.

Exactly what a pep talk is intended to do! Get people to do something. 

You don't sell life insurance, you provide peace of mind, safety and security for families.

You don't sell houses, you sell stability, prestige, the American dream.

You don't sell exercise, or wellness or nutrition, you sell a longer life, a more vibrant life.

Remember, it's about the quality of your words, not the quantity. So think small message, big impact.

We also wanted to give you a little extra to help you with this, so be sure to download our pep talk worksheet. You'll find a link in the description below and it will walk you through a couple of exercises to show you how you can craft your own pep talk.

So for watching this far, here are the three types of pep talks that you should have on hand, depending on your audience. First, if you're a general networking environment, you could have both perspective customers as well as strategic business alliance partners, so be short, sweet, to the point, benefit-filled and concentrate on what their experience would be like in doing business with you.

Next, if you're speaking primarily to potential strategic business partners, people that would be great referral sources for you, then show them how, what you provide, can actually can help them increase their credibility to the people that they know, by having you as a resource.

And third, if you're speaking primarily to prospective customers, do not sell. You may wanna convince them that they need you for those 30 seconds, but resist the temptation. Simply draw them in, be inspiring and intriguing.

That 30 or 60-second pep talk can set you apart. They will see you as the person that they need to talk with. And then you just need to be available to talk with each one of them on an individual basis or in a smaller group. Now don't forget to download the PDF to craft your pep talk.

And if you get some value today, go ahead and subscribe. Also, if you want some help with your networking follow-up, check out this video. And lastly, YouTube picked this one from our other videos. So until next time, take care.