This is a question I get asked quite frequently and always have, ever since I started my coaching business over 15 years ago.
Back in the day, this kind of question used to fill me with dread.
What do I say? Do I mention that I'm known as the Quran Coach? That sounds pretty cool, but it often leads Muslims to think I'm going to teach them the classical method of Quran recitation… which I absolutely do not.
Or do I say that I'm a “life coach”. Often when I introduce myself that way, I get a follow up question. “Oh really? What kind of life coaching do you do?”
When we meet someone new, whether it's your hairdresser, or someone you meet at a family gathering or a party it's very natural for them to ask what you do.
And there are only two ways to respond.
You either talk over it by trying to make it sound so boring, they don't ask you more questions.
Or you fully own it and tell them what you do in a way that is both intriguing and inspiring, and makes them want to ask questions, that may lead to them to hiring you, booking a session with you or passing your details immediately on to someone who they know needs your help.
There are lots of different formulae to create this kind of “elevator pitch”.
However after a decade of supporting coaches, to figure their marketing out, I can tell you most people implement the formula totally incorrectly.
They end up with long convoluted paragraphs trying to answer six different questions that some marketer taught them…
…But because they aren't clear on exactly who they serve, and exactly what results their clients get, it all just sounds like fluff.
And because we know deep down inside that it is fluff, we get embarrassed and insecure when we try saying it out loud. And as a result, nobody takes us seriously and it and we decide it would have been better to talk over it and just say you're a consultant or something boring.
The key to making an elevator pitch formula work is to keep it so simple that you almost can't say it incorrectly.
In order to get it this simple, you've got to eliminate the fluff in your mind about what you do.
That's almost impossible to do on your own when looking at your own business. But it's super easy for me to do with you live during a coaching session.
If you want me to work with you personally for the next three months to figure out each and every piece of your marketing, including what you're going to say to introduce yourself next time you're at a party, then join Never Ending Stream Of Clients right now: