Thom Singer and I did another presentation for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce this morning. This was our second breakfast in the series and we facilitated everyone’s networking by helping them to share their “signature stories.”

 

I’ve expressed my dissatisfaction in the past with elevator pitches. For the most part I think that most are ineffective, forgettable and just take up valuable networking time in group meetings. Rather than just complain Thom and I worked on an alternative solution. We asked people to tell a couple of different stories.

 

A client story:

Rather than explain what you do, tell a story about how you’ve helped one of your clients. First identify the client by name or type of company (this should represent your target market), then explain how you helped them (what you do), finally talk about the outcome or results that they experienced (this should explain why someone would want to work with you or refer you).

 

Your Austin story:

Nearly everyone in Austin is from somewhere else, and we all came here for different reasons. Yet we all have one thing in common. We love Austin! So tell your story about Austin. What brought you here, what keeps you here, etc. This is a great way to make a connection with almost anyone in this city whether you’re native or you’re brand new to Austin.

 

Your background story:

What did you do before you did what you’re doing now? Everyone brings unique talents and perspectives to any industry or occupation. Most often that’s developed by the type of work you’ve done in the past. What was that work, and how does it contribute to what you do today and make you better than your competition?

 

Think about how you might be able to use these types of stories in place of the traditional elevator pitch. It’s a great way to set yourself apart, and really show your passion in what you do.

 

Once again the feedback from this event was wonderful. Thank you those of you who took the time to come up to Thom and I afterwards and thank us. Hopefully you’d like to see more of these in the future. I’d encourage you to call the Chamber and tell them how much you enjoyed the presentation.

 

Of course, both Thom and/or myself are available for other networking speaking engagements whether it’s for your company or department or your association. Feel free to give us a call, we’d love to help.

 

Happy networking!

Scott Ingram