Networking – How to Create an Effective 30-Second Commercial

How many times have you attended a networking function only to find that everyone there gives virtually the same 30-Second Commercial?  It goes something like this…

“Hi, my name is Lucy Jane Jones and I am an Account Representative for Jones Sales Associates.”  Uh, I sell Wonderful Widgets.  If you have a need of a Wonderful Widget, we give $10.00 discount if you mention my name at checkout.  Hmmm, our office is just down the street on the next corner in the bright shiny high-rise on the left.  Omm, you can call me anytime and I’ll be glad to demonstrate our Widget to you or your office manager.  Lucy Jones with Jones Sales Associates, home of the Wonderful Widget.”

Please, just shoot me!

An effective 30-second commercial absolutely must be:

• Engaging
• Creative
• Educational
• Memorable
• Paint a verbal picture for the audience

Nothing is engaging, creative, educational, and memorable or paints a verbal picture about the script above.

To engage your audience, most of us are like 5-year old children.  If you are talking to them, the easiest way to connect with them is to:

• Ask a question
  • Lucy could have started her commercial with:
    • Let’s see a show of hands. How many of you have seen the Wonder Widget that just hit the market about a month ago?
  • Now in a room of 25-30 people, you would think that 1-2% of the attendees have seen an advertisement run on local television for this new product.

To be creative, Lucy could include a statement that includes the corporate tagline for this new product on the market as her opening statement.

To be educational, Ms. Jones could declare 1-2 key pointers of what the Wonderful Widget will do for you.

To be memorable, bring a sample of the Wonderful Widget for a show-n-tell to her audience.

Finally, to paint a verbal picture, Lucy could enhance her commercial by describing in brief, concise terms, what are the various features of her product.

Now to pull all of these elements together, Ms. Jones will also need to include three elements so that her audience can determine how they can be of assistance to her in the marketplace.

These three elements include:

• The WHO
• The WHAT
• The WHY

WHO – Who are your prospective clients?

• Who are your prospective clients?
• What level of management are they?
• What industries are you looking to penetrate?

WHAT – What product and/or service do you offer?

• Concentrate on talking about only one product or service at a time.
• If you have more than one product/service, create different commercials for each.

WHY – Why do people need this product/service?

• You are describing your Value Proposition to the prospective client.
• What problem or pain-point does your product address or solve?

You might use the following form to help you craft an effective commercial:

I work with (who)______________________________________________

I provide (what)_______________________________________________

So that or because (Value Proposition)_____________________________

Your Name and Company_______________________________________

You might ask, why do I say my name and company last?  Shouldn’t I say those things first?

No, because your name or company does not engage the audience.  Remember you have to grab their attention with the first few things that you say.

Other things you can do to improve your 30-Second Commercial is to:

• Start your commercial with a question that helps them to think.
• Make a statement about something that pertains to your industry or product offerings.
• Tell a very brief story about how you have helped a client solve a problem. This is particularly effective if you are in a service industry rather than marketing a product.

If you will combine all of the points on crafting your 30-Second Commercial, your audience will be more apt to help you with referrals.

Finally, after you have tweaked your new commercial, try it out on a colleague.  When you are confident that you have whittled it down as lean as you can get, use a timer and practice-practice-practice.

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2016

Networking: Conveying your Who-What-Why

When you give your 30-Second Commercial at a networking event, do you just stand up, open your mouth and hope the right words to come out?  You are shooting yourself in the foot unless you plan in advance what you are going to say.  Developing a good elevator speech requires some forethought.

A well-crafted commercial will answer 3 questions:  Who, What, and Why.

1. Who are your clients or prospects? Be specific with the levels of management that you call on as well as the industry niche that you work within or are expecting to break into.  Example:  I work with______________.
2. What the products and services that you offer? Highlight only 1 product or service at a time.  Remember you only have 30-seconds.  Example:  I provide ________.
3. Why should I listen to what you have to say? Your Value Proposition explains why your product or service is important.  Example:  Because or So that_________.

To improve your presentation, write the answer to all of these questions and fill in the blank.  Next, get in front of a mirror and practice-practice-practice.

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2014

Networking – Dale Carnegie style

Dale Carnegie was the consummate networker.  He wrote “How to Win Friends and Influence People” in 1936!  His teachings are still as relevant today as they were when originally written.

Here are 3 excerpts from his book that we can apply when attending your next networking event:

• “Become genuinely interested in other people.”  The moral here is to drop the “what’s in it for me” attitude.  When you engage others and ask them about what they do, why there are there or simply welcome them as a guest, you show that you care about them.
•  “Smile.”  You certainly cannot win many friends if you always go around with a frown on your face.
• “Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.”  Many times at networking functions, I see folks spending all of their time talking about themselves and trying to establish their place whereas if they would be a sponge and soak up what other people have to say, they would be much more effective in making an impression.

Dale Carnegie was a genius at teaching folks how to be winners in all aspects of life.  His writings are still very applicable today as they were almost 80 years ago.

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People

Peggy P. Edge (c) 2014