Become a Home Based Travel Agent

Elevator Speech Writing 101
By: Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC

I remember back in 1976, one of the senior executives at the company I worked for then, asked me to give him my “elevator speech”. I have to admit I thought the guy was nuts. I had never heard the term and while I wanted to be cool and act like I knew, my blank stare at him must have told the true story. I had no clue what he was asking for.

That was my first lesson in the creation of my first “elevator speech". He told me that being able to craft an elevator speech for anything I was selling or promoting would be a great asset in my sales career. He was right of course and to this day I thank Wenzell Brown for teaching me that lesson.

The cool thing about an “elevator speech” is that you can change it up to suit whatever position you hold or for whatever purpose you have in using one. Having a library of elevator speeches to use and changing them as needed, is a terrific tool to have in your sales and marketing toolbox.

An “elevator speech” should be a short description of what you do, or it could be a synopsis of the point you want to make. It needs to have the three S’s. It must be Short and Sweet and Succinct! Imagine you have a captive audience (in an elevator) for a very short period of time and you need to get your message out in as few words as possible. The goal is to grab their attention and not lose it by making it too long and wordy. By getting to the heart of your message, you will be marketing yourself and/or your business in a way  will make them want to know more about you and what you do.

My favorite story about an agency’s elevator speech came from an agency in Michigan. Their method of marketing might seem a bit “out there” but it worked very well for their leisure business. If nothing else, you have to credit them for their creativity.

They were located in an office building with no real street exposure. They did a great corporate business, which is why they located in the office building initially. They wanted to supplement their corporate business with some leisure sales and figured they would do it in the elevator. One of the young ladies who worked at the agency was game to try this, so here is what they did.

Imagine a very cold and snowy day in Michigan. People were loading into the elevator after lunch to continue with the remainder of their business day. They were bundled in coats, scarves and gloves and grumbling about the weather. Positioned appropriately in her overcoat, the enterprising travel agent opened her coat showing her tanned, bikini clad body with Mexico travel brochures poking out of her bikini. She did not have to say much as a picture is worth a thousand words. Her words went something like this, “It is 80-degrees in Puerto Vallarta today, come on by our travel agency on the 5^th floor and we will hook you up”!  

Not all of us are going to be willing to wear a bikini to get our marketing message out there, but you get the drift. Be creative and have fun with your message. Travel is fun!

Step One: Careful Preparation
Careful preparation is necessary when working on your perfectly crafted message. You will also need to memorize this message. Drive your family nuts by repeating it to them all the time, so that you know it well and can spill it out without hesitation when the time is right.

Step Two: When, where and why?
Aside from the elevator usage of your speech, you will find more and more places and times when this speech will be invaluable for your business. Use it at events, conference, conventions, local community and business meetings. Use it at the hair and nail salon, sitting in a coffee house, waiting at the dentist’s office… Whenever and wherever you might be when someone asks what you do, is your key to smile and share your succinct pitch. Even if you have to initiate a conversation so as to share what you do, then do it. That is of course unless you don’t need more clients!

The reason I suggest working on this speech and memorizing it is that our natural reaction to the question, “What do you do?” is to answer with something like “I am a travel agent” or “ I am a travel consultant”. Then, we continue to describe the process we go through instead of sharing the benefits they will get from using our fine services. Rather than thinking of ourselves as “professionals who provide a unique and special service”, we often see ourselves as a member of an occupation type. That can be stereotypical and may not be very interesting. How can you briefly describe your passion for providing travel services in a way that will make the listener want to learn more? That is the key to an exciting and engaging “elevator speech”.

To whom do I present my “elevator speech”? The more often you give your short speech, the better it will become. You will have so much fun experiencing the unique reactions to what you are saying, you will easily be able to add enthusiasm and energy to the telling. I suggest taking advantage of a wide variety of gatherings and networking events. And, don’t worry, if your “elevator speech” isn’t smooth, easy, or natural in the beginning. If you stick with it, you will find that it gets better and better, and before long, you will be getting a surprising amount of business — or, at least a number of contacts who want your business card and to stay in touch. You will also be remembered.

Elevator speech Essentials
Begin by determining your niche market. Are there typically problem(s) that a person might encounter using a competitor to you that you could solve. Let’s say your niche is family travel. Think about what you do that perhaps another travel agent might not do to assure the trips you plan are simply the best. Dig deep into your talents and expound on those points in your “elevator speech”. Make it memorable for a reason. What short story illustrates a successful outcome that you have produced?

Have fun with this project and if you want to share your pitch with me, please just email it to me at Joanie@joanieogg.com. I would love to hear from you!