Do you have an elevator pitch?

Today, I was touring some office space when the guide said "tell me about yourself." Ugh. OK, first of all, I hate that question because I feel like there's something that the person would really like to know but they aren't asking it (or they are totally disinterested and/or verbally lazy). We were actually stepping into an elevator too. It was like the perfect set-up for an elevator pitch and I totally whiffed it: "I'm a marketing consultant and I live in South Lake Union and I need a quiet place to get some work done." So I guess I was telling her what she needed to know (she was outrageously perky and I was immediately thrown into reactive introvert mode. I was thinking "I'm the client. Let's talk less; I'll start." Bad, Heather.). But it would have been a perfect opportunity to practice my marketing.

Since I am a consultant, my company brand and my personal brand are intertwined. So being able to answer one of these mushy, vague questions is good for business. Because you are a job candidate, your personal brand and being able to answer one of these dumb questions is also important, because you'll be interviewing and networking. You are most definitely going to be asked to tell the other person about yourself, probably many times.  If you have a go-to pitch that isn't over-the-top obnoxious but reflects positively on you, that would be super, mmkay?

You're also likely to be asked what you do, which indeed requires a different response than the request: "tell me about yourself." Where "tell me about yourself" is your elevator pitch opportunity, "what do you do?" begs for something a little more punchy.

Today, I decided to write down an elevator pitch for myself to use as an example. I write elevator pitches all the time. But they are a little like porn, I know a good one when I see it but it's hard to define. Wait a minute, I don't think that's exactly how the analogy goes. But you catch my drift, right?

Here's what I came up with:

I'm a marketing consultant who helps companies do a better job of connecting with important audiences online. My interest in this space began during my previous career in recruiting where I was drawn to work that engaged external audiences in an honest and authentic way to enhance Microsoft's brand as an employer.

The last three years, I've worked with companies that need to understand who their audiences are and what they value, develop branding and messaging strategies that appeal to and engage those audiences, and deliver their messaging through digital media.

I really enjoy the combination of creative and analytical skills that my work requires and also that I get to watch my clients start to think differently about what they do. I also like the variety of the work I do. It includes company naming, audience analysis, messaging framework development, creating and branding websites, social media strategy, content development and ghost-writing, and marketing advisory services.

I work with clients that don't have big marketing departments to do this type of work. My approach is scrappy and I bring a lot of energy and momentum which helps clients execute quickly.

I might be a fast-talker but I just delivered that pitch verbally in 40 second. Ta-dah!

And for the personal brand statement (the answer to "what do you do"), I've got this one etched in my brain: I help companies connect with audiences important to their success online through digital marketing and social media strategy. I don't love the grammar but when I say this, people get it. And they usually ask me questions about it, which is exactly what I want.

If you dissect a good personal elevator pitch, there are a couple of elements that I think make it compelling:

1. A statement of what you do (marketing consultant)
2. Values common to you and your audience (honest and authentic online engagement, passion around thinking about things differently, appreciation of scrappiness)
3. What you're good at (combining creative and analytical skills)
4. How your audience would experience you at work (energy, momentum, new thinking, honesty)
5. What you enjoy (seeing clients think differently, merging the creative and analytical, being real online)

This isn't an exhaustive list, but definitely some things that help the person on the receiving end of your pitch really get you; not just what you do but who you are as a person, specifically as it relates to your work. The most important thing you can do in crafting your pitch is put yourself in the shoes of the other person. In my case, generally people want to know what I offer, what impact it would have to their business and what it would be like working with me. I feel like the elevator pitch I crafted communicates those things pretty clearly.

What's missing from my pitch is the personal deets. I don't like sharing that kind of stuff at the beginning of an interaction. In my opinion, in an interview setting, if they want to know what you do outside of work, they'll ask. I find that telling people I do trapeze or that I have a motorcycle totally reinforces my personal brand (especially if I want to position myself as a fearless badass who actually steps away from the computer on a regular basis), but it also gets the conversation off-track. I think it's a judgment call whether you want to include this kind of thing in your pitch. Back in ye olde days, when I was a recruiter, I assumed that people had hobbies and I also assumed they were none of my beeswax. I always felt like including hobbies in a description of yourself felt a little too much like a dating site profile. But I'm sure many other recruiters would disagree. Either way, not a deal breaker. 

Here are a couple blog posts I found that might also be helpful, but there are so many others you can find:

How to Create Your Memorable Elevator Pitch
How to Craft Your Personal Brand Statement
How to Build Personal Brand Pitches