Five Steps to Creating Your Own Red-Hot Elevator Statement

By Katherine Vessenes, JD, CFP®, RFC

Have you ever been asked what you do and found yourself mumbling “I am a financial advisor,”? It shouldn’t come as a surprise when your listener smiles and walks away. You just missed a great, no-cost, opportunity to gain a new client. The key is to have a well-prepared description of your business, motivating the listener to do business with you. You need an elevator statement.

In case you missed Advertising 101, in marketing lingo, an elevator statement is a punchy description that answers, “What do you do?” Your mini-commercial is so short you could spit out the answer on a short elevator ride.

Your elevator statement should be so compelling, the listener asks for more information. You want a response like, “Wow. That sounds interesting. Do you help people trying to put their kids through college?” If your listeners are only smiling and changing the subject, the statement needs work. You must capture their attention early, and let them know you understand and can solve their problems.

Rushing the process yields lousy results. The process can take an entire day working with experienced professionals, or even longer. I know because we have developed dozens of these over the last few years. Also, most people need outside help. Even we hired a public relations consultant to help with ours. We were so close to our own story, we couldn’t see the forest through the trees.

Here are the steps to creating your own red-hot elevator statement:

Step One: Put yourself in the client’s shoes

Your client is “the marketing genius.” An effective elevator statement comes from their perspective, dealing with their problems. The statement should paint a picture of their ideal future.

Pull together your staff, spouse and good friends to list every reason that answers: “Why do our best clients like working with us?” Using flip chart paper, fill up three or four pages and then vote on the top three-to-five key phrases that describe what motivates your clients to work with you. Then, get feedback from your best clients and a few centers of influence, people who weren’t at the original brainstorming session.

Step Two: Identify Your Target Market

No successful business is all things to all people. It is important to identify your target audience, as it helps the listener decide if they fit into your target group. You should include your target market in your elevator statement.

One of the most powerful elevator statements ever created was by Volvo: “For safety conscious car buyers, Volvo is the automobile provider that keeps you and your family safe.” It quickly identifies the target audience: safety conscious car buyers. Those concerned about driving safety won’t want to miss the information because it pertains to them. Also notice the elevator statement painted a picture of their future: a safe family.

I reworked the statement a bit, “For the safety conscious investor, we are the planning firm that keeps you and your family safe.” Most compliance departments will have a problem with this, but you might get lucky; give it a try!

Step Three: Create your statement using a template like this

Using your top factors, fill in the blanks as a starting point to create your own elevator statement. “We provide ___ (benefit), ___ (benefit) and ___ (benefit) for ___ (target market), so they can ___ (paint ideal picture).”

Our first draft was, “We have a team of experts who help Boomers reduce their taxes, so they don’t run out of money in retirement.” After refining: “Most of our clients are Boomers and pre-retirees concerned about running out of money in retirement. Because this area is complicated, we use a team of experts to help them reduce their taxes so their money is working harder and they can retire with confidence.” The gutsy can go one step further and add: “So, is running out of money in retirement something you have thought about?”

Step 4: Memorize it

Everyone in your business needs to memorize the statement. They are ambassadors for your business and must be able to recite the statement with confidence and grace.

Step 5: Test it out on your key stakeholders and your best clients

Let them tell you if it is compelling and motivates them to want to do business with you.
Final tip: Think like Tony Robbins:

If you ran into Tony on an elevator and asked him what he did, you would get an enthusiastic response. Learn a lesson: Be enthusiastic! If you’re not excited about what you do, why will anyone else be motivated to work with you?

Here’s a great intro: “I have the greatest job in the world; I get to help Boomers acquire and protect their wealth so they can live the life of their dreams.”