Consider the Impact of Your Private Money Elevator Speech

Have you ever really given much thought to what is known as an “elevator speech”? This is what you do, when you have only a brief moment to talk to someone, and what you have to talk about is very important. How will you handle this opportunity? Will it mean great things for your business, or will it become an opportunity wasted?

In the world of private money, we encounter potential lenders each and every day (whether we realize it or not) and, as such, we also have elevator speech opportunities with the same regularity. Since private money is such an important part of modern small business finance, it is necessary to think about how you will approach people, given a brief moment of opportunity.

I’ve met business owners who have secured huge amounts of financial leverage, just by having a good private money elevator speech. What goes into such a speech to make it so persuasive? Therein lies the secret. You don’t have to be an expert salesperson or sound like, in any way, you have a pitch. That will actually drive more people away than it will produce success.

A good elevator speech starts with a simple introduction. Eye contact, hand shake, all that good stuff. You want to establish first name contact as quickly as possible to get the conversation comfortable. Small talk is for amateurs, so stay away from chat about the weather, politics, or the like, unless you have a very good reason to do so.

Next, you want to find out what your potential lender does for a living. Be interested in them, and seek to understand in as short a periodof time as possible what sort of career type they have. This is only important in that it helps establish why they would be interested in your private money program, rather than if they have money to lend or not.

Last, you want to be able to introduce what it is you do. This is the most important part, but don’t ignore the steps that lead up to it. You want your description of your business to be brief, compelling, and leave some questions in the other person too. Their questions and curiosity are mandatory to them being interested in becoming a potential private lender.

How do you know if your speech was a success? You don’t have time for a commitment from them, nor do you have time to even talk details. All it takes at this point is a simple question or comment. If they ask a question about your business or express interest in it, then your speech has been a success. Make sure to gather their contact information (and give them yours too), and you’re on your way to working with a new client.

More on that will come in future posts but, for now, get your speech down so you can bring your private money opportunity to as many people as you can.