Effective Strategies E-Zine

Volume 6, Issue 5

Get the printable version of this worksheet to promote your business. Click here to download it.

Get the printable version of the worksheet customized for job searchers. Click here to download it.

“We aren't necessarily selling ourselves to the people we meet — we're teaching them how to sell us to the people they know.”

Carrie Smith
Chief Relationship Officer

Download the Printable 60-Second Commercial Worksheet

Click here to download the worksheet.

 

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Effective Strategies is devoted to sharing ideas that can improve your business performance. If you missed the last issue, click here to read it.

Feel free to tell anyone who can benefit from this information.

Reader Ideas Welcome

Do you have a great small business management idea you’d like to share with our readers? Send it on! Specific questions and topic ideas are also welcome. Share your ideas via e-mail at carrie@soarhigher.com

 

Craft Your Own 60-Second Commercial

Make Yours Clear, Concise, Memorable, and Repeatable

Repeatable? What for? Here’s why: You probably aren’t selling to the person you are speaking to when you give your 60-second commercial. Instead, you are helping them understand what you do and educating them on your ideal prospect. If your 60-second commercial is clear, concise, memorable, and REPEATABLE, they will be able to tell someone who they consider to be your ideal prospect next time they get a chance.

The purpose of the 60-second commercial — maybe you’ve heard it called an elevator statement — isn’t to have something to recite word for word when you meet someone. Instead, it provides you 60 seconds of information to have available if someone asks you, “What do you do?” You just need to provide someone with enough information to compel them to ask next, “Really, tell me more” or “How do you do that?”

Your 60-second commercial consists of your positioning statement and something that differentiates you from the competition.

Click here to download a printable version of the 60-Second Commercial Template.

Positioning Statement

Your positioning statement formula looks something like this:

“I’m [your name] and I’m with [your organization’s name]. I provide [list the services you provide] so that [the benefit to your client]. A good client for me is [your ideal client].”

Here is one for a SCORE counselor:

“My name is Dana Jones. I’m a volunteer with SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business. I work with small business people who want to start or improve their small business by improving all aspects of their business including profitability, customer service, visibility, and overall success. A great lead for me is someone who is starting a business or has questions about how to make their small business more successful.”

Your positioning statement should be simple, memorable, and repeatable. It should appear on all of your marketing materials.

 Fill in the components of your positioning statement below.

Your Name_________________________________________________________________________

Your Organization Name_______________________________________________________________

Services You Provide__________________________________________________________________
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Benefit to Your Client__________________________________________________________________
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Your Ideal Client_____________________________________________________________________
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Write your own positioning statement below.

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What Differentiates You?

When you look for something that makes you a better choice than your competitors — that differentiates you, think of a key service or product that your competitors don’t offer. Think of something that will make your potential client’s life so wonderful that they have to know more. Some people use this portion of their 60-second commercial to share product knowledge which helps position them as an expert.

List all the things that differentiate you.

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How can you make your client’s life better?

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What product or service knowledge can you share with your contact?

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Write your statement about what differentiates you from your competitors.

Without mentioning anything about your competitors, develop a statement from the information above that will build on your
60-second commercial.

__________________________________________________________________________________
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Revise and Refine as Needed

Put it all together and use it every chance you get. Study the reactions to your 60-second commercial. It should make people want to know more by inspiring them to ask questions. If they look confused after listening to your 60-second commercial, you should consider refining it. Look for every opportunity to use it. Practice will make it seem much more natural.

 

Carrie Perrien Smith is a professional speaker, published writer, and owner of Soar with Eagles, a Rogers, Arkansas-based company. She is a publishing, communication, and training industry veteran whose corporate career spans 15 years, split between Texas Instruments and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Her company offers training, book publishing, conference management, and consulting services as well as a professional speaker’s bureau. Her latest book is called Currency: Striking Networking Gold in a Relationship Economy. Click here to learn more about it.  

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