IT Employment

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Do you have an Elevator Speech?

0 helpful
6 replies

by ldyosng

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.
I'm looking for examples and advice on creating an "elevator speech": that 10 second sound bite you're supposed to deliver when someone shakes your hand and asks "so, what do you do?" Usually I get that deer-in-the-headlights look and stammer for just long enough to lose their attention before coming up with anything.

6 replies

by jdgretz

In reply to "what do you do?" my response runs along this line -

I help remove the frustration of having to spend too much time managing your network by stabilizing your IT environment so you can get back to managing your business, not your network.

jdg

by anton.kaplenko

Hi, I know your pain... as a freelancer and a "jack-of-all-trades", it's hard describing what I do sometimes, especially in high-pressure situations (like meeting my new girlfriend's parents for the first time, hehe).

Some shortcuts I've worked out: call yourself an "IT Manager", if you're dealing with non-techies; this pretty much covers anything. If you're in a technically-aware crowd, it helps to narrow it down a bit: "I'm the security admin", or "I implement storage and backup solutions", etc, etc.

Generalize your work description, and have some details on standby if questioned further. That's all.

by ldyosng

The marketing mentor of my local chamber of commerce says I need a 15 second description that tells people what problem I solve for them. Rather than "I'm a database administrator," something more like: "I help businesses manage their information so they can make more productive customer contact/leverage their network contacts to increase sales" or some other kind of mumbo-jumbo like that.
He sounds me every time I say I manage information. He wants to know why it matters to him. Good point. I'm too geeky to get why someone wouldn't already know why, but I'm trying to sell my services to small business owners, not other geeks, so I need to be able to tell people what I can do for them, not just what I can do.
Does that make any kind of sense?

by kscanlon

"I make sure that my clients have the right information when they need it, so that they can make sound, data-driven business decisions."

by ldyosng

Thanks! That's great!
What I've been using is:
Technology is a Tool.
Tools are for Work.
People are for Business.
I make Technology Work so People can do Business.

by tink56

If I told *you* I'm a network administrator, you'd understand what I do.

For most non-tech people, I say something like:

I provide the employees with fast, accurate, and secure methods to access the information they need to serve our customers. I also coordinate various technology initiatives to meet the dynamic needs of our organization.

This discussion is closed to new replies.