Many in IT consulting naively believe that marketing is only something
that merits attention when business slows down. The problem however is
that because of the length of your sales cycle, most can't afford to
back-burner their IT marketing plan.

An important marketing
element many IT professionals neglect to fully develop is the elevator
speech. The elevator speech is a short little description of your
business, and is necessary to reach prospective clients in networking
situations. You need to really practice it and make it a reflex as you
are meeting prospective clients and partners that will be essential to
the growth of your business.

An elevator speech, named for the
amount of time you have to deliver your message between getting on and
getting off the elevator, must be very concise -- 30 seconds tops,
though 10 seconds is more ideal. Remember, if you're still blabbering
away when the person you're sharing the elevator ride with exits,
you're talking way too much.

If you have a well thought-out
compelling business plan and unique problem-solution-benefit value
proposition, writing your elevator speech is a piece of cake.

The following 3 IT marketing plan tips can help you fine-tune your elevator speech.

1. A Fine-Tuned Elevator Speech Helps
You Compete with Other IT Professionals. If you go to an organizational
meeting, like a Chamber of Commerce breakfast or Rotary Club luncheon,
you will probably not be the only IT professional giving a 30-second
commercial as you mingle around and meet others. If there are two or
three other computer service companies there at the same event, you
need to make sure your elevator speech resonates with those you meet
that might be great candidates for your services. A huge part of
success in IT marketing is showing how you are different from your
competitors, and how only your unique solution can fully solve the
problems of your target business prospects. An effective
problem-solution-benefit elevator speech can often get your foot in the
door, which is key to your success in your IT marketing plan.

2. Focus
on Benefits and Problems Solved … Not Features. The key thing with an
elevator speech is that you need to focus on the benefits you provide
for a particular business as well as the problems you can solve. For
example, “Hi, my name is Bob Johnson from Johnson Computer Solutions.
We help small businesses
make better use of their computer systems to grow their revenue, lower
their costs and raise their overall productivity and bottom-line
profits.” Your elevator speech needs to focus on what you can do
specifically for small businesses in actual business language. It
cannot just talk about how great you are, your laundry list of
certifications or the technology services you provide.

3. Make
Sure Your Elevator Speech is Sincere. Any IT marketing activities you
do need to be 100% sincere. Therefore, as you are delivering your
elevator speech, you have to come across as someone that can help
business owners and has a genuine interest in hearing more about them
and their most important issues. The general rule of thumb with
networking is to try to let the person that you’re talking to do most
of the talking. Make sure to use active listening and find the
opportunity for you to help the business owner. Networking as part of
an IT marketing plan is learning about prospects … not about hearing
yourself talk.