Elevator questions

Business students are taught to write an elevator pitch. Sales people and job seekers too.

The idea is we should be able to clearly explain our product, service, bio or business in under 60 seconds. The time it might take to ride an elevator with someone else.

But if we’re trying to make a good first impression, it might be better to start with a question.

When someone asks, “what do you do?,” we can answer with a pitch:

We’re a flower service that delivers beautiful custom arrangements at competitive prices. And we make it easy. You can order flowers on your mobile device in under 2 minutes and have them delivered in under 24 hours. You can track your order on your mobile device too. And get a text when it’s delivered. We’ll even send you a photo of the delivered product so you can feel confident you’re getting what we promised.

Or we can answer with a question:

When was the last time you ordered flowers for someone? And what was that experience like?

Depending on the answer, we might decide to deliver a tailored pitch.

Or not.

Maybe the other person in the elevator always orders chocolates. Never flowers. And if that’s who we’re talking to, delivering a pitch to sell flower delivery is silly.

People like buying. But no one likes being sold.

It would be a better use of 60 seconds to learn why they prefer chocolate. And what kind is their favorite.