Last weekend I hurriedly left my hotel room in San Francisco, as I was late for a charity event downstairs. When I got into the elevator, I turned to the mirror inside to make sure that my hair looked okay. As I did, I heard the only other passenger in the elevator, a young woman, say “Oh, can I help you with that?” I thought that was a bit strange, until I looked down and saw that she was holding a cart filled with all sorts of hairdressing tools and products. Turns out she had just left a client, and she insisted on fixing my hair. Once outside, she gave my hair a quick spray, and off we both went in different directions — but only after I asked her for her business card and told her that I’d contact her the next time I was in town.
You’ve surely heard of “elevator speeches”, and this was very similar to that. It was a quick, to-the-point, meaningful interaction that happened in the brief time it takes for an elevator to reach its destination.
It reminded me about one of my frustrations with non-profits. For-profits, especially startups looking for funding, are skilled in making the most of any interaction once they identify a potential funder or customer. They practice over and over again, making sure their “elevator speech” is brief, compelling and clear, hoping that it results in the exchange of business cards (and, ideally, the promise of a future meeting.)
But non-profits are another story altogether. Often, people associated with charitable organizations have trouble describing in a succinct manner what their organization does. Whether it’s the Executive Director, senior management, general staff or a board member, everyone who has a stake in a non-profit should have a perfect “elevator speech” at the ready — always. It’s shocking how often I ask someone in passing what they do, and I hear “Oh, I work for a nonprofit”, or “I sit on a few boards”.
Why do I have to then ask them what nonprofit they work for? Or what the boards are that they sit on? Not my job.
If you spend time — whether it be work time or volunteer time (as in board service), why would you want to waste any opportunity to promote your organization? If opportunities present themselves in brief encounters with potential partners or funders, you don’t have the luxury of being coy or evasive. In fact, doing so is a disservice to the organization that you serve.
This scenario happens enough that it makes me wonder if people are embarrassed that they work for — or are associated with — a non-profit. I so hope that’s not true, and that the lack of an well-honed elevator speech is just a matter of an organization not teaching its people how to do it.
So, in the spirit of not missing any other opportunities — whether it be in a real elevator or elsewhere — learn from those startup mavericks and get your perfect elevator speech written, refined and ready to go. Don’t arrive at the lobby without it.
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- Lisa