This post is Part III in a three-part series in which Marcia Hoeck, a dynamic business coach, presents a fresh, effective way to verbally engage with customers and contacts. In Part I , Marcia shares her opinion of elevator speeches (they don’t sound natural, and don’t help people to talk), and introduces us to the concept of conversational marketing, which keeps people’s interest and helps them better understand your value.In Part II, she suggests ways to tap into your customer’s “inner five-year-old” to get them to really hear your message and get them talking.

(Want to guest post for the Final Draft Communications blog? Let’s talk!)

By Marcia Hoeck

Another way to start conversations is to present your point of view. It begins with statements like, “The way I see it . . .” or “From my perspective . . .” or “The thing I’ve learned about . . .” followed by a belief. Even if people disagree, they’ll begin to see things from your point of view and get engaged in a conversation. This conversation will help you learn more about your customers, and help your customers learn more about you and what the company is all about in a way that helps form bonds and foster involvement. You’re talking, not just stating — see the difference?

Your point of view should be easy to understand and remember, and easy to talk about in your own words, so it doesn’t have to be memorized like an elevator speech. With a company point of view, everyone in the organization can have interesting things to talk about with various audiences, including customers, the media, and employees. It can help people understand what the organization is actually all about, shape their feelings about us, and provoke thinking.

The following are “musts” for a point of view:

1. A point of view must be engaging

It must evoke a response and start conversations rather than just informing. The best response to a point of view is to have someone say, “That’s interesting. Tell me more.”

2. A point of view must be true

The more evidence to support your point of view, the greater your credibility.

3. A point of view must be relevant

The more relevant to the audience, the more interested people will be.

4. A point of view must be genuine

You and your organization must truly believe in the idea — there’s no faking it.

5. A point of view must be fresh

No one wants to hear old ideas, but sometimes a non-original point of view can be framed and expressed in a new way to discover new insights.

6. A point of view must connect the dots

Your point of view should connect somehow to your business vision or strategy — otherwise, it’s just talk.

7. A point of view must be memorable

You’ll want your point of view to be easy to remember and stick in a person’s head.

8. A point of view must be “talk-able”

You’ll want your point of view to be easy for people to talk about in their own words, and tell stories around. It should jump start two-way conversations.

9. A point of view must be “leggy”

Your point of view should resonate with multiple audiences, and be able to be communicated through multiple communication channels. You’ll be using it to build marketing and sales programs around, so it has to be flexible and have “legs.”

10. A point of view must be likable

People have to like talking about your point of view, or they won’t.

Examples:

• These are the words I used the first time I ditched my elevator speech: “The thing I’ve learned is that companies think they need to talk about their products and services, when what they really need to do is reveal more about ‘who’ they are as a company and how that relates to the product and services, so customers can connect with them on an emotional level. That’s what I help them do.” It needed work, but it felt so much better than saying I owned a marketing communications firm! And, I swear, the listener said, “Oh, that’s so interesting!”

• “When did beauty become limited by age (or size)? It’s time to think, talk, and learn how to make beauty real again. Join Dove and the debate at campaignforrealbeauty.com.” (Dove)

• “Our collective generation believes the desktop PC is the most important thing to give to people. I don’t buy that. The most important thing to give is access to the internet.” (Jonathan Schwartz, president of Sun Microsystems)

• “We believe software is too complex — too many features, too many buttons, too much to learn. We build the best Web-based software products with the least number of features. Our products do less than the competition — intentionally.” (37signals)

• “When we talk to other people about Southwest Airlines, I always tell them it’s got to come from the heart, not from the head. It has to be spontaneous, it has to be sincere, it has to be emotional.” (Herb Kelleher, co-founder of Southwest Airlines)

Your point of view is in addition to, not in place of, your vision, mission, values, positioning, and other marketing elements you may use. It’s another tool in your marketing toolbox, and one that you can pull out in place of your elevator speech.

Not very many companies use this approach, at least not consciously and consistently. If you do it, you’ll stand out, and people will say, “That’s interesting. Tell me more.”

Like this post? You’ll want to join Marcia’s 4-week teleclass program, “The End of the Elevator Speech,” starting on March 2, 2010.

For 25 years, as owner of a leading strategic branding and marketing communications firm in Toledo, Ohio, Marcia Hoeck lived what she now teaches. Through trial and error, study of other entrepreneurial organizations, and her own vision for seeing how people and business opportunities match, Marcia developed simple high-impact, low-cost systems that enabled her to drastically reduce the amount of time spent managing her business, while increasing her revenues. These philosophies and customizable systems allowed her to create a business with great flexibility and time to pursue other ventures.

Marcia now shares her secrets as a business coach, showing how it is possible to create a culture that works for you — both spiritually and productively — to get your business out of that stuck place, get problems off your desk, and free you to do what you started your business for in the first place.

You can reach Marcia at marcia@hoeck.net. Get business tips and check out her services at www.mybreakthroughbusiness.com.