This post is Part II 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.

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

By Marcia Hoeck

It’s been proven that meaning can most effectively be conveyed by tapping into the five-year-old in your customer through stories and conversations. In her book, Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word of Mouth Marketing, Lois Kelly suggests ways to get that five-year-old to really “hear” our marketing messages:

The five-year-old likes to argue and reason, and uses words like “because”:
You need to explain “why” and “why not.”

The five-year-old uses five to eight words in a sentence:
You need to keep it brief, and use short sentences.

The five-year-old is interested in cause and effect:
You need to explain, “If we do this, then this will happen, if we don’t do this, that will happen.”

The five-year-old understands and uses comparative terms:
You need to use analogies to help him understand.

The five-year-old enjoys creating and telling stories:
You need to tell stories. Storytelling is one of the best ways to help people understand, retain, and repeat ideas.

The five-year-old likes to use swear words:
You need to use disruptive ideas and language to get attention.
(Notice the word “disruptive” — I’m not suggesting that you go out and swear at your customer. Rather, that you might need to shake him up to get his attention.)

What can you explain about your organization, product, or service in “why” and “why not” terms? What brief, short sentences could you use about your organization, product, or service? What cause and effect statements could you make about your organization, product, or service? What analogies can you use? What stories can you tell? What disruptive ideas can you use?

Answering these questions will help you make meaning for your customers in conversational ways — the first step in ditching your elevator speech. (Aren’t you excited? This means no self-important words, no mumbo-jumbo, no corporate-speak!)

In Part III, I’ll give you one more powerful ingredient for making meaning and uncovering talk-worthy ideas. Stay tuned!

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.