You get onto an elevator with a total stranger, you both say good morning to each other, and then he looks at you and asks, “So what do you do?” You now have 30 seconds to explain your job–Go!

Most of us know what an elevator pitch is: the 30-second speech we give when encountering someone who wants to know who we are and what we and our companies do. That’s usually easy enough, except this is the parking industry and explaining that bit alone is enough to eat up 30 seconds and then some. As parking professionals, I don’t think we can afford to wing it when it comes to our elevator pitches. In an industry as under-appreciated as parking, we have to have that speech locked and loaded.

One trick I use is to forgo my name and title until the very end. I start right off explaining my operation, and then go into how what I do might affect my new acquaintance or how the parking industry affects things like traffic, property value, and quality of life. If there is time, I’ll give my name and title (if they were really interested, they’ll ask anyway).

Of course, you have to tailor your own elevator pitch to suit you, but it’s something that requires proactive thought. Don’t be caught off-guard. The parking deck may be our office, but the elevator is our media room.

 

Have a great elevator speech? Send it to Kim Fernandez for a future feature article.