What's Your 30-Second Elevator Pitch?
Not long ago, a question was posed on Credit Today's listserv, inquiring what others' "30 second elevator pitch" was.A 30 second elevator pitch is just that - a quick summary of your job for someone who probably isn't familiar with it. Some of the keys to an elevator pitch are:
- The person doesn't want a long explanation - it's got to be short (sometimes much less than 30 seconds).
- Your pitch has to take into account the knowledge level of the person you're speaking with.
- There's a big difference between an elevator pitch and a corporate mission statement.
- No matter who you're speaking with, it can't be "corporate speak," but natural, plain English.
- The pitch you give to someone in your company, or someone who is already knowledgeable about business finance issues, should be different from what you give to a layman.
So here is an idea if you're asked at a party or by a friend about what you do: I work for [YOUR Company] and I manage their receivables. Pretty much everything you see is sold on credit from one business to another. (at this point, you can look around and show the person some examples - "this desk, the shirt you're wearing, the materials in this building, for example"). It's not consumer credit, which is the first thing people think of when you say credit, and it's not bank credit, which is typically the second thing people think of when you say credit, but what's called "trade or business credit." So most everything you see is sold today but not paid until about 30 days later. If you think about the U.S. economy, that's a huge number. Accounts receivable are actually one of, if not the largest asset in the economy. Most customers are honest and the sales go through without a hitch. But it takes proper management to make sure things run smoothly. We ensure that our customers are solvent, honest, and pay on time. If we didn't manage the process tightly, things would get out of control quickly. Just as an example, at any given time, we have about $x million (or billion) in receivables outstanding with x thousand customers. I really enjoy it because I get to deal with pretty much everyone in the company on the job. We're finance guys, but we deal with sales, customers, accounting, IT, shipping, customer service - you name it! If you're in a situation where you want to be more concise, here's a really good one from our old friend Tom Corbett, a former credit exec-turned VP of a big outsourcing firm-turned senior VP of a credit reporting firm and now VP at Marsh Trade Credit Services. Despite all of that baggage, which we try not to hold against him, he's usually a voice of reason, and this time was no exception. Here's what he used to say: I'm in corporate credit, which is any sale from one business to another business. For example, my company makes XXXX, so our customers include YYYY. (If the customer's names are well known I would use their names; otherwise something like 'our customers make or sell ZZZZ.') I make sure we only sell to creditworthy companies and that we get paid for our sales. A good elevator pitch:
- Communicates your excitement at your job
- Is simple and clear
- Recognizes the knowledge level of the person you're speaking to
- Helps them see the beauty and importance of trade credit
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