Well-meaning sales managers continue to convince their minions that more than anything else in life they need an elevator speech. Whenever someone asks what they do, they dont stammer or make something up on the fly. They want everyone on the sales team to regurgitate the same words every time without even thinking about it.
It sounds like a noble objective, an excellent way to achieve message consistency. Perhaps. But its also a total waste of time since it runs counter to what selling and marketing are all about. Elevator speeches are about us, while marketing and sales are about the customer. In other words, the elevator speech takes us in the wrong direction.
