So you’re at a cocktail party, and when meeting someone new you’re asked, “What do you do?” If you respond with “I’m a birth doula”, how many people respond with a blank look on their face? How long does it take for you to then explain what it is you do, and yet, the person still doesn’t quite get it?

To make things easier, create a statement that, in about 15 words or less, describes WHAT YOU DO for women. For example, I could say to you:

“I give pregnant women guidance to help them have easier birth experiences.”

You might have also heard this line described as an elevator speech — in the amount of time it takes an elevator to travel one floor, what could you say to help someone understand what you do?

What Makes a Cocktail Line great?

1. It is specific, simple and brief.
2. It doesn’t contain complicated terminology, the process of how you work, or even your title.
3. It explains who you work with (pregnant women), what you do (give guidance to help them), and a benefit they receive from working with you (have easier birth experiences).
4. It more often than not encourages the person you’re speaking to respond with “Tell me more.”

Time to Create Your Own Cocktail Line

To create your own cocktail line, do the following exercise:

1. Identify who your ideal customers are.
2. Name the major problem they have. Why do they need you?
3. Say what you do to help them and how?
4. What is the result they experience by working with you? What is the main benefit they see by hiring you?

For example:

1. My ideal customers are pregnant women.
2. Their major problem is that they want to feel supported during their birth experience, with physical, emotional, and informational support.
3. I help my ideal customers by giving them guidance to help their decision making process prenatally and during labor and birth.
4. As a result of working with me, they feel their labor and birth was easier to manage because of increased confidence and the ability to cope well throughout labor.

Finally, create your cocktail line using this format:

I [what - helping verb] [who - ideal customers] [how - how you solve their problem] [result - the benefit they received from working with you]

I [what - give] [who - pregnant women] [how - guidance to help them] [result - have easier birth experiences.]

“I give pregnant women guidance to help them have easier birth experiences.”

Practice Makes Perfect

Once you have an elevator speech written out, memorize it and start using it. If people express confusion more often than they’re asking for more information, revise your speech. As you gain more practice, your elevator speech will begin feeling more natural to you.

What Do I Say Next?

So you’ve said your elevator speech and are asked to speak more about what you do. Now what? We’ll take a look at what you can say after your cocktail line in another post.

Have you created or refined your elevator speech? Share it with us in the comments section below or in the Inspired Birth Pro Page on Facebook!

These posts may also inspire you:

1. What Do You Say After Your Cocktail Line?
2. Doula Client Attraction Tip #2 – Identify Your Ideal Client
3. Marketing in Small Ways Every Day
4. 5 Tips For A Great Doula Interview
5. Increasing Your Earning Potential, Part 1 of 3: Diversification, by Leanne Palmerston