A sales message designed for one situation will not necessarily work well in another. For example, you may have perfected your 30-second elevator speech (or “30-second commercial,” as it’s often called). This works great if you are actually in an elevator and have someone’s complete attention. But it will get you those glazed looks if you try to work 30 seconds of monologue into a conversation in the buffet line at a networking event. Live, spur-of-the-moment dialogue requires a completely different approach (think of it as “conversation ping-pong”), even if you include some of the same words and phrases. Sellers who have perfected their 30-second commercials often don’t have dialogue prepared for the times they need it. Likewise, the message that works with a decision maker will likely not work with the assistant. The message that works on the first meeting will likely not work on the 3rd.
