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A Message from the President
By Rick Peterson
The Pitch "Tell Me More!
As I got on the elevator to attend another day of the most recent NARMH conference, a person, after seeing my nametag, asked "What’s NARMH?" There it was; my opportunity! But what do I say? I only had 30 seconds or less to convey what NARMH is all about before the elevator ride was over. How do I leave a lasting impression and give them a concise overview of NARMH. Clearly the pressure was on.
As a NARMH member has this ever happened to you? If so, did you have a quick, 30 second response that explained what NARMH is, what the organization does and why people should be interested in joining NARMH? As members of the association we should be able to articulate who and what we are about when talking about the association with colleagues, friends, and family. We ought to have a clear short message that can be spoken in 30 seconds or less.
This message is more commonly called the "elevator speech"—brief statements capturing the salient features of what a business or organization is all about—that could be delivered to a fellow elevator passenger between the sixth floor and the lobby. As the premise goes, the rider sharing your elevator would gain a general understanding of what the organization is and does. It’s the uncommon yet critical conversation with new potential members or supporters. You have one chance to make a great first impression. Time is of the essence. This message is not simply saying something polite or just coherent or reciting a mission statement. We’re talking about quickly and confidently delivering a high-impact, memorable and emotionally engaging communication.
The experts tell us that to leave a lasting impression with a prospect or to prompt a prospect to say, "Tell me more!" start by identifying the most critical elements of your organization’s story. As I thought about these critical elements several things came to mind. NARMH, since its inception, has had a strong commitment to rural people and rural providers. This commitment has allowed NARMH to be focused on what it takes to provide quality services and meaningful research for rural consumers and providers alike. NARMH also has several core functions that include:
- Supplying high quality training opportunities for members and non-members through our annual conferences;
- Serving as an advocate for members and rural consumers;
- Articulating policy recommendations to improve accessibility, availability and acceptability of mental health services;
- Providing a forum for practitioners, researchers and consumers to network and dialogue;
- Disseminating best practices and research findings through our publication Rural Mental Health and on our web site; and
- Offering leadership opportunities for the next generation of rural providers and researchers.
These core functions enable the association to provide a range of services to meet the needs of members and enhance our mission of Linking Voices to Promote Rural Mental Health.
Well back to the elevator . . .
Seizing upon the opportunity, I launch into my elevator pitch.
"Hi, I’m Rick Peterson. I am a member of the National Association for Rural Mental Health, more commonly know as NARMH. NARMH is a professional association committed to improving the availability, accessibility and acceptability of mental health services for rural Americans. Think of us as a chain that links diverse rural voices of clinicians, researchers and consumers to high quality training opportunities, the latest rural mental health research and best practices. We make policy recommendations, advocate for members and develop rural leaders of tomorrow to make recovery possible for those with mental illness. If you’d like more information you can find us on the web at www.narmh.org.
So the next time you are face-to-face with a prospective member or policy maker think about how you will initiate your own well-crafted, provocative 30-second elevator conversation.
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© National Association for Rural Mental Health
300 33rd Ave. S., Suite 101, Waite Park, MN 56387 - 320.202.1820,
FAX: 320.202.1833 * Email: info@narmh.org
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