Having an Elevator (Airplane) Pitch

I’m all cozy and warm in Spokane, Washington to spend Thanksgiving break with my family, and I couldn’t be happier about that. I left school this past Friday to come home and it was my first experience traveling with my Alesya Bag in the friendly skies. So, how’d it go?

Well, to say my Alesya Bag is great to travel with is an understatement. In total, I was bringing home my 15.4″ MacBook Pro, two chargers, one notebook, three books (two of them are thick–500+ pages!), my planner, and a Coach zip-around wallet as well as my keys to school and my dad’s birthday present (Michael Buble’s Christmas album). My bag was strategically filled, but it wasn’t bulky or hard to maneuver around the airport. It was great to just have one bag to carry around as I speed-walked to connecting flights instead of lugging a handful of things. One note, though: if you were hoping Alesya Bag’s ingenious laptop storing system will get you through security quickly like those new travel bags that you just lay open to reveal the laptop, unfortunately that wasn’t the case for me. I had my iPhone charger in the pocket with my laptop, and airport security yelled at me to take the laptop out because there were “other things in the pocket.” I was a little bit peeved (come on, it’s one tiny phone charger!), but it wasn’t a big deal to slide out my laptop and put it in its own bin. If you keep your laptop by itself in the dedicated laptop sleeve, they might let you through if you lay it open on the security belt. I’ll have to try that on the way back to school!

I hadn’t really prepared myself with an elevator pitch (and yes, I do know how important it is to have one!); my brain was more or less filled with how much work I had to get done on the plane and while I was home and trying to enjoy time with family. So, when I started chatting with a woman while waiting to board on my Southwest flight, I had to think on my feet when she started showing interest in my bag.

“You know,” she started, gesturing to the two bags at her feet. “If I had a bag like yours, I wouldn’t have to travel with all of these!”

“Yeah, I love this bag.” And then I went for the home run that always surprises people at school: “Can you tell I’m carrying a laptop in it?”

Of course, she couldn’t. After taking a few guesses as to where my Mac might be hiding, I showed the woman the dedicated laptop pocket. Needless to say, she loved it. As we filed onto the plane, I told her I was a brand ambassador and offered her my business card. She snatched one up right away! We didn’t sit close to each other on the plane, so I couldn’t catch her name, but I certainly hope she checks out the Alesya Bag website and puts a bag on her Christmas/Hanukkah list–I would if I were her!

So, I guess I have my elevator pitch–catch the customer by delighted surprise. We’ll see if I can surprise more people on my way back to Southern California for school!