| Here’s my “back in the old days” story:
See, people used to ride in elevators together and talk business.
Out of that phenomenon came the concept of the “elevator pitch”.
It consisted of a scrappy entrepreneur happening upon the perfect client . . . and pitching the idea in about two minutes, the average length of an elevator ride.
Fast forward to today. The elevator pitch is still VERY in vogue.
Except it happens on social media profiles. At cocktail parties. When pitching some venture capitalists. Heck, it happens on Shark Tank!
It all comes down to creating a compelling, persuasive case about you or your company . . . and delivering it succinctly. If it sounds difficult, that’s because it is. Just look at how Winston Churchill captures it:
“If you want me to speak for two minutes, it will take me three weeks of preparation. If you want me to speak for thirty minutes, it will take me a week to prepare. If you want me to speak for an hour, I am ready now.”
See, given enough time, we can all meander around to our point.
The problem is people don’t have time. They’re tired of hearing boring talks. Droning on about what’s important to you leads to a snooze fest.
Now, before I give you the elevator pitch outline, don’t go thinking you can have only one. Ideally, you and your colleagues will have multiple pitches. That’s because you’re talking to multiple types of people. The key here is to know your audience.
The best way to force yourself to be concise is to limit the space you have to write your pitch on. Once you have one done, time yourself. If you can’t nail this in under two minutes, you’ve got to cut some fat out.
The best part about this method? All you need is a 4 by 6 index card.
Part one: Introduction
Grab the reader’s attention and tell them where you’re going with your pitch.
Part two: Body
Limit yourself to three talking points. Make them what’s important to the listener(s).
Part three: Conclusion
Wrap up by alluding to a couple of strong points you wish to discuss in detail if given additional time.
Part four: Close
The call to action where you ask for an appointment to give them a longer, more in-depth presentation.
Did you notice something missing? Right, no one’s closing deals with elevator pitches in real life!
The main objective of an elevator pitch is to advance the relationship.
All you want to do is pique the audience’s interest in you and your company. Make whoever is listening or reading excited about what you can do for them. The goal is to get a business card, a LinkedIn connection, a phone number . . . anything that will put you in a position to reach out again.
Once you have your set of pitches down cold, you’re ready on a moment’s notice to tell your story in a way to advance relationships . . . and ultimately seals deals like a pro.
Give it a try.
It’s like Churchill said, you will need some serious time to nail this. But take it from me, it pays off BIG TIME when you least expect it.
To your success,
Paul Hanson
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