If you’re looking to make an impression that leads to potential meetings, one of the first tasks on your to-do list should be crafting an ideal “elevator pitch. It’s a 30-60 second rendition that summarizes who you are and what you do.
You must be able to let it flow on demand at, from a networking event to a cocktail party conversation with someone who might be able to help you land a client.
Consider this process:
1. Know Your Audience. You must know who is listening and be prepared with the appropriate vernacular
2. Write it Down. Write down everything you’d want and prospect to know about your skills, accomplishments and experiences that are relevant to your customer profile. Then edit and delete everything that’s not critical to your pitch with extreme prejudice
Your goal is to interest the listener in learning more, not to tell your whole life story
3. Organize it. It should answer three questions: Who are you? What do you do? And Where you do it from?
Here’s an example with the essentials: “Hi. I am Tessa Doherty. I am a Dream Achiever with CBM Mortgage. I facilitate the process for my clients to achieve their home-ownership dreams with the best lending solutions in the industry
That would take about 15 seconds. Tessa would then want to use her next few seconds to add her tag-line and unique value proposition, such as availability to her clients that’s different than the competition …
4. It’s About Them, not You. It’s important to remember that the people listening to your speech will have their antennas tuned to What’s in It for Me? So be sure to focus your message on their needs
5. Speak Easy. You need to make your pitch easy for anyone to understand, so avoid using acronyms and tech-speak that the average person might not understand
6. Read it Out Loud. Writing is more formal and structured than speaking. If you’re not careful, your elevator pitch can come off sounding more like an infomercial than a conversation. Reading it aloud then tinkering with the words will help you sound more authentic
7. Practice, Practice, Practice. Rehearse your pitch in front of a mirror so you can see and hear how you sound
8. More than One. You need to say things slightly differently to an interviewer than to a former colleague. Also, sometimes you’ll just have 15 seconds for a pitch, while other times you may have a minute or two
9. Be confident. The best-worded elevator pitch in the world will fall flat unless it’s conveyed well
Jorge is an accomplished and experienced Executive Adviser, Author, Business Coach, Leadership Development Coach, Sales Trainer, and Radio Host of the Business minute. Certified to conduct individual and organizational assessments to identify and provide gap analyses and solutions for non-profits and for profit organizations. Jorge’s passion and purpose is to serve others and develop human capital through leadership development and quality of life improvement. Jorge is Co-Author of The Change 7 Insights into Self Development, available in Amazon