In my blog The right advice at the right time I talked about qualifying a client as part of your sales process, before presenting your product or service.
Sometimes, it’s also important to develop a script for shorter pitches, or ‘elevator pitches’. These too, help you to qualify a client.
The so-called ‘elevator pitch’ came out of Hollywood.
An aspiring actor or actress may have had only one chance to pitch an idea, and that chance may well have come in an elevator ride with a Hollywood executive.
They had the length of the ride to talk up an idea for a film, a role, or a script, so their story had to be quick and clear. These days, you’re unlikely to find yourself making an actual elevator pitch, but you still need to be succinct with any proposal, especially if time (or attention) is short.
If someone asks you what you do, you must engagingly describe your business so that by the time they leave your side, they want to become a customer themselves.
I recall doing an exercise for a senior leadership team that directly illustrates the concept.
We divided a room full of executives into teams of two and gave them questions to ask each other during an actual elevator ride.
They asked each other things like; “What do you do?” and “Can you tell me clearly what you offer in benefits at your business?”
The responder’s job was to get the questioner excited about the company and to show how the company could solve their problems.
The elevator rides were very revealing. When the doors opened and the riders reported on the responses, every single story was different. Every one.
It was pretty eye-opening for me, because it was my company they were talking about!
The executives weren’t getting the right message across, and the message itself was inconsistent. They needed to learn to tell the company’s story, to feel comfortable even bragging a little.
As I say to my kids, if you’re telling the truth, it’s not showing off.
More Secrets
While there is no absolute formula for creating an elevator pitch, I’ve adapted the work of a well-known marketer called Eben Pagan to illustrate the importance of emotion.
Like Pagan, I believe using the right words can help you focus on the emotional needs behind the client’s desires.
The key is to talk about helping, describe who you help, explain what they will achieve, and suggest what they need to do to get started.
Say, for example, you offer a weight loss program; your elevator pitch might sound like this:
“I help overweight women who want to lose more than 20 pounds, get rid of their fat in as little as 90 days without starvation and without torturing themselves with military exercise. Do you know any woman who would want to lose more than 20 pounds quickly?”
Here’s another example, if you offered, say, debt consolidation services. Your pitch is a little different, but the pattern is the same:
“I help people who are in $10,000 or more credit card debt. I cut their monthly payments in half, and then I get them completely out of debt.Do you know anybody who has credit card debt and would like to cut their payments and eliminate their debt in less than three years?”
For NRS Media, I would say:
“I help advertisers who are confused, frustrated, and unsure about what media to invest their advertising dollars in. Do you know anyone who has a problem like that? Anyone who would like a no obligation, free advertising audit?”
Who could say no to offers like these?
Develop your elevator pitch.
Use this template to create your own elevator pitch. The principles behind the elevator pitch work across many formats and situations, but it is important to know what kind of environment you will be presenting in, so you can gear your content to your audience.
Have fun, good selling!
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Mike Brunel started mikebrunel.com after being a successful entrepreneur and founder of NRS Media. He co-founded NRS Media in Wellington, New Zealand, expanded it into a global powerhouse in media sales and training, and was eventually responsible for opening offices in London, Atlanta, Toronto, Sydney, Capetown, and Bogota. His products and services are now sold in 23 countries and in 11 languages generating $350 million annually in sales for his clients. Mike sold the company in 2015 and now spends his time following his passions which include rugby, travel. His promise: “I can find thousands of dollars in your business within minutes – GUARANTEED” TRY ME!