Elevator Pitches Are Worth the Effort

A Practiced 2-Minute Pitch Opens More Doors

So, since you’re meeting a lot more people, it kind of makes sense to talk about your elevator pitch.

Ahhh, the elevator pitch. It seems so simple, doesn’t it? A short, engaging message about what you do.  The term comes from the idea that the speech should be about 30 to 60 seconds long, or the length of an elevator ride.   Get it 😉

But here’s the dirty little secret. Most of us aren’t very good at it.

We either provide something plain and boring: I’m a travel advisor. Or ramble on for too long confusing anyone listening. Including the speaker.

But here’s the thing.

Bottom Line:  A good elevator pitch CAN help you open more doors and win more sales.

In this edition, I’m going to break down the key elements to the perfect pitch.

You ready? Let’s do this!

7 Steps To Delivering The Perfect Pitch

What I’m going to share with you is a structure that can help you build your pitch. And this outline is coming from the sales master himself Marc Wayshak, Founder of the Sales Insights Lab.

According to Wayshak there are seven steps in the perfect pitch. I’m going to take you through each step. And, at the end, give you an example of how it can all come together.

Ready? Let’s gooooo!!

Step 1/ Don’t educate:

Instead focus on engaging. Make your story interesting. Your goal is to get the prospect to want to know more. Don’t bore them by telling them how much you know. That’s the kiss of death.

Step 2/ Provide the big picture:

You are talking to hundreds of people. On top of that you have your base of clients. You attend trade shows, Xpos and webinars.  And you read interesting articles from important sources like…PROTips.

This gives you a valuable perspective and is something that is important to prospects.

Step 3/ Your prospects doesn’t care about you:

A common trap in elevator pitches is talking too much about YOU.

As Wayshak points out, your prospect doesn’t care about your company, how long you have worked in the space, How many customers have you sent on vacation, NONE OF IT. So don’t talk about it. At least not at this point.

What your prospects wants to know is if YOU can you help them out.

Step 4/ Script out your pitch:

I know for a fact there are some of you reading this thinking – if I script it out my pitch it’s going to sound too rehearsed and not natural.

You’re right…at first.

But with practice it will flow.

When people try to do their pitch off the cuff – it goes sideways. People ramble. It doesn’t hit the high notes. It falls short and you’ve missed an opportunity.

Don’t wing it. Use a script – practice your lines.

Step 5/ Know the problem you solve for your prospects:

This will become the opening to your pitch. So you need to know the problem you solve.

Another way to think about this for advisors is: What niche do you serve?

Step 6/ Give them three challenges you solve:

Here we start to really get into things. In Step 5 you told your prospect about the problem. Here you lay out three challenges your clients typically are facing.  This shows you understand them and their issues. Show them that you are the person that can overcome these challenges.

Note: Don’t get hung up on the number. It might be three – but it might only be one or two. The point is – hit the hot buttons that you know will catch their interest.

Step 7/ Bring ‘em back in:

This is your pitch – but it’s more than a pitch. It’s a start to a conversation. So you need to bring them into the conversation by asking a question.

After all, your goal is not to keep talking. Your goal is to get them talking.

That’s it. The seven steps.

Now, how does all that sound to you?

Well, let’s see how all this can come together. Below is a sample pitch I worked up.

Sample Pitch

I’m a travel advisor specializing in high end vacations to the southern coast of France and the Tuscany region of Italy.

My clients are typically looking for a vacation that combines both urban and rural experiences.

Since the end of the pandemic, I’ve been seeing a lot of pent-up demand for Europe – especially in these areas.

But pulling these plans together requires a lot of time and knowledge of the area. And clients want to know they are getting the best value for their investment.

Can you relate to any of these issues?

THE KEY TAKEAWAY IS:

• Craft something that fits you and your business
• Next script it out and commit the lines to memory
• And finally adjust as necessary

One more thing!

Your elevator pitch isn’t just for introducing yourself and what you do. Your pitch should impact the rest of your marketing efforts.

Look at your website, are you using the same language? How about emails? Direct mail? Socials?

If yes — cool proceed to Go and collect $200.

If no, this is your opportunity to tighten things up, so you have a consistent message across all your  marketing materials.

Alright that’s a wrap.

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