Elevator pitches can send even seasoned pros into cold sweats. The pressure to grab attention, tug at the emotions, while clearly articulating your audience, service and solution – at the same time as you impress the heck out of everyone with your artistry – is paralyzing for many. But seriously, when is the last time you closed a piece of business in an elevator anyway? (I’d bet never.)
I have lost count of the times I have participated in a networking event where each attendee in turn gave their pitch. Some were relatively smooth and precisely crafted. Others were shaky at best. Then there were those who just kept going, and going, and going. Now, I will admit, my pitch isn’t all that great. I have hardly worked on it and it is different every time I give it. Yet I rarely leave a networking event without a piece of potential business … or two … or three. Yes, even the virtual ones!
Here’s why your pitch is not cutting it:
Everybody Knows You’re Pitching. We just naturally put up a mild wall of resistance when someone is selling, no matter how inoffensively. The result is, even though they might be a perfect customer, they are paying more attention to the art of your pitch than to you. They are actually assessing their own pitch while you are pitching. How rude! (And you know it’s true because you do it!)
People Don’t Buy Your Pitch. They also don’t buy your product or service. They don’t even buy your “why” (sorry Simon Sinek, you know I love the importance of a brand’s “why”!) People buy a transformation for themselves from someone they trust. If they don’t trust you, they won’t buy your transformation, and if you don’t have the precise transformation they are looking for, it won’t matter anyway. 30 seconds might be enough to catch my interest, but it sure won’t do much to build trust. That will take an actual conversation. I might be Captain Obvious here, but I swear some folks haven’t made this connection. You aren’t done when you pitch. You are just getting started!
Attraction Eats Promotion For Breakfast. As a brand affinity consultant, I know that my clients want to see themselves reflected in my brand. They want to feel like we are simpatico, and on the same page. I can’t tell you how many of my networking pals and even business partners have become clients over time, or have referred me to their pals. They may not even know my elevator pitch – and when they try to provide it to a referral, they typically butcher it. Still, it doesn’t matter. Why? Referrals close at 83%, while cold calls (first touches) are lucky to close at 10%. We already have a shared cause from the start – the potential customer.
You Are Not That important. Yes, you do need to know what makes you special, different, or unique. You need to provide not only a solution, but a solution for a real need, and one that delivers a transformation for your customers. It is critical that you know what those things are. But once you know them, the real work begins. Once you are clear about who you are, you would be very wise to spend 95% of your time with prospective customers asking them about their challenges, hopes, dreams, victories and current activities. Be intensely curious. Ask endless open-ended questions. Get excited for them. Acting like you care more about them than the sale isn’t enough. You actually need to care more about them than the sale.
Pitching is a wonderful exercise which helps you see yourself more clearly. When done well, it helps others know how to help connect you to the right buyers (who might even be them). Still, don’t put undue pressure on yourself to be perfect in 30 seconds. That, my friend, is not really how business gets done, and those that are telling you it is are misleading you.
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