Develop a Strong Elevator Pitch
When I am meeting with a client for the first time, one of the first things that I ask them is to give me their best elevator pitch. When someone gives me their elevator pitch, it usually gives me a good idea of how their business is going and what needs to be done to help it.
If your business needs something to help it get jump started, chances are that you need an elevator pitch makeover. There are three crucial steps that I advise my clients to take in order to help give their elevator pitch the extra pepper that it needs to make potential customers into customers. Also, it is worth noting that you can different length of elevator pitches from ten to sixty seconds. Generally, you want to keep it less that 30 seconds.
• Use Layman’s Terms – The first piece of advice that I give my clients when it comes to an elevator pitch is that they need to talk in layman’s terms. When you are speaking to a potential customer, using a lot of big words and industry jargon, not only does something get lost in the translation, but you are simply being a parrot. Anyone can talk with a lot of technical jargon that comes straight out of a textbook, but it takes a true leader to put things into their own words and get down on a level that potential customers can understand. Tell them what “problem you fill in the market place” – without calling it a problem.
• Have a customer focus – The second thing that I tell my clients is that they need to be focused on their customers. After all, the potential client is going to want to know what you are going to do for them. Be as specific as possible, and again tell them in language that is plain English. Don’t tell them how many customers you have. Tell them why you have customers, why people turn to you, why people keep coming back to your company. In other words, give them results.
• Overcome Challenges – Finally, I suggest to my clients that they need to focus on the challenges that a potential client may be facing. After all, people go to a company because they have an issue. What are you going to do to help them with their challenge? What does your company have to offer them that other companies can’t? Give them an example of someone that you were specifically able to help. A lot of people say that they were able to help a client, but without specific details, how does the person really know what was done? In simple terms – tell them how you provide the solution to the “problem” that typically exists for your customers.
I always remind clients that when they are speaking to potential clients, they need to treat them the way that they want to be treated. When you are getting ready to meet with potential clients, review your elevator pitch and ask yourself, “Is there anything in here that shouldn’t be here? Is there anything that I can add to authenticate what I am saying to the customer?” It’s much better for you to review it before meeting potential clients than to say something and think, “Oh, no, I shouldn’t have said that.” An elevator pitch should be something that is going to encourage the customer to want to know more and deal with the company, not leave them confused and scratching their head.
