I met my most powerful contact in an elevator. I recognized him from photographs, introduced myself, and then took 30-seconds to make him want to meet with me again.
As he left the elevator, he shouted his number to me, and told me to meet with him next week. Case closed; and that was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
This is how I developed a 30-second elevator pitch (e-pitch) that established credibility, quickly educated the listener, and created interest for a follow up meeting:
1. Be the Brand – When you look, speak, and smell like a hot mess, that’s also what I’ll think about your business. Your image is a crucial part of communicating with credibility. You shouldn’t wear a 3-piece suit if you’re a plumber, but regardless of what you do, make conscious decisions about how you are presenting yourself to the marketplace.
2. Know your Target – If you don’t know who you help, how can someone else help you find them? Who is your best customer? Where are they located? What industry are they in? What is their role? How big are they? Now, say it in 4 words or less. (ex. small north side business owners, professional service marketing directors, Carmel stay-at-home moms, etc.)
3. Communicate the Benefit – What is the most popular overarching benefit to your product or service. Do you help people save time and money in the kitchen? Do you take the pain out of plumbing? Or, do you help business owners build a business that runs on its own? When you select the words you use, you will want the listener to actively picture what you do. You know you have a good benefit statement when the listener says, “How do you do that?” You know you have a poor benefit statement when the listener says, “I don’t get it. What does that mean?”
4. Creating Interest – Your target and benefit statement should be clear, quick, concise, and follow the following formula: “I help (target market) (benefit statement).” This sentence should take you literally 3-seconds or less to say.
5. Educating the Listener – When the listener asks, “How do you do that”, that they’re really asking is, “How do you differentiate yourself in the market place?” Tell them. We offer a kitchen cutlery product with a custom edge that makes cutting easier and faster. We have a 7-step evaluation, estimate, and repair system that makes plumbing repairs easy for the client to understand. Or, we teach clients how to build systems in their business through a 12-week seminar that’s kind of like getting a MBA in entrepreneurship ASAP. Your “differentiation statement” should be longer than your benefit statement, and take 20 or so seconds to say. Remember to simply answer the question, “What makes you different”.
Creating your e-pitch is a simple process, but can be challenging. After you have taken some time to create your e-pitch, please share it with our readers!
Jamar Cobb-Dennard is the Vice-President of Business Development for reachmore, which teaches small business owners how to build a business that runs without them. For more resources on business leadership, please visit reachmore’s seminars.