Do you have a killer Elevator Pitch??

How's your elevator pitch??

I did a workshop last week at the Idea Collective Small Business Community annual conference about how to connect at a deeper level when you are having sales conversations --- or ANY kind of conversation with someone you want to "influence".

During the workshop, we did a fun exercise on how to create a one-liner (also known as an elevator pitch) using Donald Miller 's (from StoryBrand fame) easy 3-step framework.

It blew my mind how many people thanked me AND asked for a little feedback on their new pitch.

Most people feel like they have a pretty decent elevator pitch.

I'm here to tell you there is ALWAYS room for improvement so that you can connect at a deeper level with your best fit clients.

So, I thought it would be fun to go through the framework with you and give you a couple of inside tips along the way!

STEP #1 : START WITH THE PROBLEM YOU SOLVE

I have listened to soooooo many elevator pitches that start our with "I'm so-and-so, from such-and-such company, and I am a _______ (fill in the blank).

Is this you?

Guess what. You have less than 8 seconds to say something COMPELLING to the person you are talking to before they check out and move on - mentally or even physically. If you start your pitch with what is expected and all about you, you've taken up a majority of those precious 8 seconds.

Instead, start out by describing the problem you solve. Bonus points if you can use emotionally charged words while doing this.

Check it out:

"People come to me when they are feeling overwhelmed and frustrated because they are _______________ (something they want that they don't have. i.e., the problem).

Here are some of the common things that I say:

People come to me when they are . . . .

........ feeling overwhelmed and frustrated because they thought it would be so much easier to fill their sales pipeline, but it's become their biggest challenge.

or

........ have gotten tired of riding the revenue roller coaster. Having one great month followed by two months of nothing.

Get it???

When you start your pitch telling a story about how someone experiences the big problem you solve, you WILL draw in your ideal client and have their complete attention.

Then, it's time to take it to the next level! Let's go to step 2.

STEP 2: TELL THEM HOW YOU SOLVE THE PROBLEM

But wait..... it's still not about you! We will get to it, but you still have a little more work to do to connect with your person on a deep level before talking about yourself!

Think about it. What you do and how you do it is your "Conversation Comfort Zone". You know it so well. You love it and are passionate about it. But, what happens is that once we get the motor cranking and start talking about what we do, we don't know how to shut it off.

OR..... (and this happens often with coaches) we talk about what we do in a very flowery or vague way, using what I call "coach speak". You may do this to the extent that people cannot figure out for the life of them what it is you actually do.

So, before getting into any details about what it is you do, start by telling the person you are speaking with what the EXPERIENCE is like for people who work with you.

Here's what it might sound like using one of my examples from above:

"People often come to me when they are feeling frustrated at how slow filling their sales pipeline has become. Pretty quickly they find that if they have a complete playbook, better messaging, and up-leveled conversation skills, the pipeline starts flowing and they have plenty of people to sell to."

Please notice, I didn't get into the weeds about what it is I offer as much as what they would HAVE after working with me that helps the problem go away.

Finally, let's put a bow on top of this with the third and final part of your elevator pitch.

STEP 3: DEFINE THE OUTCOME CLIENTS EXPERIENCE

HINT: Make it quantifiable and you score extra points!!

Wrapping up your elevator pitch with a quick snippet of an outcome someone can expect from working with you is the strongest way to leave your listener excited to hear more.

This takes a little work though.

Creating a little treasure chest of results your clients have told you they've experienced is such a valuable resource for you.

It's important to get these types of testimonials or documented results.

We are in a period of time where people are being cautious about investing in themselves or their businesses.

Sharing quantifiable outcomes help them to visualize the ROI (return on investment) or ROE (return on effort) for themselves or someone they might refer you to.

So that's it! A neat little three-part framework for a killer elevator pitch.

I've even got a short video on YouTube that has had 120k views --- so don't feel alone, this topic is an important one and at the top of mind of many many people!!

If you'd like to run your elevator pitch past me, feel free to reach out. It would be great to get to know you!