Pitching Perfect - Learn to Pitch like a Pro

You know what you're doing - despite what imposter syndrome is telling you - you KNOW what you're doing.

You know how to deliver your services and products in a way that is very satisfactory to customers and clients. You have fans and maybe even some fanatics! You're good at what you do, but maybe only the people who've gone out on a ledge are the ones who've benefited from what you do?

Maybe it's because you're not GREAT at explaining it to people?

When it comes time to give an elevator pitch or simply to answer the question "so, what do you do?" you freeze. You start talking about a ton of things that don't actually matter and won't help convince that person to work with you. You're so good at what you do that you become like a mad scientist explaining to the president that an asteroid is going to hit earth in almost exactly 6 months - but all of your valuable information is getting lost in the details of the astro-physics [yes, I too watched "Don't Look Up" over the holiday].

I'm here to help you communicate your "what" a whole lot more clearly than Leo's character did in that first presidential encounter.

First things first - FOCUS

When you're crafting an elevator pitch - try to describe what your main focus is. You're likely an expert (or close to an expert) at many things - but the potential client doesn't need to know about all of that. Instead, find the KEY point and only mention that.

Example: You're the owner of a Café. Your café also happens to have a custom bakery and a wine bar. All of those things are lovely and will indeed bring in their own revenue in their own way - but you don't need to dive into all of that upon first introduction. You might simply say that you're the owner of a café & wine bar. Combining the café & wine bar as a single focus, because they're both about drinks.

Second - Play to your audience

Who are you talking to and what do they need? What problems are they facing that your business helps solve? Of course, this is a strange thing to focus on second if you're just meeting someone for the very first time - but the reality is that you can think through this process for a first time meeting as easily as you would for someone you've know forever. The key is a combination of empathy, intuition and Occam's Razor.

Empathy & Intuition - before you dive into describing yourself and what you do - ask the other person and then truly listen to their answer. Attempt to see the world from their perspective and then intuit what they might need - that fits within what you offer.

I'll say this goes without saying - but nothing really goes without saying...so - there will be plenty of people you meet who have absolutely NO need for your products & services - and that's just fine.

Pitching isn't always about finding the best route to a sale - sometimes pitching is just finding the right person who can connect you to someone else. And if you're really lucky, pitching can end up helping you gain meaningful connections in an ever fracturing world.

Occam's Razor - if you're out of luck and the person insists that you introduce yourself first, introduce yourself with the solution that is most universal. This is where FOCUS comes in handy. You should have a version of your elevator pitch that can be delivered to any random person on the street with little to no context. The way you do that is by assuming that the most universal thing that you offer/do is the thing that most people will understand and/or need. You won't be right 100% of the time - but you don't need to be. You just need to be effective enough to have the person want to continue the conversation.

Benefits Over Everything!

When we meet new people and get the opportunity to chat about our businesses, often we're like a bunch of over-eager puppies. We're lathering at the mouth to tell everyone about how great our features are. We're making bullet point lists in our heads about how they can get this specific type of computer with a Linux system and a Bluetooth mechanical keyboard with led lighting and an ergo mouse. We're running down a list of features as if that's going to keep the person interested.

I guess we've all been a bit too brainwashed by the term "The More You Know"

Of course, that's not at all right in the context of pitching - especially an elevator pitch. More features is not better - BENEFITS are better.

We need to take the time to think through WHY someone would want or need a Linux system? Why is a Bluetooth mechanical keyboard important to them? What does the LED lighting system help them do (or be)? How is an ergo mouse something they can't live without?

Until you break it down into benefits - you won't be able to keep their attention. They simply won't care.

Practice, Practice, Practice

All of the tips I gave are already actionable - you can try to practice this on your own - but you don't have too.

At 6pm EST tonight [Tuesday, January 4, 2022] I have a workshop where we're going to craft and practice our pitches! If you've been wanting to spend some time figuring out exactly what to say and how to say it in a pitch, join this free workshop.

There are absolutely NO strings attached and the workshop is completely free - brought to you by the Google Digital Coach's program.

Click here to register for tonight's session: https://prm.rslts.co/6pKM

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