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How To Make an Elevator Pitch #432
In a building with 2-9 floors, an elevator should take between 10 & 20 seconds to clear the entire distance at full speed. In a building with 10-29 floors, it should take between 12 & 20 seconds to clear the entire distance at full speed unless, you live in New York City where the average elevator ride is 118 seconds. This creates a challenge for the seller who is tasked with delivering a pitch to a prospective buyer, held hostage, ever so briefly, in that elevator!. What can you do to get the prospects to pause and agree to learn more in 118 seconds? That’s our topic for today, how to make an elevator pitch.
Today’s Chapter: Elevator Pitch
Brief in words
Yet long in substance
Tuned for the ear of the listener
The Master Seller makes their pitch.
Both concise and precise
Asking questions that elicit response
in search of a gap
to be filled
a Story that touches the heart
Sharing, asking, listening
All in the wink of a brief ride
Today’s Story
On the tradeshow floor Pat stepped into the aisle and handed attendees cards that caused them to pause and listen. Throughout the day, the pitch was tuned with some words drawing blank stairs and others glints of interest. By early afternoon, the pitch was polished and Pat and Chris used it successfully for the rest of the event to collect qualified leads.
At the end of the first day Chris asked “How did you know this pitch was going to work? I was surprised how it changed hour by hour” “Well” said Pat “We know our solution, but it’s in understanding the problem where most sellers falter. I just kept asking people, do you have this problem, and kept switching up problems until we found the one that resonates with most. Then we started to tune if it was an urgent problem and if so, we told a quick tale on the benefits of our solution.”
“The pitch is so fast” responded Chris. “It doesn’t even talk about our features”. “Yes” said Pat “that’s the secret sauce, to speak to problems and benefits. If there is no interest, it’s no use sharing details”.
Take Action Quote
Albert Einstein once said “if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t know it well enough”. We all know this to be true. Reflect back on your own life, where somebody came up to you and started pitching a product or an idea that had nothing to do with you AND they wouldn’t stop talking. It’s painful.
When somebody graces you with their time, honor their gift and speak quickly getting to the point. Succinctly share your value proposition that says “I help these types of people, with this set of problems, by providing a solution that has this set of benefits. Is that you?” Bam bebam bebam.
When you can repeat this pitch with no effort, a pitch that flows like water from the mountains, then you are prepared to enter the elevator and make your case.
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How to Connect with Pat Helmers at Sales Babble
Sales Babble shares selling secrets for non-sellers. Masterful selling is understanding what buyers want, discerning if you can help, showing what you have and helping them to make a decision that is good for their business and yours. See https://salesbabble.com
You can be yourself when selling. It’s all about helping others with their challenges and aspirations. I’ve interviewed 100s of sales experts and discuss all things sales: prospecting, qualifying, value propositions, presentations, demos, closing, generating referrals, earning references, upselling, marketing, lead generation, copywriting, and most important the right selling mindset. Stop fearing sales and embrace it. Learn the selling secrets for non-sellers and start making a difference today. Here is the entire back catalog of episodes in the sales podcast. Look here https://www.salesbabble.com/sales-podcast-free-advice/
This is a production of Habanero Media https://habaneromedia.net
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