An inspired pitch

One percent. That’s about the number of elevator pitches that are unique and inspired. Fortunately, though, it’s relatively easy to course correct a bad elevator pitch – delivering one that attracts prospects versus sedating them.

An elevator pitch is a concise, carefully planned and well-practiced description about your company that your mother should be able to understand in the time it would take to ride an elevator – about 60 seconds.

It is a vital tool for creating awareness and gaining the interest of a prospect. It’s used in networking settings, social events, meetings with new prospects, and when anyone says, “What do you do?” And with so few compelling pitches being delivered, this is a fairly simple, no cost way to stand miles apart from your competitors.

A dynamic, inspired elevator pitch should deliver the big messages that set your company apart but it must also capture someone’s imagination. It should be filled with impact, personality and intensity. And most importantly, it should leave the listener asking to learn more.

A strong, dynamic pitch has four parts.

Part 1: A brief jargon-free description of what you do. Mine starts out very simply – “I’m a sales coach and marketer.” Titles aren’t important, as the objective isn’t to impress with credentials, but to instead leave your prospect with a clear understanding of what you do in language they have a shot of actually remembering. Make it personal, explaining what you do versus the company.

Part 2: Describe specifically what you do for your clients in distinct language, avoiding vague, overused and self-congratulatory statements like, “We solve our client’s problems,” or “We form a partnership with our customers.” Instead of clichés, consider offering specific reasons why your clients buy from you. You can start with something as straight-forward as “Our clients hire us because we…”

Part 3: Offer a real example of how you helped a customer overcome a challenge or pain point, explaining your points of differentiation in the process. You want to share a vibrant story of how you helped a single customer versus everything you do to help all clients. It’s critical that the story convey your points of differentiation.

Part 4: Share tangible results that you generated for that client such as specific cost savings, incremental revenue generated, or percentage efficiency gained.

Once you’ve developed your pitch, rehearse, rehearse and rehearse some more. Don’t wing it, though you want your pitch to sound conversational. You have one shot of capturing someone’s imagination and piquing his or her interest in what you do. Make every single word in your pitch count.

Even the most well crafted pitch will fall flat absent a strong, engaging delivery. Deliver yours with inflection and enthusiasm, being sure to connect with your audience. Vary the volume and pace of the delivery of key phrases in your pitch for emphasis.

Pitch with presence and conviction. You must believe your pitch or no one else will. Pitch like your livelihood depends on it, because it does.

Lori Turner is managing partner, RedRover Sales & Marketing, www.redrovercompany.com