ELEVATOR SPEECHElevate your communication; elevate your business

CURT LARSON, MBAREVERSE MORTGAGE SPECIALIST

Homeowners Financial Group’s

ELEVATOR PITCH, WHAT IS IT? HOW CAN I USE IT?

The elevator pitch is the response to one of the most common

questions: “What do you do?”

They are typically no longer than 60 seconds Function as a personal “infomercial” They are a hot topic of conversation in today’s business world

3 METHODS THAT ACTUALLY WORK

What these methods have in common~ i.e. why they work: CONVERSATION: Each

method is effective because they ARE NOT talking brochures. A good elevator pitch is a two-way conversation,

SHORT: 60 seconds or less

EVERDAY LANGUAGE: Avoid words like synergy, optimize and ROI’s- all of those words SCREAM sales

1. Brian Walter

2. Chris Westfall

3. Richard Fouts

BRIAN WALTER

CHRIS WESTFALL

RICHARD FOUTS

Easy and funWOW, HOW, NOW approach

Proven successfulStarts with humor

Gartner analystS.I.R. Framework

Brian Walter 1. WOW~ say something

intriguing that will make the other person want to hear more. Ideally, the prospect’s response will be a question asking “What does that mean?”

2. HOW~ Answer the question and explain exactly what you do. Avoid industry specific jargon.

3. NOW~ Shift into storytelling mode, give concrete examples of current clients.

Putting the buzz in your biz

BRIAN EXAMPLE:

EXAMPLEProspect: So, what do you do?

Me: I help build PowerPoint muscles.Prospect: Huh?

Me: I teach people how to use PowerPoint more effectively in business. Now, for instance, I’m working with a global consulting firm to train all their senior consultants to give better sales presentations so they can close more business.

Chris Westfall1. Open with HUMOR. Don’t launch

into your company spiel. Simply choose a situation that relates to a problem that you solve for your customers.

2. Emotional Benefit~ add a statement with emotional benefit “That is what I do.” This should be EMOTIONAL benefit not hard-hitting business benefit.

3. Proof~ quantify your benefit statement

4. Velvet Rope Close~ the velvet rope close suggests your offer is specific to a certain type. Key phrase “I am not sure if I can help you, but. . . Pitch the story that sells

CHRIS EXAMPLE:

Do you remember about 10 years ago when the space shuttle Columbia was destroyed on re-entry? It turns out the engineers tried to warn NASA about the danger. But the PowerPoint slides they used were  a complete mess and no-one understood the danger.

That’s what I do. I train people how to make sure their PowerPoint slides aren’t a complete disaster.

For instance, students who attend my workshop can create slides that are 50% more clear and 50% more convincing by the end of the training, based on scores students give each other before and after the workshop.

I’m not sure if my training could work at your company. It really depends how much you use PowerPoint and what’s at stake if your PowerPoint is unclear. But I’d be happy to talk to you about it.

Richard FoutsS.I.R. : Situation, Impact, Resolution

1. SITUATION~ illustrate the pain/challenges customers face

2. IMPACT~ explain the impact of the situation (escalate conflict).

3. RESOLUTION~ Explain how you solve the problem. Focus on benefits

RICHARD EXAMPLE:

You know how most BUSINESS PEOPLE USE POWERPOINT BUT MOST USE IT PRETTY POORLY? Well, bad PowerPoint has all kinds of CONSEQUENCES – SALES THAT DON’T CLOSE, good ideas that get ignored, time wasted building slides that could have been used developing or executing strategies. MY COMPANY SHOWS BUSINESSES HOW TO USE POWERPOINT to capture those sales, bring attention to those great ideas and use those wasted hours on more important projects.

Situation

Impact

Resolution

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER AND WHAT HAVE YOU GOT. . .? Here are the main themes to take away from these three

experts: Engage emotionally~ this is a CONVERSATION, you

want your prospect to want to listen to you. Start with humor, story or emotional statement

Set up the problem and prime yourself as the solution. Give examples of how you/ your company address specific challenges

End strong with a velvet rope close that resolves the issue. . .but for certain clients.