Making an “elevator speech” work
May 21st, 2006Elevator pitches are a key part of most b2b sales and I read a good article by on this topic by Mike McLaughlin a site called “Guerrilla Consulting”
Although this particular article is focused on consultants, the essence of what is an effective answer to the question “so, what does your business do?” is no different.
The key observation in this article is that you need to create the “pitch” from your customers/clients perspective, not to grand-stand and to ask questions instead of blowing your own horn.
Now that may not sound too revolutionary to a lot of people, but it is by far the greatest mistake people make when they are put in the position to sell themselves or their service; they either undersell by giving some confused, convoluted, technical explanation or they go in to “sales” mode and lose credibility instantly.
Here is my spin on elevator pitches:
- Facts about the problems you solve
- Outline of what you do to solve these problems, including how you differentiate yourself
- Clarified through a typical client project
- Ending with a relevant question about their business to make it a two way conversation, rather than a monologue.
Write it down, rehearse it (tape it and listen to yourself) and refine it.
June 1st, 2006 at 5:43 am
Great summary. Going through those simple key points really force businesses to think about what they are actually selling. I wonder how often the customer actually works it out before the seller.
June 1st, 2006 at 7:49 am
Thanks for your comment. You might have a point there. I think one of the main reasons why companies struggle with this is that it requires some clear thinking about your own position, about how you differentiate.
June 6th, 2006 at 1:26 pm
Hi David - A lot of people I talk to are keen to come up with a great “elevator speech”. I like the idea too but it’s very hard to come up with one that works without sounding too rehearsed, salesy or corny. Can you share any examples of successful elevator speeches?