December 10th, 2008 @ 5:30 am
Almost every sales organization trains its sales folk to use some kind of “elevator pitch” which is supposed to “hook” a prospect in a few seconds. However, most elevator pitches don’t work because:
However, it doesn’t have to be that way…
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tdhawkins
Any type of pitch, whatever you want to label it, no longer works for two related reasons. Everyone is pummeled in promotion and "pitches" are about you, and not the prospect. In other words, everyone is way too busy talking instead of listening.
And really, who in 15 seconds with a marginally attentive audience, can meet effectively all those conditions/elements. Please.
upshift
Terrific.
I think that no matter how long we have been in
the business we all have to be reminded about
Crisp Pertinent and Enthusiastic.
On more than one occasion, (a major
understatement), in my business life, I mistook
an opportunity to talk about my organization as
an opportunity to go into great detail.
In hindsight these people ended up going to
sleep while standing up!
CraigElias
The is Craig Elias the creator of Trigger Event Selling.
I agree with something along the lines of what Seth Godin says "If you can state your position in eight words or less you don't have a position."
I teach what is called a seven second sale. Which is my version of a VERY short elevator pitch that causes the listener to do one thing... ask "How do you do that?".
For example:
- "We help people sell more by changing what they see"
- "We help children reach their full potential"
- "We help women feel good in a anything"
Notice the focus on the outcome not the process that is used to create it.
The purpose is to stop selling in seven seconds and have the listener asking questions about how we do that.
Call my cell phone (+1.403.874.2998) if you want no-charge assistance creating your own seven second sale.
Craig Elias
Creator of Trigger Event Selling
conrad rozario
What?
I would prefer to use the 7, 15 or 30 seconds to build rapport...become "friends"... smile and say "Hi, how are you doing?" and open the channels for relating...hey, in todays world, if you don't have trust and build genuine rapport, you got nothing...much less a sale.
Coach-Lee-428
The number one rule in marketing is that someone needs to know about your products or services. An elevator pitch if well crafted does just that.
The pitch is really several small presentations united together all to make yourself known first or what I call being the "Red jacket in the sea of Gray Suits."
You may need more than one pitch depending upon your audience. All should follow the same format or model for consistency. I prefer the old A.I.D.A. model:
A - Attract Attention
I - Interest must be created
D - Desire must be developed
A - Action (Call to)
When you marry this model with an understanding that people buy from a place of emotion first, then the pitch has more value.
P.S. Curiosity is an emotion and when coupled with results, your pitch hooks them in one right after another. Leanne Hoagland Smith
elhambinai
Great article -
Thank you for sharing this!
I think the best way of getting peoples attention is to show that you understand them and listen to their case.
www.elhambinai.blogspot.com
Elham Binai
Ian P
Pitch
"Hi folks, We give billion dollar cash backs on weapons platform contracts. Anyone rich enough to be interested?"
Analysis
Part 1 "Hi folks" - this is the all inclusive ice breaker. adressing the whole elevator population.
Part 2 "We give billion dollar..." The attention grabber, appealing to everyone's greed. Standard marketing process. Get them on at least one of the deadly sins. It always works.
Part 3 "Anyone rich enough...." The really sophisticated bit of the pitch. Again a deadly sin pandered to, pride this time. Who wants to admit in public (in the elevator at least) that they can't afford to pay enough to earn a billion dollar graft. Also acts as a filter, If one of your lift partners heads up a banana republic, then his idea of a weapons platform is probably a cherry picker or a cattle truck.
More likely, if it is New York or Houston where your elevator rises and falls, it is a cash rich oil magnate, who is on the look-out to divert a few bucks into his private money-well while racking up enough firepower to conquor Brazil.
Of course no-one would be so brazen as to sell their wares in an elevator, would they? Like making a sales pitch stood up against a public urinal.
Bob Wileman
It's always great to hear from the comedians in your audience. You have oopened and stimulated a useful dialogue in an area that we can never sleep on.
A brief open question is the best start
Ask don't tell
PS was IanP later found at the bottom of the lift shaft?
clarkm
"Pitches" are for the masses, in hope that some are gullible enough or lack basic intelligence to see through it. A seven second sale takes a really stupid or desperate buyer. These folks must be in retail; technical and commercial buyers and business leaders are much tougher and than that today.
Mr. Rozario and Mr. Wileman have the first two steps down, relating and discovery. There is no valid sales call without these first. How can you sell to someone who doesn't know you and you don't know them?
But I understand the need for an 'elevator speech', something short and concise that hits the point for when you only have a brief period to spend with the C-level manager or director. (That's why they call it an elevator speech, Ian.) But let's be serious, these guys are't really the economic buyers that often. You only expect to inform this important person to get their approval and to help identify the true economic buyer (who holds the purse strings) so that you can move the business forward with more detailed discussions.
Geoffrey James, Sales Machine
Quote from clarkm:
But let's be serious, these guys are't really the economic buyers that often.
Oddly, though, these things do happen. The CEO of Heartland Payment Systems won major investment in his company (when it was just starting out) as the result of a chance meeting at a wedding.
But you do have a point. I keep thinking that people are riding up and down elevators waiting to find somebody to pitch to.
Ian P
Quote "thanks for the attitude readjustment"
To get serious about the topic. If you want to see real short pitch salesmanship in action, then look to the barkers and callers at street fairs (very common in the UK and the 10 or so islands I have been to in the Caribbean, I don't know about the US). They have around 2 or 3 seconds to catch the attention of passers by, most of whom do not want to be sold to. They then have around a minute to make their pitch before negative attitudes set in and generally around 15 to 30 seconds to close a sale, get the cash and package the goods. These guys would make mincemeat of some poor CEO trapped in a closed room for five minutes
thepainguy
I'd be interested in what you think of...
http://www.elevatorpitchessentials.com/
bear1909
It might be your old shoes, too.
bear1909
It might be your shoes, too.
Geoffrey James, Sales Machine
"Before you criticize somebody, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you've got their shoes." Jack Handy
Geoffrey James
Geoffrey James has sold and written hundreds of features, articles and columns for national publications including Wired, Men's Health, Business 2.0, SellingPower, Brand World, Computer Gaming World, CIO, The New York Times and (of course) BNET. He is the author of seven books, including Business Wisdom of the Electronic Elite (translated into seven languages and selected by four book clubs), and The Tao of Programming (widely quoted on the Web as a "canonical book of... more »
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