You have put together your Elevator Pitch and are ready to try it out. Have you asked yourself how to achieve Elevator Pitch Success? For those of you new to the sales world, an Elevator Pitch, speech or statement is a short description of a person’s occupation, product, service or idea. The description clearly conveys the concept to the listener in a short period of time.
For any action to be achieved, you need to first define your goal. To be successful with your Elevator Pitch, you need to have your ideal result in mind, before you deliver your pitch. The most successful Elevator Pitches are delivered by people who have specific objectives to meet, every time they deliver their pitch. Let’s go through a few of the objectives you will want to set, to ensure your Elevator Pitch is a success.
Be Like-able
At the end of the day, people work with people they like. It is very important that you are like-able when delivering your Elevator Pitch. It may seem that charismatic people are just born that way, but being charismatic is a skill anyone can learn and implement. The information you say, is of course, critical to your success, however, you can boost your like-ability with some simple like-ability and body language tips.
One of your success objectives is to shift your focus from “selling” to just “being”. Be yourself and authentic in your speaking, and people will be attracted to your real-ness. There are also non-verbal cues you can give to the person that will make you more likeable. Smile! When you smile, your body responds, and you present a naturally friendly demeanor.
When you are speaking or listening to the person, make eye contact. This not only is a courtesy to show the person you are interested and listening, it is a direct contact that builds trust. Obviously use your common sense here for your duration of eye contact. If the person is responding to your gaze by looking away or down, it is time to minimize your stare, as the person is likely uncomfortable.
Make a Connection
One of the biggest objectives of delivering your Elevator Pitch to a person, is to make a connection. While listening and observing the person, you want to listen for any cues for a shared interest. This can be anything. It could be you and he work in the same industry, live in the same city or have the same opinion on yesterday’s weather. This is the key is to building rapport with another person and can only be accomplished by using your curiosity.
Be interested in the person as if they were the only person on the planet. Give her your complete attention, minimizing your possibilities for distraction. Put your phone on “do not disturb” and focus on learning about the person. When you are engaged in active listening, the person speaking feels heard and a connection is easily made.
Be Memorable
You have a very limited amount of time to make a connection. I have seen too many people struggle with their Elevator Pitch and choke on their words. Remember, you want your pitch to land successfully, resulting in positive engagement and action. A key way to stand apart, is to be memorable. Design your Elevator Pitch to be unique in its messaging and delivery. Find a way to share something about yourself, or your experience in a casual, fun way. Perhaps mention a quick reference or fact about your industry, occupation or personality. In my case, one of the fun ways I am memorable, in my Elevator Pitch, is to reference a time when I was younger in my career, or even younger in my childhood, and tie it back to my professional skill. i.e. “I’ve been in communications since I was young. I was the kid, other kids asked what to say, to get their parents to say yes.”
As you work away on crafting your Elevator Pitch, so it is effective, do not lose sight of the reason you are doing it in the first place. The Elevator Pitch’s purpose it to pique interest in you, your idea, product or service. Design your Elevator Pitch to give the interested person just enough information for them to request and want more.
If you are ready to dive into crafting your unique Elevator Pitch, stay connected by subscribing to our newsletter so you can be notified when the Elevator Pitch Mastery Program launches very shortly!
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