On Your Mark, Get Set GO…You now have 30 or 60 seconds to interest the perfect prospect in the product or service that you offer!
We’ve all been there at one time or another. At a networking event, a business dinner or maybe a chance meeting in the elevator of an office building where we find ourself face to face with a potential new client.
And the truth is that when we do, in many respects what we have to say and the way in which we say it can be somewhat lacking in terms of projecting our story in a truly effective way.
Further, if we seek help in improving this critical aspect of our business development strategy, there’s no question that there are any number of sources and opinions on the best way to ‘construct’ the ideal 30 or 60 second elevator pitch.
From Entrepreneur.com, An Excellent 3-Part Plan
‘…My friend, sales trainer Paul Karasik, has an antidote to the deadly dull elevator pitch. Karasik’s three-part formula can enable you to quickly construct the perfect elevator pitch. By “perfect,” I mean an elevator pitch that concisely communicates the value your product or service offers in a manner that engages, rather than bores, the other person.
What’s the formula? The first part is to ask a question beginning with the words “Do you know?” The question identifies the pain or need that your product or service addresses. For instance, for a financial planner who works mostly with middle-aged women who are separated, divorced, or widowed, and possibly re-entering the workplace, this question might be “Do you know how when women get divorced or re-enter the workforce after many years of depending on a spouse, they’re overwhelmed by all the financial decisions they have to make?”
The second part of the formula is a statement that begins with the words “What I do” or “What we do,” followed by a clear description of the products or service you deliver. Continuing with our financial planner, they might say, “What I do is help women gain control of their finances and achieve their personal financial and investment goals.”
The third part of the formula presents a big benefit and begins “so that.” Here’s what the whole thing sounds like: “Do you know how when women get divorced or re-enter the workforce after many years of depending on a spouse, they’re overwhelmed by all the financial decisions they have to make? What we do is help women gain control of their finances and achieve their personal financial and investment goals, so that they can stay in the house they’ve lived in most of their lives, have enough income to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, and be free of money worries.”
You can construct your own elevator pitch today using Karasik’s three-part formula:
First part. Ask a question beginning with the words “Do you know?” that identifies the pain or need that your product or service addresses.
Second part. Describe your service, beginning with the words “What I do” or “What we do.”
Third part. Explain why your product or service is valuable by describing the benefits it delivers, beginning with the words “so that.”
That’s it. This simple formula can help you craft a memorable elevator pitch so you’re prepared every time someone asks “So what do you do?”
Michael Haltman is President of Hallmark Abstract Service in New York. He can be reached at mhaltman@hallmarkabstractllc.com.
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