Sales Pitch! Elevator Pitch! Pitch!

29 May 2018

What do you tell your new contact? What is your story? In short: what is your pitch? Have you got it ready? Do you know what you stand for? As a result of a recent training course, I have checked it out for you and written this article about the sales pitch.

What is a sales pitch?
The pitch, sales pitch or elevator pitch is a short presentation of who you are and what you can mean for the other.
It is the first acquaintance to explain what you are doing, why you do it and what the other person is doing. In a few sentences you will be given the attention of why the other should be talking to you. You use your pitch to tell clearly and forcefully who you are, what you do and why you do it.

It is often called elevator pitch. Elevator pitch because of the short time you have in a lift. When you are in the elevator with an unknown and you want to tell who you are then you have about 30 to 60 seconds to tell who you are, what you do and what this means for the other. Before the other gets out of the elevator you have to make your point clear. Your elevator pitch is a short summary of what you do daily and why you want to talk to the other.

The pitch should be understandable to everyone. Your pitch should be understandable for both the manager and your partner, for a child of 8 as well as for a director. When you are convincingly and vigorously holding your pitch, you are interested in the other to take the time for you and to engage in conversation.

Why a sales pitch?
You keep your sales pitch because the first impression is the most important one. On the basis of the first acquaintance, someone decides whether they are talking to you. A good pitch allows for more appointments, resulting in a filled funnel of opportunities.

This pitch can be used as a conversational starter on LinkedIn For example, in an email or a connection request.
Other examples where you can also use your pitch are:

  • LinkedIn profile
  • Twitter and other social channels
  • A calendar invite for an appointment
  • On the phone
  • In A job interview, after all, you sell yourself
  • In a follow-up appointment with new contacts
  • At a fair, conference, event or network meeting
  • Or if you are waiting for your appointment and you are in conversation.

What does a good sales pitch consist of?

  • Who are you and where do you work and what is your role?
  • What is the problem you are solving?
  • What can you do? What do you help others with? Which solution do you offer?
  • What do you add? What added value do you offer?
  • For whom do you already solve this?
  • Why do your customers work together with you?
  • Why do you want to collaborate with the other party?

When you can summarize these questions in a short and clear pitch and you can tell him fluently, you have taken the first step.

Tips for your elevator pitch:

  • Prepare your pitch
  • Think about what you have to offer
  • Practice your pitch first in the mirror to see your posture and MIME
  • Try your pitch afterwards at different people
  • Make your pitch personal. Tell your elevator pitch from the "I-shape"
  • Make a logical story
  • No bla bla or bun monkey. Tell what you can do
  • Think from the receiver and not from your target
  • Take care of a pitch that suits you
  • Watch your posture when you practice your pitch
  • Finish your pitch with a question. This can be the contact information to send something, a question whether it is recognizable, or an invitation to a call.

Example of pitch:

Realising New business is a beautiful but challenging profession. From the trainings of Social sales, I notice that Sales and account managers are struggling to create new appointments with prospects.

With my dedication and enthusiasm I bring back the fun in the sales process. With a pragmatic approach and open way of training I take care of energy at sales. I train according to the DNA model and handle the five building blocks of social business: authenticity, relevance, focus, personality and time.

I do this for similar settings as your business. They work with me because I understand their business and because we actively participate in a successful outcome. In this way, sales realise more appointments and better opportunities in the funnel. A win-win! With pleasure I work on the growth of your organisation to make 2018 an even more successful year! How can my approach help your organization?