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Executives and Elevators Perfecting That Pitch

Written by: Aileen Pincus

Article Overview: If you’re an executive, you probably already know the value of a powerful ‘elevator pitch’; that thirty second dazzling display of verbal brilliance designed to deftly sum up your position, your product, your qualifications or your company. Y But how do you keep your pitch fresh and focused. What do you leave out? What do you highlight? Here are some tips about perfecting that business pitch.

Executives and Elevators Perfecting That Pitch

Perfecting your elevator pitch helps you explain yourself clearly and powerfully. Make sure to periodically review how you are delivering that pitch and whether it's continuing to work for you. How you speak concisely and confidently about what makes you or your service unique will make a big difference in creating a positive first impression. Here are some points to consider when reviewing your elevator pitch:

1.) Know who’s catching.
Your pitch is far more likely to be accurate if you know something about your target and what they need to hear. Make sure everything you say is viewed through your listener's point of view. What can your product or service do for them? Don’t waste time highlighting your own record or accomplishments unless you know how that helps them.
2.) Stay away from platitudes.
Every business claims a “customer-focus” and says it's “results oriented”. Stick to your uniqueness and why those points mean something for your target audience. This isn't time for a mission statement. It’s your core delivery.
3.) Preparation is key to confidence. Don’t ever “wing” your way through an important introduction to a postential client. A first impression only happens once. Keep your pitch focused and answers to questions similarly on point. Be guided by watching your listener and paying attention to which points gain a positive reaction.
4.) Solve a problem.
Don’t ever just offer capabilities or a suite of services. Focus on the solution you offer in broad but targeted terms for each target audience. If your audience has to ask “How does this help me?” or “Why should I care?”, you’re in trouble.
5.) Let the passion show. Keep your pitch fresh. If you sound like you've delivered the pitch an endless number of times, you risk veering from sounding confident to sounding bored. Facts can move heads, but it takes emotion to move hearts. Let your listener hear the commitment in your voice and your words. An elevator pitch is not a dry recitation of facts delivered neutrally.
6.) Call for action. Give your listener something to do with the information they’ve just received. Seize on clear steps or suggestions that you are proposing. Make sure you are being understood and that your audinece knows what you'd like them to do next.
Remember clear speaking reflects clear thinking. Even if your pitch is one you have used regularly, get some feedback from a coach or a trusted source on how to improve it. Remember most of all that an elevator pitch has to be concise. Your aim is to get another meeting. In the wise words of Winston Churchill, "Be clear. Be brief. Be seated."

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Article Tags: elevator pitch, presentation skill training, presentation skills, presentation skills training, public speaking, speech training



Related Forum Posts
Pitch Like A Girl: How a Woman Can Be Herself and Still Succ - Pitch Like A Girl: How a Woman Can Be Herself and Still Succeed Ronna Lichtenberg 2005 From the inside cover: "As a woman, you probably feel uncomfortable when it comes to promoting yourself and asking for what you want." WHAT IN THE HECK IS THIS, I asked myself when I read that. Women are the fastest growing business owners in the US and Canada, there are t housands of women executives and CEOs - though not as many as might be expected, admittedly, yet the book opens with this surely out of date stereotype. However, as she continued to give examples of women who had high paying jobs but were routinely not paid as much as men because it hadn't occurred to them to ask for raises, etc., I decided it was probably true for a majority of businesswomen... Anyway, more of the info from the jacket: "Other books have told you how to get what you want by being more like a guy. Pitch Like A Girl tells you why its an advantage to be who you are and how to do better by bringing more of yourself to work." The TOC: 1. Pink and Blue 2. The Quck-dry Chapter 3. What's In your head that's not in his 4. The Me, Inc Mindset 5. Visioning: Discover What You Really Want 6. Identifying Prospects 7. Pre-pitch homework and heartwork 8. Crafting the pitch 9. Pricing the pitch 10. Packaging the pitch 11. Delivering the pitch 12. Closing Conclusion A Word to the guys The Empathy Quotient The Systemizing Quotient Bibliography And on a side note - non-fiction books without indexes - of which this is one, annoy me.
Why women don't charge more - I just read a chapter in Pitch Like A Girl: How a Woman Can Be Herself and Still Succeed, by Ronna Lichtenberg that deals with this. THe chapter is called Pricing the Pitch. "In a WAll Street Journal article about what might be holding women back from corporate success, Terry Dal, a former vice president at Wells Fargo bank, said, "Good girls don't advertise; only prostitutes advertise. We feel dirty promoting ourselves." The author's advice: The first step in getting the money you desserve is to understand the market rate for your offering. Not what you think you need, not what they're willing to pay, but the going rate for similar goods and services offered in your area by someone with your skills and experience. Then, seek expert advice. "Men routinely consult lawyers, financial advisers, exxecutive recruiters and any other paid counselors to help them assess what constitutes a fair fee." Your research into going rates should not lead you to a single price for your pitch but rather a range of prices - both a market range and a personal range, which should overlap but won't necessarily be identical. In pricing, one size does not fit all. The final step in determining your price is to consider what you think you'd be paid for the same job if you were a man. The author also discusses why women usually discount their prices (must'n't appear too over-confident), the difference between discounting and "giving a discount", and other issues. I'd advise every woman wondering about what to charge to read at least this chapter of the book.
Male vs female networking - [quote:2zrnzg30]I could imagine at a higher level that Executives could possibly treat women different to men.[/quote:2zrnzg30] I wonder if there's an age difference between how men and women react. Men over the age of 40 are used to dealing with their "old boy network" I think, whereas younger guys have more experience dealing with women of power in the work place. And then there's women - those over 40 no how much effort was put into getting equal treatment, whereas women under 40 don't appreciate what had gone before. That's an over-generalization, I suppose, but I wonder if its true?
Resources for Women Entrepreneurs - Dear Shimmy. As the past president of the Canadian Association of Women Executives and Entrepreneurs I can tell you that there are a lot of resources available for female entrepreneurs in Canada. The government both Federally and Provincially have lauched substantial initiatives over the last 5 years to address the growing number of female business owners including opportunities for grants, strategic planning assistance and funding options. There are countless networking and business groups available now as well as unlimited access to resources online. What specific areas are you looking for assistance with? Perhaps I can direct you to a person or place. Cheers! Jude
Re: Businesswomen in the news - Hey hey hey....Calm down. What you are forgetting and the press isnt taking into consideration the rise of entrepreneurship. Women arent leaving the workforce, they are starting their own workforces... A few years ago I was president of the Canadian Association of Women Executives. I got a call from Global National who wanted a comment on the fact that women were leaving corporate Canada in droves....and what did I think about it......was it the glass ceiling etc.. Well, its because women are flocking to entrepreneurship but ladies, that doesnt make the news. the media is looking for information that will prove their 'the economy is in a slump'.... It simply isnt true. There are more women starting and running their own businesses than we've ever seen. Dont forget that the media is out for the media and scare tactics and bad news gets the coverage.... J


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