Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

Executives and Elevators Perfecting That 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."





Executives and Elevators Perfecting That Pitch - To learn more about this author, visit Aileen Pincus's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
Dianne Crampton

Dianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here.

Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009.  Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010.  To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here.

- Visit Dianne Crampton's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Aileen Pincus
(Visit Aileen's Website) Aileen's communications experience spans the fields of journalism, politics and public relations. She has trained senior executives from around the country for one of the nation's largest public relations firms, Golin/Harris International. Prior to training and consulting in private industry, Aileen worked as a senior staff advisor for a U.S.Senator. As Communications Director, she coordinated all local, regional and national media efforts, and served as the Senator's chief spokeswoman. Aileen comes to media and communications consulting after an extensive career in journalism. Aileen reported for local and national television news markets around the country for nearly two decades. She was an award-winning reporter for the NBC affiliate in Portland, Oregon, the ABC affiliate in Tampa, for the Fox affiliate in Washington DC and for CNN, where she reported on national stories for CNN affiliates around the country. As President and founding partner of The Pincus Group (http://www.thepincusgroup.com/) Aileen now directs effective media strategies and communication training for clients around the country.

Aileen Pincus is a Gold author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Aileen Pincus's

Complete
List Of
Public-Relations
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get Aileen Pincus's Complete List of Public-Relations Articles For FREE!

More Aileen Pincus
Presentation Skill The HowTos of the Effective Welcome Speech
Presentation Show and Tell Presentation Skills for Senior Executives
Front and Center Why that may not be the place for your CEO in a crisis
Presentation Skills and the CEO What Steve Jobs has to teach about power presentations
Presentation Skill and the CEO What the chief explanations officer has to get right
Executives and Elevators Perfecting That Pitch
The Unsung Business Tool Public Speaking
Media Matters Why talking to reporters makes good business sense
Crisis Preparation It isnt just for Fortune 500s
Investor Presentations The How Tos of Success
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
David Barr  
Leanne Hoagland-Smith  
Dianne Crampton  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Free Marketing Plan Template Icon Free Marketing Plan Template
Federal and State Laws Icon Federal and State Laws
Best Cover Letter Icon Best Cover Letter
Law of Attraction in Action Icon Law of Attraction in Action
Disciplines of Success Icon Disciplines of Success
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Fortune Hunters - CBC Entrepreneur TV
Fortune Hunters
CBC Entrepreneur TV
 
Top 50 Political Blogs
Top 50 Political Blogs
Top Political Blogs of 2009
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Hard Work Group Makeni, Sierra Leone,
Hard Work Group
Makeni, Sierra Leone
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Jeff Roick, $1.4 to $6.5 Mil in 2 years
Jeff Roick
$1.4 to $6.5 Mil in 2 years
John Zarei and Shaan Parekh , $516k to $1.5 Mil in 2 years
John Zarei and Shaan Parekh
$516k to $1.5 Mil in 2 years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Satoshi Tajiri, Pokemon
John Rockefeller, Standard Oil
John Rockefeller
Standard Oil
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Paul Kedrosky, Venture Capitalist
Paul Kedrosky
Venture Capitalist
John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing
John Jantsch
Duct Tape Marketing
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     How Social Network Marketing Can Increase Traffic to Your Small Business Website
By Janis Pettit
     What You Need to Know Before You Spend Money on a Logo or Business Cards.
By Janis Pettit
     Where to Find the Money to Finance Your Small Business.
By Janis Pettit

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information