The Elevator Pitch: How many of you practice It?
I met a bunch of very inspiring entrepreneurs at a
Conference last week. Great speakers, some interesting topics and few good contacts
is what every one draws from such events.
What is the one thing you feel you missed on while you walk
out? Have there been times you came back from a networking event and felt you
did not really fully utilize the opportunity to meet all the people on your
list or were able to trigger a conversation based on a topic of common
interest? Well honestly speaking several times I felt I could do more but
lacked that special smile along with a pitch to market my ideas that could be
of interest to many.
Here are a few typical scenarios of the pitch we make
everyday. You walk into your work place and your administration worker Genie
greets you saying Hi, How are you doing and your typical response varies
between;
1) Hi, thanks I am good and how are you doing. In a
moment you awkwardly walk away posing your are busy with unanswered voicemails
on your phone and your walk away.
2) Hi Genie, I am good. How are you doing? The
weather was really cold over the weekend. I was so swamped responding to emails
and clearing backlog. See you in a bit.
3) Hi I am doing great and how are you doing? Did
you hear about the latest sales results from last week? Our team has done
particularly well and thanks to your timely number crunching we were able to
show the results in the Managers meeting on Friday. Good work, keep it up!
Which one in your opinion is a great response? Obviously the
(3) third one, as it offers an opportunity to discuss a shared achievement
while it also appreciates the input of your co-worker and motivates her in
doing even better in future. While we all know we need to use the third type of
responses more often everywhere. The question is do we? And what keeps us from
doing so?
Why
does this happen? It’s mostly due to a lack of preparation for this
interaction. Unless you are exceptional, it’s highly unlikely that you can whip
up a great conversation with a senior executive at a moment’s notice. However,
that one conversation can make you stand out from the masses. So how can you
prepare for this interaction?
Entrepreneurs
are told that they need an elevator pitch – a 30- to 60-second elucidation
of their idea so that a potential investor is hooked and interested in hearing
more.
Similarly
you need an elevator pitch for your chance executive interaction.
A
successful elevator pitch has three components:
• A quick overview of the
most important project you are working on from the company’s standpoint. Genie
might be interested in the details of your busy weekend, but she’ll be much
more interested in how you are developing a whole new customer segment for an
upcoming product launch.
• What is the progress on
that project? Be objective and realistic when you describe the progress. Don’t
leave Genie with the impression that everything is great when it’s not. Also,
don’t take this opportunity to rant against other team members or departments.
• Has anybody been particularly helpful
in enabling the projects success? Be generous with your praise. It helps spread
good fortune and your acknowledgements will eventually reach your
colleagues who will want to make you even more successful. Alternatively, are
there simple things that Genie can do to increase the probability of the
project’s success? For instance, can she suggest somebody in her department who
has the skills to consult with you on a particular aspect of the project?
Take
15 minutes to work on your elevator pitch today.
