Harvard Business Review is
arguably the most prestigious publication for business leaders and management
thinkers. Here’s one of my recent Harvard Business Review articles titled “Win
the Business with this Elevator Pitch.”
I would like you to pretend that you
are in an elevator at one of your industry’s trade shows. You are heading down
to the lobby when the doors open on the thirtieth floor. You instantly
recognize the executive who walks in and quickly glance at his name badge to
confirm he is the CEO of the most important account you would like to start
working with. You have never met him before nor have you been able to generate
any interest from his organization. You have forty-five seconds to introduce
yourself, explain what your company does in a way the CEO would find
interesting and applicable, and motivate him to take the action you suggest. Ready?
Go!
So, how did you do? Even the most
successful salespeople find this pressure- packed exercise difficult so you may
have quit halfway through. However, you have only one chance to make a great
first impression. With this in mind, here are the six most common mistakes
salespeople make with their elevator pitch:
•
They use truisms. They believe their
company’s own marketing pitch, which makes claims that are not considered
entirely true by the listener. As a result, they instantly lose credibility.
•
They describe themselves using
buzzwords. They
repeat industry buzzwords or, worse yet, use technical buzzwords that are known
only within their company.
•
They use fillers. They make too much
small talk or ask frivolous questions that reduce their stature to the
customer.
•
They demean themselves or the listener.
Their
statements turn them into mere salespeople, not business problem solvers. They unintentionally
demean the listener by asking impertinent questions or assuming the listener
knows exactly what they are talking about.
• They present an
unreasonable close. They don’t take into account that they are talking to a
senior company leader and use a close that is unrealistic or demands too much
of the customer.
•
They are incongruent. Their tone, pitch,
and tempo of speech don’t match. They speak too fast and their quivering tone broadcasts
that they’re scared and nervous.
Here’s an example of a poor elevator
pitch. The problems are identified in brackets. Luke Skywalker, a salesperson
for XYZ Technologies, is attending a trade show and happens to be in the elevator
with Norman Bates, chief information officer at Wonderful Telecommunications.
Hello,
Norman. How are you today [filler]? Do you have a moment to talk [filler]? My
name is Luke Skywalker and I’m a sales rep [demeans salesperson] for XYZ
Technologies. Have you heard of XYZ Technologies [demeans listener]? Umm…[filler]
Well, we are the leading provider [truism] of business transformational
outsourcing [industry buzzword]. We have a unique extended-hybrid
implementation methodology [technical buzzword]. Do you have time for me to buy
you a cup of coffee and hear more about it [unreasonable close]?
My recent HBR article titled
“Persuasion Tactics of Effective Salespeople” introduced Sales
Linguistics, the revolutionary new field of study about how salespeople and
customers use language during the decision making process. A successful
elevator sales pitch will incorporate the following sales linguistic structures:
• Softeners. A softener eases
listeners into the next thought or is used to set expectations. When you say,
“I’m sorry to bother you,” you are using the pre-apologizing softener
technique.
•
Facts. A fact is the
undisputed truth. Facts are recognized instantaneously.
•
Metaphors. Metaphors are
stories, parables, and analogies that communicate ideas by using examples that
people can relate to and identify with. Metaphors enable complex concepts and
theories to be explained in an understandable, interesting, and persuasive
manner
•
Suggestions. Foreground
suggestions are direct and explicit (“Consumer Reports gave our product
the highest rating”). Background suggestions are indirect and their meaning is inferred
(“One of their customers recently switched to our product”).
•
Fallback position. Every customer
conversation is actually a verbal negotiation. Instead of giving ultimatums
that force the customer to accept or reject your close, provide options from
which customers can select from prepared in advance.
•
Silence. Silence is an
important and useful linguistic structure. It indicates you are listening and
waiting for a response. Silence can actually be used to gain dominance during conversations.
Here’s an elevator pitch that
incorporates these sales linguistic structures:
Norman,
hi, I’m Luke Skywalker with XYZ Technologies [fact]. It’s a pleasure to meet
you [softener]. I’m not sure if you are familiar with us [softener], but we
work with AT&T [fact]. They’ve had to reduce their IT costs during these
tough times. I’m here because James Bond, the CIO of AT&T, is presenting a
case study on how he cut his IT costs by 20 percent using our outsourcing
solution [metaphor, background suggestion]. There’ll be CIOs from some of our other
customers, including General Electric and Johnson & Johnson, speaking as
well [fact, background suggestion]. The session is tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. if you
can make it [foreground suggestion, softener]. [Pause—silence, waiting for
response.] That’s too bad [softener]. I’d be delighted to send you his
presentation [fallback position, foreground suggestion]. Great. Just to confirm
your e-mail address, that’s Norman.bates@wonderful.com. Is there anyone else I
should send it to [fallback position]? [Pause-silence]. Okay, that’s Ferris Bueller,
your vice president of infrastructure. Thanks, Norman. You’ll be hearing from
me shortly.
Your words are your most important
competitive weapons. In this regard, your ability to deliver a compelling
elevator pitch is crucial to achieve success. There are many sales situations
where you have only a minute or two to conduct an entire sales call. You must
be able to deliver a compelling and memorable message during this
pressure-packed time sensitive encounter.
Write down your elevator pitch and
analyze its structure for the use of buzzwords, fillers, and truisms. Use
language structures such as softeners, metaphors, and suggestions to improve
its persuasiveness. Finally, be sure to practice your pitch aloud so your
delivery is smooth and confidant. Remember, a sales call can happen anywhere
and at any time. Always have a prepared elevator pitch.
Other Articles That Might Interest You
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Sales Linguistics: 7 Languages C-Level Executives Speak
