Networking, elevator pitches, and meeting strangers? Throw out everything you’ve heard about it all. I’m going to show you what smart prospecting looks like for introverts.
Today, we talk about step 2 in the sales process: Prospecting.
In This Video, You’ll Learn:
- Who and where you should be investing your time to get the most return on your energy (0:45)
- A common misunderstanding of the true goal of prospecting and how to accomplish it (1:53)
- The most common question you encounter when meeting strangers and how to answer it (3:20).
Now that we’ve got you into the right mindset for prospecting, let’s talk about crafting a powerful elevator pitch.
I’ve included a case study in this lesson to prove how quickly you’ll see results and what the process feels like.
Crafting your elevator pitch
Yesterday, we talked about defining your business with a solid niche. I briefly mentioned that you should be able to state your niche in a single sentence that looks like this:
I [what you do] for [whom you do it for].
Today, we’re going to refine that sentence to be your elevator pitch.
An elevator pitch is only a sentence long?
You might have heard that elevator pitches should be anywhere from 30-45 seconds long. Well, the elevators have gotten faster–especially for us introverts since many of us don’t like talking all that much!
People’s attention span is shorter nowadays. They’re bombarded with all types of information. And if you don’t make sense or fail to resonate within seconds, they’ll forget you just as quickly.
Your elevator pitch should:
- Be an easy to understand single sentence
- Include words that make sense and spark emotions in your ideal client
- Define the change you’re creating
- State what you do and for whom you do it for
You might be thinking: “All of that in one simple sentence?! No way!”
Yup! And that’s why it works so well.
I’ve created a proven process that helps introverts discover the words that perk ears up and resonates with ideal clients. It’s a process we walk through in Bona Fide Selling.
The results of this process are outstanding.
Case Study: Helping tech startups attract investors with pitch deck design
For two years, Kelsey Brennan dabbled here and there in freelancing and undertook a handful of small projects. Her projects bounced from designing business cards, wedding invitation, logos, etc.
“Whatever project came my way, I’d pretend my business was all about that.” She said when I interviewed her.
Sound familiar? I think just about every freelancer has changed their business on the spot when first starting out, ha!
Kelsey was one of many freelancers who sat in on a talk I gave at the Freelance Conference in Austin, TX. My talk was about Positioning for introverted freelancers.
After hearing my talk on Positioning for Introverted Freelancers, she downloaded a free guide I created a year earlier.
Let’s be honest, most people don’t apply any of the advice given in free resources. But Kelsey was different.
Two weeks later, Kelsey gets her first client
She reached out to me two weeks later and told me she earned her first client by using the advice from my guide. She was ecstatic!
“About a week ago, I went to a job fair NOT to get a job, but to get some free headshots taken, practice my new elevator pitch, and get some free drinks.” She told me.
(As you can see, Kelsey knows how to squeeze the most out of an event, ha!)
“The recruiters at the event kept asking for my resume and I’d tell them I wasn’t looking for a job. Then they would ask, ‘Oh, what do you do for a living?'”
Smart Kelsey had found her new practice zone.
“I help tech startups attract investors with great pitch deck design.” she would respond.
It was awesome how he started a conversation with me about my services all on his own!
Kelsey: “Everyone was so impressed at how specific and clear my niche was. A startup founder at the job fair even admitted to not knowing if his powerpoint presentation for investors was all that great. We weren’t a great fit, so he didn’t turn into a client but it was awesome how he started a conversation with me about my services all on his own!”
The free headshot Kelsey received from the job fair where she practiced her elevator pitch.
Kelsey: “I attended a few tech startup events the week after. Toward the end of the week, someone came up to me and asked: ‘Hey, aren’t you the PowerPoint for startups girl?’ I was so excited to be known as the PowerPoint for startups girl, I didn’t care if they remembered my name or not! Ha!”
A few days later, the same person became her first client.
At first, I thought it was a dumb idea.
Luis: How long did it take you to choose a niche?
Kelsey: “It took me about two days. As I brainstormed ideas, I thought about what I was good at in high school. Then I remembered an obsession I had with making PowerPoint presentations look great. I was so obsessed that I learned design principles and started creating slide decks for teachers.” She answered.
Luis: You’d create PowerPoint presentations for free?
Kelsey: “I know, weird, right? At first, I thought it was a dumb idea. How ridiculous would I sound if I told friends that I designed PowerPoint presentations for a living?! But then I continued reading your guide and researched online. It turns out there are ENTIRE COMPANIES that do this for companies like Google, Microsoft, and Apple!”
Kelsey: “Since I have a degree in IT and Communications, working with Tech Startups is a no-brainer. I went through about 10-15 iterations of creating my single sentence elevator pitch.” she said.
Kelsey uses her elevator pitch on her LinkedIn profile.
Luis: Now that you’ve chosen your niche and have created a solid elevator pitch, what’s changed for you?
A new confidence has emerged in me, my work, and how I converse.
Kelsey: “Well besides getting my first new client within two weeks, my time and energy are way more focused. Decisions have been easier to make in my business and a new confidence has emerged in me, my work, and how I converse. It’s so awesome to have this kind of clarity after two years of getting by with a job and sporadic random projects.”
Kelsey’s success story is one of many. A solid one-sentence elevator pitch will do wonders for your business. Don’t underestimate it.
Action Items:
- Craft an elevator pitch that defines your niche, the change you create, and sparks emotion in your ideal client.
- Share your new elevator pitch with me via email. I promise to reply with useful feedback–for free, of course 😉
