You either love it or you hate it…..
“The best way to sell yourself to others is first to sell the others to yourself.”
— Napoleon Hill
What is the first thought that goes through your mind when you are asked to stand and provide a one-minute pitch about who you are and what you do? Excitement or dread?
As my clients are mostly micro & small business owners, I attend quite a lot of networking meetups, where I see so many people miss amazing opportunities to share information about themselves when they have the opportunity to pitch their business. Quite often they even forget their name in a rush to say what they do. And what they don’t realise is that the other people don’t really care what they do…they just want to know how what you do would benefit them.
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“What’s in it for me?”
That question drives most every decision we make. It is a vital part of your pitch to make it clear the service or product you are offering and how it will bring value to those who are listening. On page 24 of my book, Good Girls do Sell, there is a useful exercise to practice which will help you with your pitch.
So how do you make your pitch memorable?
- Speak clearly – don’t mumble – this takes practice.
- Use words a 12-year-old can understand.
- Don’t pitch benefits – pitch value. Tell them about your value proposition – many companies have benefits but you will give them value – a compelling reason to buy your product.
- Add a call to action – make this direct. Use direct language, don’t soften your language. For example, don’t say “Maybe you …” Rather say, “Do this …” People want to know what they should do. We can’t just assume that they know what needs to be done.
The point of pitching your business is for people to remember you and the value you offer. And if they don’t need your service or offer they might know someone who does, so make sure your pitch is memorable. The best way to guarantee this is to tell a story. Tell the story through a problem that has a solution.
Remember…
- Always use a microphone if available.
- Don’t use words everyone isn’t going to be able to understand.
- State your specialty in the form of a story.
Best wishes till next time.
Janeen Vosper
Author of “Good Girls do Sell – The Modern Business Woman’s Guide to Authentic Selling”
P.S. To learn more about overcoming
anxiety around selling register here for this workshop