elevator pitch
TRANSCRIPT
Marketing Yourself in Today's EconomyAugust 20, 2015
The Elevator SpeechWhat Is It? Do I Need One? How Does It Help Me? Presented to FWPMI b y
Myra L. Campbel lValtech Serv ices
What Is It?
el·e·va·tor pitch noun USinformal a succinct and persuasive sales pitch.
What Is It? For the Job Seeker – It’s the 30-second speech that summarizes who you are, what you do and why you are the perfect candidate
What Is It? Ask Yourself: What 3 words most accurately describe
you that YOU want people to think about you?
What Is It?
Clarify your job target - Know your end goal
Your mother should be able to understand your background and objective in the time it would take to ride an elevator
What Is It? GOAL?
Interest the listener in learning more, not to tell your whole life story.
What Is It?
Put it on paper◦Write down everything◦Edit◦Keep editing until a few key bullet points remain
What Is It? Format!
◦Who are you? ◦What do you do?◦What are you looking for?◦Why do THEY care?
What Is It?
WIFM (What’s in It for Me?) ◦Always focus your message on their needs◦Use benefit-focused terminology
What Is It?
What Is It? Eliminate industry jargon
◦No TechSpeak◦No Catch Phrases◦Acronyms – NO!!!
What Is It? Read your pitch out loud.
◦You do not want to sound like an infomercial … this is a conversation
◦Be authentic
Do I Need One?
Y E S !
Do I Need One?
Why Do I Need It?
Do you want your next gig or not?
How Does It Help Me? It benefits in distilling information for people you may
not realize can help you
…we never know who we know and who THEY know…
It also clarifies for you how to effectively communicate your background
How Does It Help Me? You will want to say things slightly differently to an interviewer than to a former colleague than to a neighbor
Sometimes you’ll have 15 seconds for a pitch (a short elevator ride), others you may have a minute or two
How Does It Help Me?
Find your single point of distinction - share that thought
Distinct doesn't necessarily equate to unique.... just noticeable in the positive
How Does It Help Me?
Master a few key talking points
How Does It Help Me?
Then customize for particular situations
How Does It Help Me?
Be Succinct: Use the word count feature on your computer to create shorter and longer pitches; a good rule of thumb is that you can say about 150 words in one minute
How Does It Help Me?
Nail it with confidence
End Result?