BetterSMB Best practices for small and mid-size businesses
What do you do? This is a common question many business owners and entrepreneurs are asked, but sadly struggle to explain what they do to attract and retain customers or clients. In business, pitching in various forms will be needed and necessary to start or scale. You want to be prepared and polished when presenting your product or service to others in a way that’s clear, concise, and compelling.
The number one pitch every entrepreneur needs to master is the elevator pitch. I also call this a Verbal Business Card. It’s when you tell prospects what you do they take them from interested to invested in working with you after just one conversation. Here are four ways to transform your elevator pitch from average to amazing.
#1: Use Luxury Language
Use wealthy words NOT weak words when explaining what you do for others. I call weak words Discount Dialect and wealthy words Luxury Language. Weak words include words like “Help, Just, Affordable, Little, etc.” This diminishes the value of what you offer as a business owner. Instead use Luxury Language in your elevator pitch. For example say “I assist (leverage, partner, or advance”) instead of “I help people in business.”
#2: Focus on the results you provide.
When pitching, focus on the benefits of your business. This can be achieved by letting the client or customer know the results of working with you before they pay the invoice or swipe their credit card. Instead of saying “I’ll be your Accountant,” including how those services are beneficial to the customer or client. For example, you can say “After hiring me as your account, in just 90 days I will show you where you are wasting money and how you can maximize the money you are bringing in to reduce your IRS tax bill by 20%”.
#3: Be clear, concise, and compelling
Your job as a business owner is to capture and keep the attention of clients and customers. When sharing your elevator pitch, make sure it’s easy to understand, short, and memorable. A huge mistake entrepreneurs make when giving their pitch is that it’s too long or not clear on what they really do, causing confusion to the customer or client which results in them not being interested in their product or service.
#4: Go beyond your title and focus on the transformation you provide customers or clients.
Retire the habit of giving people your title when they ask what you do. Too often business owners say “I’m a Consultant (Entrepreneur, or Accountant)” and get dismissed for business opportunities because the title is too vague or general which doesn’t spark interest. Instead, share your transformation. Instead of saying “I’m an Accountant,” say “I make numbers easy for entrepreneurs to understand so they can make data-driven decisions that advance their business globally.”
Quinn Conyers is an energetic emcee, compelling keynote speaker, and entrepreneur. She won and coached others to win over $400,000 in business pitch competitions and has made it to the 2nd round of Shark Tank auditions 4 times.
