We looked at Steve Jobs pitch close and found 8 common themes that will help you create the best elevator pitch. Locking a good elevator pitch down can be the thirty-second difference to securing a lead or a bored listener. The ability to deliver a sales pitch of your business’ products and services to future customers is a crucial skill for salespeople and small business owners.
A sales pitch or elevator pitch is a key part of the sales process. The reason why I call it an elevator pitch over a sales pitch is because going after a sale right off the bat can seem aggressive and actually turn someone off from listening to you. When you perfect a generic elevator pitch about your product and company not only can you re-use it in multiple contexts but you also come off as more genuine.
A good elevator pitch works the same no matter what the medium used to deliver is. This can take place over the phone, online or in person.
While some people are natural speakers and have innate charisma, I believe that if you practice something enough times, you’ll eventually get good at it, even if you have imposter syndrome.
Don’t know what that is? Impostor syndrome is the voice in your head that tells you-you’re not qualified or good enough. Even the award-winning legendary poet and author Maya Angelou struggled with it.
Understand this: You never lose, you learn. We are all in a constant state of learning.
In this article, we will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to deliver an effective elevator pitch by using key learnings we found while analyzing Steve Job’s pitch. Hopefully, by mimicking one of the greatest, you’ll also be able to increase your chances of winning new business.
This keynote stood out for me compared to others because of the unbridled passion and excitement that Steve Jobs possessed. You can feel the energy in the room, and radiating from his body even if you are watching it from a screen. I could only imagine how contagious this was in person.
This wasn’t just a businessperson trying to sell you a product. He wasn’t an annoying salesman soliciting you for your money. There was something genuine about the way he speaks that made you want to hear more and that is the key for these tips to work. You have to not only believe in your product but be a champion of it.
Enough of that though, let’s get into the 8 things you can learn from Steve Jobs to make the best elevator pitch.
1. Spike Curiosity in the First Few Seconds
A good pitch always has a clear structure. You don’t want to go off rambling. The structure helps the listener follow along, which allows you’re the privilege of engagement. You want to know what you’re going to say next, and allow ample opportunity for clarification and questions.
Similar to writing, you want to hook your listener right from the first couple seconds. Gain curiosity by creating a shocking opening. Follow up with presenting a problem that is often faced by the audience, then offer a solution. The key is a smooth transition. Once you have agreement on the problem and the solution, that’s when you can start explaining your business model and drop your call to action.
2. Build Credibility by Referring to Previous Successes
If you’ve run another company before, or have valuable lessons that you’ve learned, this is where you drop these stories. Briefly. Are you a new entrepreneur? Create credibility by referring to your wins in your life that are relevant to your business, or mentors that are well known within your community. The point here is that you should build credibility, and early if you want your pitch to succeed.
3. Use Humour and Wit to Earn Trust
This is pretty self-explanatory. No matter how great your product is, if all you have to offer is a list of features and functions, your pitch is going to fall flat. They might as well just google whatever product or business you’re trying to sell them. Connect with your listeners by playing into their humour. Prepare a couple of jokes that work well with your pitch but also be open to improvising. Flattery lowers people’s defences and makes them more likely to view you as approachable. Brownie points if you want them to a) remember you and b) call you back.
4. Draw On Competitions Pros and Knock Them Down
I read that the best persuaders are the ones that are not afraid to talk about their competitors positively. This is a fine line because while you do want to acknowledge your competitors, you don’t want to sound pompous or slanderous. If you can talk about your competitors the right way, you can actually prime your listeners into being champions of your product without them even realizing it. Draw on your competitor’s pros and great features before your listeners can voice them. Address these with solid counter-arguments. What this does is it provides answers for your listeners to later debate others who may not be your fans yet.
5. Use Power Words and Buzz Words
Don’t confuse this with large jargon-y words. I mean power words that strike a chord with people to make them feel included and important. Words such as “cutting edge” etc.
6. Focus on the Benefits
I’ve mentioned this before above – you want to focus on what your business and product can do for the listener. Not the functions, not the features, but the solutions. These need to be real, tangible solutions that are applicable and make sense to the listener.
7. Know Who You’re Talking To
Is your listener an investor, another business, a student, a young person etc.? Split your target audience into 3-5 categories and modify your pitch as needed for each. If you sell to all, you sell to no one.
8. Be Gracious
Thank whoever you’re talking to for their time. Thank them for listening, and thank them for providing you with feedback and quality conversation. Flattery can take you far, but humbleness takes your further.
If you enjoyed the topic of this blog, I recommend reading the book “The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs” by Carmine Gallo which pretty much focuses entirely on analyzing Steve Jobs and his presentation. Have a question or a comment? Give us a shout at hello@ghostit.co.
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