Why Your Elevator Pitch Matters More Today than Ever Before…

Have you ever wondered where the term “elevator pitch” came from? One theory is old Hollywood and the time an aspiring screenwriter had to pitch their movie idea in the time it took to ride up. Another theory is based on Elisha Otis, of the Otis Elevator Company, and his 1852 demonstration where he literally pitched his new elevator design inside of an elevator.

Whatever the origin, the necessity of a great elevator pitch is even more critical today as it was to Elisha Otis back in 1852. Why? Because in the past, salespeople were the only source for any information about a product. Today’s prospects show up informed and they don’t need general information, they need real, tangible insights. “Why am I at risk without this solution?”, “Why can’t this wait until next year?”. With that, the elevator pitch becomes the most critical communication to connect with your prospect’s priorities from the start.

The buyer’s journey has changed and prospects are ignoring salespeople until the last minute. When they are finally ready, they bring in a couple of solution providers that look and sound the same for a conversation about fulfillment. Sure, you might have an opportunity to show your value, but honestly, at this point, the prospect probably doesn’t care. They’ve made up their mind about what they think they need.

To avoid becoming a commodity in your prospect’s eyes you need to:

1. Get into the buyer’s journey earlier,
2. Create influence with a high-level decision-maker,
3. Connect your real impact to their priority. To do this, you must have a take that makes the decision-maker say, “That’s important to me, tell me more.”

This is your “moment of truth.” You do not get a second chance to gain influence. This is why your elevator pitch is the single most important piece of communication every member of your sales team needs to perfect. Arm your team with an elevator pitch that influences decision-makers and is able to connect your real impact to your prospect’s priority. This builds trust and you become someone worth fighting for.

Scientists believe today’s human attention span is roughly 8 seconds. Meaning, you have 8 seconds to say something that makes your prospect’s brain decide to pay attention.

Yes, your prospect’s brain. Why?

Because our brain makes these decisions without us thinking about it. Think about stimuli that creates a reaction. Your brain is constantly telling you to either move toward the stimuli, away from the stimuli or to pay attention. If it’s something that matters or concerns you, rooted in a threat, you lean in and pay attention. Threats get prioritized, even over pain and fear.

Unless your elevator pitch can convince your prospect that you have something important to say, your prospect will continuously make you wait until the end of the sales process, where you’ll become a commodity every time.

A well-crafted elevator pitch uses brain-friendly messaging to build insights that capture your prospect’s attention in that first 8 seconds and hold it.

The right elevator pitch accomplishes three things:

1. It helps you break through to a top decision-maker.
2. It gets you in earlier and matches your real impact to their priority. Sales teams need to be able to meet with prospects earlier than ever, otherwise, they’ll be pushed and commoditized.
3. It follows how the brain makes a buying decision.

With your prospect’s brain constantly asking itself, “Should I pay attention to this? Should I do something about this right now?”, your elevator pitch is the fastest and best way to describe how your impact connects to your prospect’s top priority. And priorities are what people fight for…

Are you worth fighting for?