This article was written by Renee Garcia, CRG Creative Networking
2019 AusMumpreneur Big Idea (New Business) Award, Gold winner
*****
Elevator pitch. Just the sound of this makes most business people cringe. Their heart rate spikes, hands get sweaty, they fumble their words and sometimes they come across like they have no clue what they are doing or talking about when in fact they are experienced and well educated in their field.
Recently I found myself in a room of the most inspiring and driven women I had ever met. Some of these same women were also shy, unsure of themselves and reserved when it came to them introducing themselves. I’m a networker. I love to get out and socialise and connect with people so I’m always seeing how people both males and females interact and introduce themselves whilst in a room full of new faces and although I’m conscience that even though it feels like second nature to me and this process fascinates me I can see how this simple process can be very daunting one for most.
An elevator pitch shouldn’t be daunting, it should be exciting and exhilarating and should express the passion that the person has for themselves and their business. Over the years while trying to perfect my pitch and watch others I have realised that there is no perfect pitch, nor do I ever refer to this as an “elevator pitch” anymore. When mentoring and educating fellow business owners around this process I take them on a journey of building a “Connector Pitch”.
“A connector pitch is having the ability to make an impact and keep these people thinking about you when you walk out the door.”
– Renee Garcia, CRG Creative Networking –
It’s about getting people excited about the change you can offer them. It’s about connecting with them on a level that they feel they can get to a trust position with you. A Connector Pitch is one of the first steps to building better business connections.
A connector pitch can be many different things. It can be a simple introduction when you meet or a cold call to someone new, it could be part of a major sales pitch when you’re in a sales meeting or most commonly in the networking scene it could be your thirty or sixty second introduction when going around the table at a regular referral or networking meeting.
After many meetings of hearing introductions, I noticed that a lot were just a boring monotone introduction stating just their name and business and by the time it got to the next person I guarantee that nobody was engaged or would even remember what the previous person said.
I say this with the utmost respect and is not meant to be harsh but the reality is that without challenging yourself, getting attention and engaging your audience, be it a single person or a room full of eyes you will just be another wave in the ocean, you know those little ones that hit the shore. No excitement and no need to stick around for more.
I started to wonder what is it that gets people so nervous about getting up and talking about their business. After all isn’t this our passion, something that we have chosen to create a living around for the purpose of making someone else’s life easier and better whilst providing financial and time freedom for our families? Shouldn’t we yell this from the roof top, jump on couches and spread the word far and wide? After doing some research and talking to many business owners and employees, seasoned networkers and those new to it, I asked the questions like, “What makes you so nervous about talking about your business?”, “What do you struggle with most when doing your introduction?’’ The most common responses I was hearing was, “I’m not sure how to put in words what I do”, “I jumble my words when everyone stares at me” “I don’t know what to say”.
After hearing this and many other responses I thought to myself. It doesn’t have to be this hard. We just need to Simplify our elevator pitch to turn it into a connector pitch. We need to understand our business more. We need to get the cogs moving and really start thinking about what the real purpose of our business or service is and what business are we really in. We need to stop thinking that a Connector Pitch is about us and start realising that it’s about our customers. “It’s not about you, it’s about them”
So, in the process of all this I created a simple five step process sheet. A way to sit down and write about your business. Get it all out on the table and use the information that you find and put it into a Connector Pitch. Sound’s easy right? Well, grab a pen and some paper and let’s get started.
The first step is Getting their attention. My advice with this is do some research around your industry. Are there available statistics you can give them. You could even ask a question or state a fact around your service.
The second step. Who are you? What’s your name, your title and your business name? What do you want to be known as an expert around?
The third step. This one seems easy but often is the hardest to answer. What is the problem you are solving? Why should they be interested in what your offering? What is the need? How will it take them from pain to pleasure?
The fourth step. Ask a question. Get them thinking about how this relates to them and their circumstance.
The fifth step. Leave a lasting impression. Finish off with your business motto and name. Finish with a bang.
I believe once we have the information, we know it and it becomes second nature, you will be far more confident in talking about your business and sharing your passion. Once the information is down, you can then start preparing scripts and introductions of any length based around this. It is simply a matter of then practicing, tweaking and just getting out of your safe box and doing it.
If you would like more information or have questions regarding this feel free to reach out and connect. I love nothing more than to see people shine and grow with their Connector Pitch.
Let’s take our introductions from boring to brilliant. Let’s challenge ourselves to be more and most of all, let’s get your cogs moving to help you build better business connections.
About our Guest Author
Renee is a wife, mum, coffee lover and connection craver. Over the years Renee has been in numerous roles that has enabled her to work on her skills and embrace her welcoming and honest personality to grow strong connections in both her personal and professional life. Now Renee is passionate about sharing these skills and helping business owners to get their cogs moving, thinking of creative ways they can connect through networking in a more cost effective and efficient way to build better business connections and to direct them to the right networking events that suit them and their business so they feel comfortable and confident to be there authentic selves.
With a passion for writing, Renee is currently in the process of contributing as a co-author in a book due to be released in 2020 all about Mumpreneurs and their journey of juggling family and business life and most recently in the final stages of releasing her first children’s book that was inspired by her eldest son.
To learn more about Renee and CRG Creative Networking, please visit her Website, Facebook or Instagram.