The Ultimate Elevator Pitch...

Some years ago I was introduced to the concept of the Elevator Pitch...

Unfortunately the introduction was was by an amorphous blob who had never actually sold anything or been involved with business or commerce...

Unsurprisingly - I had no idea what to do when asked the ultimate question..

So, what do you do...?

To the uninitiated, the principle of the Elevator Pitch -or of course Lift Pitch if you are in the UK - is this...

You are on the 10th floor - could be 9th or 12th, apparently the specific floor you start from is not critical - in the elevator, with one other person..

This person is an ideal prospect for your business, and as the door closes on the elevator she looks at you and says...

So, what do you do..?

And you have the time it takes for the lift to get to the ground floor to impress her such that she agrees to meet you and listen to what you have to say...

Remember, if you are in the USA it's the First floor on the Ground, in the UK the first floor is on the second floor; and the Ground floor is Zero which is your target - hope that makes sense..

Also, the principle assumes that the elevator doesn't stop on the way down...

Anyway...

Most people, in my experience - especially those trained by amorphous blobs - structure their elevator pitch something like this...

Prospect...

So, what do you do...?

Response...

I  am a talented and gifted web designer / accountant / recruiter, working with a passionate team of committed professionals with over 3 million years of experience in the blah, blah, blah services sector.... 
We provide excellent quality, value and reliability whilst retaining our personal touch in order to maintain differentiated, value driven blue sky, symbiotic envelope expansionist principles in the pursuit of  blah, blah, blah.....

At this point the prospect has pushed the emergency panic button, died from abject boredom or stabbed the person with their Mont Blanc Pen...

This is not an elevator pitch - this is an Escape Pitch that convicted prisoners come out with when they go to the parole board and attempt to gain their freedom - not that I'd know of course...

Grovelling is not attractive...

I can almost guarantee that the ideal prospect is not thinking..

This sounds really interesting, would be good to find out more...

She is more likely thinking...

This guy is a moron - next time I'll take the stairs; at least that way I can avoid him, get some cardio and hit my step target for the day..

So - what is the Ultimate Elevator Pitch...?

I could say - email me and I will tell you, but then you'll be wanting tio stab me with your Mont Blanc Pen instead...

Here's how it works...

First...

You need to know what the most common frustration of your ideal prospect actually is in relation to the product or service your provide - in other words what problem do you solve...

You also need to realise that no-one wants to hire a Coach / Recruiter / Lawyer etc. - the only thing they are interested in is the positive consequence they will experience as a direct result of working with you...

For example - no one in their right mind would want a Business Coach - what they want is a better Team, more Sales or more Time with their family..

If I could achieve this by hitting clients around the face with a piece of fish while they hold a carrot in their teeth - then I would. I would call it the Carrot and Fish Technique and become certified as a Master Practitioner in it...

I happen to use Business Coaching - but remember that in itself is NOT what anyone is interested in...

You can't sell WHAT you do - you can only sell the CONSEQUENCES orRESULTS of what you do.

Editors Note - it's why we called our Company - Results Rules OK, not the Dave and Lynn Coaching Company...

Second...

You need to frame your response into FOUR key stages...

Stage 1.

Ask your prospect a Rhetorical Question - one to which you assume they know the answer...

So for example, as a Business Coach - I would say something like this...

Well, you know how most business owners work really long hours and never seem to make as much money as they deserve...?

Key aspects - "well you know how" assumes the person actually does know and they will acknowledge this as a point of rapport - and whatever you say afterwards, they will nod in agreement..

Try this in the pub - just say to someone "well, you know how most elephants are blue...?"

They will agree even though they know you are wrong...

Stage 2.

Once you have framed your rhetorical question - you wait...

You wait for them to say yes, or simply nod - but you must get them to agree with your first question...

If they don't respond - you didn't do it right..

If this happens don't ask them..

Well do you know or not - I'm waiting...

This will not help and probably get you arrested...

Only when they have nodded or agreed can you move to the next stage...

Stage 3.

Drop them a teaser - do not under any circumstances tell them what you do yet...

Here's what you say - again using me as a case study, I'd say..

Well, I fix that...

Then you use the tried and tested technique of influence and persuasion; otherwise known as Shutting UP...

You wait - you say nothing else until...

Your prospect asks you the Golden Question...

How do you do that...?

Stage 4.

Only now can you continue the conversation - you have been given permission to pitch...

At this stage - you still don't need to tell them what you do - I would simply say..

I have a range of programmes and strategies that I adapt to the individual needs of each of my clients.. 
Would it be OK if we arranged to meet so I can explain in more detail...?

Book the Appointment - the elevator doors open and you walk out with a Sales Meeting to follow through...

She doesn't know what you do - but she is intrigued enough about the positive potential benefits you can offer that she will listen to you...

Would you like David to Train your Sales Team...?

Would you like to find out more about making more Sales, building a better Team or achieving a better Work-Life Balance..?

Of course you would...!

Drop him an email to;

davidholland@resultsrulesok.com

Your Marketing Sucks - here's why...

As a 17 year old I can remember vividly how, when I drove across an unmarked crossroads on a housing estate, my driving instructor smacked the dashboard with his note book and shouted...

Never enter a junction without looking - you'd  have failed your test and may have killed someone...

He was right - and I have never forgotten his words - or the violence of the attack on my VW Beetle dashboard...

I can't remember what he said the next week or the week after that...

I remember my first day at the Ministry of Defence - being barked at as newbie as we were handed Rifles to play with and take apart...

What happened on day three...?

I have no idea...

The day I met Lynn is as clear today as if it was yesterday - what she wore, where we sat on the school bus, and how I walked her home because she had "nicked" my scarf...

Our wedding day, the birth of our two sons, the death of my father and numerous other significant occasions remain imprinted on my mind...

Over the last 35 years I reckon I can remember with clarity around 250 specific conversations, meetings, and occasions...

There are 1000's that I have experience that I can recall, but are not "imprinted" on my mind - there are 1000's more that have been forgotten for all time...

Why do some messages, occasions and conversations have long lasting impact and others don't...?

They don't have SPLAT...

SPLAT is the effect of shock, surprise and sudden disruption...

It's when we are surprised, startled or moved in such a way that the effects are long lasting and powerful...

This is how we need to communicate...

Lets face it - Most marketing Copy Sucks - that is the Latin derivation of the word meaning useless, boring and irrelevant...

It is written without passion purpose or care - it's a second rate excuse for an email, article or advert...

Calling it Bland is an insult to Blandness 

The number of Blogs, Emails, Adverts and Messages we are bombarded with every day means that we remember less than 0.25% - and I am being generous here...

Most of the messages get deleted by our minds - they may reappear after they are repeated enough times such that we buy a "brand" the next time we are in the supermarket; without really understanding why...

In the SME sector however we are not about Brand we are about Reputation, we don't have time to subliminally influence consumers with tag lines, jingles and images; we need prospects now...

The harsh reality of marketing is that it is not the best product or service that gets chosen by prospects - it's the one that sticks in their mind, the one that emotionally engages them, the one that moves them to make a decision to act...

Stand out or Die...

In business speak this is simply translated as "achieving competitive advantage through differentiation..."

No one who thinks in those terms will be memorable for long...

So here is the formula for delivering messages with SPLAT...

SPLAT that sticks, becomes irritatingly memorable, significant and moving, shocking and awesome at the same time...

SPLAT can be sweet or sour, hot or cold; your job isn't to entice people it's to move them; make them smile, grimace or shake their heads - emotional engagement is the key...

If you get Splatted - you'll know; your emotions will sing, your will feel pain, pleasure or elation, you'll love and hate - but you'll always remember..

Splatting leaves scars - your marketing needs to not only stand out, but shout and scream; grabbing prospects by the lapels and slapping them with the wet Haddock of memorable uniqueness...

It's time to take off the gloves, unlearn all that "stuff" you learned in the Marketing Class and define who you are and what you do in a way that can't be ignored.

That's SPLAT...!!

The 9 Laws of SPLAT Sales & Marketing...

1. Law of the First - be new, creative and unique, it's called the Roger Bannister, or Neil Armstrong Effect. 
   
2. Law of the Shocking - not in an offensive way, but your message must hit people and SPLAT them not just bounce off them..
   
3. Law of Marmite - state your case such that some will hate you and some will love you; and be consistent with your position...
   
4. Law of being Awesome - be so good at something you have to ration it not promote and sell it...
   
5. Law of being Brave - your instinct is right; use it to guide your headline and your content marketing...
   
6. Law of the Honest - if you've been fired, homeless or depressed, tell people and refer to Rule 3 for support...
   
7. Law of the Credible - you have to be able to deliver what you promise and more; invest more in R&D than you do in Marketing...
   
8. Law of the Few - you don't need everyone to buy from you, just a few motivated clients will do; Class Market not Mass Market...
   
9. Law of Consistency - you must deliver your promise in the same way you deliver your message; Funky message must equal Funky service...

SPLAT...!

...the 9 Laws of Sales & Marketing they don't teach you at University...

Will be the subject of a NEW Book by David Holland - it will be written during the summer and released by the end of 2015...

Leave a comment below ( a nice one...!) and you'll get a FREE E Book version of SPLAT Marketing sent to you by Email...

If you have any stories, content or examples I can use in the Book - then drop me an email and I will take a look and of course if I use them will give you full acknowledgement in the book - just no money of course...

davidholland@resultsrulesok.com

This Years Best Excuse Award...

I haven't saved humanity, won the Nobel Prize for anything or even got an MBE from the Queen...

On the scale of huge achievements, mine are comparatively small...

I'm not as Rich as Bill Gates, Innovative as Elon Musk or as good looking as David Beckham - or that bloke out of the Goo Goo Dolls for that matter...

I don't chant incantations to myself in the mirror each morning, have a "Dream Chart" above my bed or have the desire to be another Tony Robbins...

But - I am pleased with progress so far, including...

• 35 years with Lynn - "my first wife" as I refer to her...
• 2 Amazing Sons - Jon and Rich...
• Travelled to over 40 Countries and worked in 24...
• Published 44 Books...
• Lived in Las Vegas - now living in rural France...
• MBA - with distinction no less...
• Privileged to work with the best clients in the World...

It could have been so different...

At school I remember being told that I would "never amount to anything" and being given two career choices;

1. Join the Army

2. Go down the Pit

Both worthy professions of course, but the fact that they were recommended to me meant I was programmed to reject them...

At 16, I remember cycling to school after the exams to look at my results that were pinned to the wall outside the entrance...

I also remember thinking where will I be by the time I'm 30 - was I going to let my education be my best excuse for not doing something awesome with my life...

Education seemed to be the one excuse that I could justifiably use to not have amazing opportunities great career and happy life..

So I remember thinking..

What if that excuse didn't exist...?

Pretty deep for a 16 year old riding a Raleigh Olympus through the Warwickshire countryside...

So I decided to remove that excuse and see what happened..

For me it meant spending 12 years at Night School, doing Day Release, Distance Learning and Vocational training..

It also meant leaving home, sleeping rough and eating at charity shelters; it meant not having a shower for days on end but going to college anyway, working three jobs to pay the rent and still finding time to write, read and pass exams...

Up to the age of 30 - while all this "learning" was going on - I got a job and built a career, we got married and had two boys...

Got a house with a shower too - thankfully...

I have got more pieces of paper than most - they include an ONC, HNC, DMS a Certificate of Apprenticeship from the Ministry of Defence, an Underwater Welding Certificate, Power Press Safety Certificate, and even one for changing Grinding Wheels - oh and did I mention my MBA with Distinction..?

I have achieved more than I was supposed to - more than my teachers, parents or peers thought I would or given the chance would have allowed me to.

And I'm not finished yet - in fact we've only just got going...

And the lesson I have learned on the way is simple...

When the excuses are removed - all things are possible...

Epilogue...

I sent a book to a member of the Team at one of my clients, recommending that they read it so we can discuss the ideas and principles contained within it and apply them to their development and career...

That was 2 months ago; on the telephone last week I asked how the reading was coming along...

I haven't got time to do any learning...

I was a bit busy too - working shifts in the factory, sleeping on trains and platforms, fighting over food in charity shelters; but I always had time to learn...

Not surprising that my response was somewhat terse...

So The Best Excuse Award goes to...

Anyone who ever says..

"I don't have time..."

If anyone has any advice for my Clients Team - please leave a note below...

They won't read this Blog because guess what - they don't have time...

 

Want to work with a Business Coach...?

Want a Speaker for your Event or Conference...?

Email me - davidholland@resultsrulesok.com

web - www.resultsrulesok.com