An Elevator Pitch

Obsolete, Old School Marketing or a Modern Necessity

Even today in our “modern”, technology focused world, having an elevator pitch is important. It doesn’t matter what type of business you’re in, an effective elevator pitch can lead to new sales opportunities. Most businesses, if asked claim to use an elevator, yet few actually make the transition from pitch to profit. Let’s examine a few elevator principles.

An elevator pitch is that short, intriguing sound bite that is intended to peak interest and stimulate conversation. No more, no less.

Recently, I was discussing this very concept with a friend. I asked, “What’s your pitch?” He rambled, “By codifying proprietary technologies, we deliver a superior enterprise application to an under-leveraged vertical market.” I thought he was going to pass out before he got to the end.

We wonder why it’s not obvious to all humanity that our product, service or company is the latest and greatest. This is usually because marketers have a supply-side mentality. We focus on features, while those on the demand side of the equation just want to know “what’s in it for me?”

Put the customer’s hat on and use some “elevator etiquette”
First, if you have to take a breath midstream, your spiel is too long. Bill Joos, a Principal at Go To Market Consulting and a former VP of Business Development for Garage.com (a successful venture-capital firm) once noted that, “Brevity brings the best results

He’s absolutely right! If you can’t hook them in 10 seconds, a wordy dissertation won’t magically win friends and influence people. When you think of it, most areas in the county don’t have many high-rises. Assume you have three or four floors instead of 30 to get your point across.

Open with an attention-getter designed to draw a question
My personal prologue is: “I help companies increase their sales velocity.” The typical response is: “How do you do that?”

They’ve just given me permission to go into more detail. When I lead with, “I’m a marketer,” they fight to get off the elevator.

Next, lose the techno babble! Use simple and clear language that communicates how you increase your customers’ advantage or reduce their risk. Most people buy on emotion rather than logic — make sure your intro has an emotional appeal. Said another way, sell the sizzle instead of the steak.

Along that line, what you say is important — but how you say it is imperative. If you don’t have passion about your selling proposition, prospective customers will find someone else who does. Finally, incorporate a call to action.

Zig Ziglar gained notoriety in the ’70s by concluding a “benefit statement” with a closing question. That’s how you should wrap up your elevator pitch — with a question. Ask to exchange business cards so you can follow up. Keep in mind that an elevator pitch is not designed to sell, only to set up a selling situation.

A great pitch doesn’t just happen; it takes preparation and practice. Use these elevator principles and your prospects won’t go running for the stairwell.

Why do a Competitive Market Analysis?

“Know thy enemy . . . ”

 

In marketing there are three “Knows” that you need to be intimately aware of in order to succeed.

• Know yourself – your market, your product, your solution and how they fit together
• Know your customers – listen well and they will tell you what you need to know
• Know your competition – competitive analysis is the beginning of market success

Every business needs valuable insight not only about their competitors but about themselves. For any company, identifying their strengths and weaknesses is a vital component to increasing their market share and their bottom line.

A competitive market analysis – as a business exercise – is the one of the best ways to examine the products and practices of competing businesses in order to streamline practices or to become more competitive. Companies that utilize this type of evaluation can gain a significant edge in the market and permit them to position themselves in a way that appeals to more consumers and increases customer loyalty.

By far, the most important benefit of a competitive market analysis comes from being able to accurately size up the competition and accurately measure your company, product or service against them. When a company understands who they are competing against and how they measure up against them, they will be better able to make the necessary adjustments in order to increase their effectiveness at retaining the customers they do have while expanding the number of new customers that they are bringing in.

Part of the process of a well done competitive analysis is gaining insight into your own weaknesses as well. If you are able to do this accurately, you will enable yourself to recognize and then make the changes needed in order to compete more effectively with your competition.

It is also just as important for a company to understand where their strengths lie as well. A company that understands what they are doing right can emphasize these positive aspects and set themselves even further apart in their competitors.

Once completed, a comprehensive competitive market analysis will be able to provide a company with a greater understanding of what it is that sets them apart from the other companies in their particular market. Identifying a unique product or service “need” in the market can help a company accentuate that particular factor, feature or functionality in order to get a leg up on the other businesses that are competing with them for the very same customers.

To be affective, a comprehensive competitive market analysis will identify at least three competitive companies for a business to compare them with. Taking a “head in the sand approach” that ignores the companies that a business is competing against or trying to delude yourself by saying that “we are so unique and so different and incomparable that no one really competes with us”, is a surefire route to failure.

A Competitive Market Analysis is not an easy process. To some it may even seem to be a bit of a frivolous waste of time and energy. But it is an extremely necessary step towards the success of your business.