Article Categories
» Arts & Entertainment
» Automotive
» Business
» Careers & Jobs
» Education & Reference
» Finance
» Food & Drink
» Health & Fitness
» Home & Family
» Internet & Online Businesses
» Miscellaneous
» Self Improvement
» Shopping
» Society & News
» Sports & Recreation
» Technology
» Travel & Leisure
» Writing & Speaking

  Listed Article

  Category: Articles » Business » Sales » Article
 

How Effective is Your Elevator Pitch?




By Alan Rigg

Do you truly believe that your company's products and services will help your prospects? Have you ever thought, "I KNOW I could find ways to help (company name) if I could just get (prospect name) to talk to me for 20 minutes!"

Why is it so difficult to convince prospects to schedule time to talk with us? There are two main answers to this question. First, dozens (or even hundreds) of salespeople may be asking for your prospects' time. If prospects gave everyone who asked the time they ask for, they would never have time to get any work done! Second, chances are that your prospects are not just sitting around waiting for salespeople to contact them. They are focused on their own (business and personal) objectives, issues and concerns. When you contact them, you need to find some way to break through this "mental clutter", grab their attention, and focus it on what you are saying.

This makes developing an effective "elevator pitch" the single most important step in sales prospecting. After all, what good is it to have fabulous solutions to problems if we can't get the people who have the problems to talk to us? Plus, how many times a day are you asked, "What do you do for a living?" How many prospects (and referrals) might you uncover if you had a highly effective and intriguing answer that rolls right off your tongue?

The concept behind an elevator pitch is simple. Imagine you are riding in an elevator. The doors open and one of your top prospects steps into the elevator. You now have a very brief (thirty to sixty second) opportunity to introduce yourself and convince your prospect that they need to have a longer conversation with you. What are you going to say?

To be effective, your elevator pitch must 1) differentiate you from all the other salespeople who contact your prospects; and 2) break through your prospects' mental clutter and grab their attention. The best way to begin to develop an effective elevator pitch is by considering the following questions:

1. Who are your target prospects? What do they do? What job titles do they hold? What vertical markets are they in?

2. How will your products and services help your prospects? How will their lives be different after they work with you?

3. What are the QUANTIFIED IMPACTS (dollars or percentages and time frames) that have been produced by your company's products and services? How SPECIFICALLY has your company helped its customers?

Here are sample answers to these questions based upon my own company's products and services:

Q1: Who are your target prospects? What do they do? What job titles do they hold? What vertical markets are they in?

A1: My target prospects are business owners, executives, and managers. Because I address sales performance issues, and these issues occur in all vertical markets, I do not focus on specific vertical markets.

Q2: How will your products and services help your prospects? How will their lives be different after they work with you?

A2: My products and services help my customers end the frustration of 80/20 sales team performance, where 20% of salespeople produce 80% of sales.

Q3: What are the QUANTIFIED IMPACTS (dollars or percentages and time frames) that have been produced by your company's products and services? How SPECIFICALLY has your company helped its customers?

A3: Some of my customers have seen their sales DOUBLE in as little as EIGHT MONTHS.

Once you have answered all three questions, you can combine your answers to create an elevator pitch. Here is an example based upon the preceding information:

"I help business owners, executives, and managers end the frustration of 80/20 sales team performance (where 20% of salespeople produce 80% of sales). In fact, some of my customers have seen their sales double in as little as eight months!"

If you have never measured the quantified impacts of your company's products and services, that's OK - it is a new concept for many salespeople and companies. However, it is CRUCIAL that you collect some quantified impact information as soon as possible! Why? Because nothing breaks through a prospect's mental clutter like quantified impacts!

Here are several questions you can ask yourself and your customers to define quantified impacts for your company's products and services:

1. What BUSINESS PROBLEMS is your company especially good at solving? (Make a comprehensive list - it will provide a useful outline for your conversations with customers.)

2. How have you or your company helped a customer in a way that was unusual or especially valuable? In other words, when have you or your company really been "a hero" in a customer's eyes?

3. What (specific dollar value or percentage) increase in revenue or reduction in expenses can the customer associate with each identified example of "unusual value"? Over what time frame was this value delivered?

In conclusion, if you want to pump up your sales prospecting success rate, develop a truly compelling elevator pitch. Make sure your elevator pitch identifies your TARGET PROSPECTS, how they will BENEFIT from using your company's products and services, and one or more examples of QUANTIFIED IMPACTS that you (or your company) have actually produced for other customers.

A properly designed elevator pitch will help you stand out from other salespeople, break through your prospects' mental clutter, and grab their attention. These are crucial first steps to convincing prospects to schedule time for more in- depth conversations.
 
 
About the Author
Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: Why Most Salespeople Don't Perform and What to Do About It. To learn more about his book and sign up for more FREE sales and sales management tips, visit: http://www.8020salesperformance.com.

Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/11121.html
 
If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/11121.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked.



  Some other articles by Alan Rigg
Sales Recruiting - How to Hire More Top Sales Performers - Part 2
Another key reason why companies suffer from 80/20 performance is their processes for hiring, training and managing salespeople rely almost entirely upon SUBJECTIVE information. Think about it: * What are ...

Sales Recruiting - How to Hire More Top Sales Performers - Part 1
Business executives and sales managers frequently complain about "80/20" performance on their sales teams, where approximately 80 percent of sales are produced by approximately 20 percent of salespeople. ...

Sales Process - Maximize Sales by Minimizing "Windshield Time"
During the late 1980's I was a field sales representative for a computer distributor, selling computer systems and peripherals in and around Los Angeles, California. ...

Sales Leads - Three Things Every Website Should Do
When I started my company in 2002, I knew I needed to have a website. Why? To provide credibility! How can a company be "real" ...

Strategic Selling - How to Sell Strategically
If you want to maximize your sales performance, take a STRATEGIC approach to selling. After all, wouldn't you agree that "the ...

Sales Territory Management - How to Prioritize Your Activities to Produce Maximum Results
How you prioritize your sales territory management activities depends upon whether you are managing a territory that has existing customers, or whether you are building your customer base from scratch. If you manage a territory that ...

  
  Recent Articles
Achieving Business Success: How to Fuel Determination Today for Breakthrough Achievements Tomorrow & Beyond
by Chuck Mache

Where Sales Meets Service: Up-Selling and Cross-Selling Made Fun & Easy!
by Craig Harrison

Stop Justifying Your Price and Start Touting Your Benefits
by Yvonne Weld

Is This a Trend? Three Horrible Calls Reviewed
by Art Sobczak

Automatic Watches versus Mechanical Watches: What Is The Difference?
by Zai Zhu

Benefits Of Using Oil Mist Eliminators In The Metalworking Industry
by Chuck Jaymes

Trion Mini Mist Eliminator Protects Employees and Equipment
by Chuck Jaymes

Sell Your Home By Yourself
by Ron victor

Italian ceramics
by Marco

Trust, The Power Word in Sales
by Harlan H. Goerger

How to tackle the strategic change in business
by soma

PS3 for $1.68? Lowest Bids Snag Big-Ticket Items at SilverTag Online Auctions
by Kris Nickerson

Can't connect to database