Nov 142016
Sep 222014
A magazine recently quoted me saying, “I hate the term ‘elevator pitch.’”
That’s not entirely true. I actually hate elevator pitches themselves.
Here’s why.
One size fits all
Elevator pitches are based on the principle that, if you’ve worked out one 1-3 minute speech, you can tell it to everyone.
That’s just wrong.
I certainly hope that, when you talk to the person ...
Jun 172014
What do you say when someone asks you what you do?
What do you say when you need to sell something?
What do you say when you want to tell someone about your great idea?
Pitching and catching
We give business pitches for any number of reasons: to increase our network, to get new customers, to generate investment in our products and companies.
In baseball, every pitch is thrown to somebody: ...
Jun 232013
While preparing for the workshop on pitching that I'm giving later this week, I've been thinking about the purposes of a pitch. So far I've got two:
1. To initiate a conversation. In other words, to get the other party (or parties) to say "How do you do that?" or "Tell me more." or "How can I help?"
2. To be remembered.
Here's an example.
You're talking to someone between sessions at a ...
Jun 182013
What do you say when someone asks you what you do?
What do you say when you want to stand out of a crowd?
The first words out of your mouth in these situations (after your name, of course) are usually a pitch.
We all have to pitch every day, and, too often, when we're called upon to do it, we freeze, mumble, and miss the chance to enter into dialogue. And dialogue creates opportunity.
Let ...