Why its Important in Marketing
In today’s world, everyone wants to promote something: an idea, opinion, product, etc. You can go on and on with facts and justifications to make what you are saying the only right decision. However, making your point in a short and catchy manner adds a certain level of difficulty to the mix. Businesses define this as a pitch, which is basically delivering a business plan verbally. Most use aids like Microsoft PowerPoint to provide visuals. Not all pitches are the same, however. Terms like ‘elevator pitch’ and ‘video pitch’ have increased in popularity. An elevator pitch is simply a short summary of what you want to promote in the time span equivalent to a short elevator ride, usually around 20-60 seconds. That’s not a lot of time to make an impression…or is it?
Pitches are generally rehearsed and planned prior to the actual conversation. Again, you are trying to sell yourself, a product, or your company. In those 20-60 seconds, you need to address your credibility, the problem, what you want the person or organization to do to help solve said problem and open a door for further communication. That’s quite a bit of information to be included in such a short amount of time. In order for your pitch to be effective, it’ll take planning, rehearsal, and knowledge of the audience you’re pitching to.
Make Your Pitch more Effective
In some cases, you may have more time to go into details with your pitch. It’s typically in these instances where people tend to slip off topic. In an article written by Caroline Cummings, she found pitches can be improved upon by incorporating these nine simple steps:
- Tell a real customer story
‘Real’ is emphasized here because individuals attempt to oversell and incorporate fabrication into their pitches, and later cannot back up their claims. This easily leads to damaged credibility.
- Pare it down to the essentials
You don’t need to say a lot to get your point across. The audience should have questions for you to elaborate on, again with opening that door to further communication. In this case, not presenting a lot of information is a good strategy.
- Outline your business model
State what your business is to give the audience a better understanding. Outline the finer points to narrow in on a focus. Knowing the business can give insight to what you are pitching and why.
- Make sure your presentation is clear to everyone
Your pitch is well-developed if a person that is unfamiliar to what you are talking about understands what you are trying to communicate. Knowing what people think of the pitch can be a useful tool, especially if they know nothing about the product or company.
- Talk about yourself
This does not mean to tell everyone your life story and get off topic from the pitch. Simply state who you are, your connection to the company, and the accomplishments you have made by being involved.
- What have you done lately?
This point can relate to point five, stating your accomplishments. Accomplishments are a great way to introduce future goals, aspirations, and plans.
- Address competition head-on
Knowing your competitors and, more importantly, what makes you stand out from them can give your image more favorability. Visual aids help drive this point home.
- Give the numbers that are behind your numbers
Don’t simply throw numbers in the wind and assume others will take them at face value. Have the statistics to prove your predictions.
- Show the product
Visual aids can improve comprehension to what your pitch is about. People want to see what is being presented to them. Describing something without clear visual components leaves too much open to the imagination.
By developing a proper website and marketing to your target audience you will know your product or company is being pitched to the right people. For more ways to improve your company’s pitch, make an appointment for a consultation with our team here at Cutwing Marketing Solutions either through our website at https://cutwingmarketing.com/contact/ or by phone 262-248-0288.
TAGS— pitch, elevator pitch, business modeling, address competition, marketing product, video pitch
