What is a 60 Second Commercial/Elevator Pitch? A 60 second commercial is a concise, carefully planned, and well-practiced description about your company that your mother should be able to understand in the time it would take to ride up an elevator. It is not just a "sales pitch." Be careful not to get caught up in using the entire pitch to tell the individual how great your product or service is. WHY BOTHER LEARNING ONE? When you think about how many people you, your employees/contractors or even your family members come in contact with on a daily basis, it is probably more than you realize! Having a 60 second commercial that adequately describes what you do, in a way that is easy for the other individual to understand is a great marketing tool! Individuals will commonly downplay what they do, especially if their work is in a complex industry. By having a 60 second commercial already strategically thought through, you eliminate comments like, "I work with computers." The previous statement would not really tell anyone about what the company really does and how it helps people, yet it is a good example of how someone might downplay their position. SHOULD I HAVE MORE THAN ONE? Employees of your organization should learn one commercial that is general enough to be able to speak to your overall customer base. Depending on your business, however, you (and your sales force) may consider having different sections that would vary depending on the audience. Be careful, however, your talk should be natural and flowing. Try not to create so many variations that you forget which one to use! CREATING THE 60 SECOND COMMERCIAL - OPTION 1 There are 4 questions your "commercial" must answer: 1. Who are you? Your name, the company name and an overview of the company should be stated here. This section should not take up more than 10 seconds of your talk time. 2. What is your product or service and what are the benefits? Briefly describe what it is you sell. Do not go into excruciating detail. Stay high-level and focus on the "what is in it for me" factor. Why would the person you are talking to want to learn more? Maybe one of your clients has had significant dollar savings from working with you. Maybe the training you have provided has allowed one of your clients to advance in their field much faster than anticipated. This section should take up about 30 seconds of your talk time. 3. Who is your market? Briefly discuss who you are selling the product or service to. What industry is it? How large of a market do they represent? Make this section a request for a referral by starting with "Who do you know who..." or another appropriate open ended question. This section should take up to about 10 seconds of your talk time. 4. How do they contact you? You can choose to repeat a phone number, email address or web site. If you have a free give away of some kind, or a great web site with free information, make sure to say that here as well. Choose a contact method that will be the most likely to get you quickly. If you don't answer the phone, but you check email right away every time something comes in, then use email, etc. This section should take up about 5 seconds of your talk time. There are 4 things that your talk must contain: 1. A "hook" - Close your pitch by getting the individual's attention with a "hook." Use a statement or question that piques their interest to want to hear more. 2. About 150-225 words Your pitch should go no longer than 60 seconds. 3. Passion Energy and dedication from entrepreneurs is contagious. Make them want to learn more without being "fake." 4. A Request At the end of your pitch, you must ask for something. Do you want their business card, to schedule a full presentation, to ask for a referral? Sample Commercial This is a sample of the commercial our organization consultants use: Hello. I’m ______________________, Independent Organization Consultant for Calahan Solutions. We provide productivity and organizing solutions busy, intelligent business owners. We were founded in 2002 and are members of the National Association of Professional Organizers as well as the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization. If you spend more time looking for items than you do using them, we can provide solutions to streamline your business operation for optimal efficiency, and free your time to concentrate on building your business and serving your clients. We have helped our clients save money and time and reduce stress. Our business clients note significantly reduced errors and more confident employees. Our coaching clients say we are their trusted partners and note more efficiently used space and a sense of calm that they have not felt in quite a while. Who do you know who could use more time or stress reduction? Who do you know that could use a dynamic speaker for group presentations or workshops? We would love to talk to them about how we can help them. You can get 100s of free tips on our site as well as our free monthly newsletter at www.calahansolutions.com or you can reach me at 309-826-5263. Guiding you to your solutions - Its not about us, it’s about you and getting you to your goals. CREATING THE 30 SECOND COMMERCIAL -- OPTION 2 List the 3 things you believe your company should be known for. 1. __________________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________________ 3. __________________________________________________ Write your ideas for each of the 7 elements below. 1. Your Company Name _________________________________________ 2. Target _________________________________________ 3. Need or Opportunity _________________________________________ 4. Product or Service _________________________________________ 5. Your Competition _________________________________________ 6. What is Different _________________________________________ 7. Key Benefit _________________________________________ Using the 7 elements listed above, and the formula below, write your 30 second commercial for your business. (COMPANY NAME) is for (TARGET) who (NEED) we offer (PRODUCT OR SERVICE). Unlike (OUR COMPETITORS) we provide (WHAT IS DIFFERENT) which means you will (KEY BENEFIT). Here is how our 30 seconds would sound: Calahan Solutions, Inc. is for business owners who are overwhelmed with paper and information or want to reclaim time to do important things in their life. We offer consulting and coaching services that meet your specific needs as well as many self-guided opportunities. Unlike other organizers in the industry, we do NOT provide cookie cutter solutions, which means that you will receive advise that is custom tailored to your business' needs. You don't have to do it our way, because we help you find your way! (tm) FINAL THOUGHTS Regardless of the method you use, having a crafted introduction that you are comfortable with will put you at ease and make for more productive networking.
Article Source: http://bizymoms.com/business
Want more ideas on getting things done? Visit our blog Productive and Organized - Finding Your Way and participate! I regularly answer questions and help my readers out! Better yet, connect with me on a social networking site. Stephanie LH Calahan is a speaker, coach and productivity consultant. She founded Calahan Solutions, Inc. to help you make the most of your time, space and information.