If you only had 30 seconds, how would you sell yourself professionally? What would be your personal sales pitch or so-called elevator pitch? To learn more about how to confidently define and articulate your purpose and your value proposition, read on.
The term elevator pitch comes from a scenario of a coincidental meeting with someone important in the lift, someone you want to impress. If you use the 30 second journey in the lift to interest and engage the other person, then the conversation may continue afterwards and could lead to a meeting or potential business opportunity.
Elevator pitches are used to define your value proposition. They get across your unique selling point, or USP, quickly and succinctly. They are much more than a quick line about you, they create focus on individuality and force you to consider what makes you special, what makes you stand out from the crowd. No two pitches are ever the same because they are bespoke selling tools, as individual as the person delivering them.
You might think that such a pitch is only relevant to sales people, entrepreneurs or evangelists, someone with an agenda or something to sell in quickly, but actually elevator pitches are important for any professional person. Good elevator pitches are persuasive and spark interest. They engage your audience and make a memorable exchange for the person on the other end. And because they are not too long, they are rarely interrupted, offering you a fantastic opportunity to sell yourself freely and not in response to a direct question.
Strong elevator pitches become part of your personal branding, part of knowing your strengths and how to sell them. There are many contexts in which it is hugely helpful to organize your thoughts in this way so that all your strengths and selling points come out fluently rather than a jumble of words that, in hindsight, you really wish you had honed a little. In interview situations particularly, having a pre-prepared sales pitch can help quell nerves and will enable you to come across as more confident and professional, as well as helping the interviewer understand quickly what you are all about.
There are a couple of obvious hurdles to using elevator pitches and similar personal branding tools. Firstly, you need to practice them to avoid sounding overly rehearsed or awkward. This is particularly the case for anyone held back by typical British humility which does not invite bragging about one’s own achievements or selling yourself in an open and unashamed manner.
Secondly, you need to know what to say. This is a real challenge and one for which few people are really prepared. It’s actually much easier if you are creating a pitch for a product or a business because the USP aspect will have been central to business strategy and planning for its launch – so it’s all there already. When you are talking about yourself, however, it’s a different ball game. No-one was thinking about your USP when you were created. In fact, it is very much an afterthought and something which may have changed – and will continue to change – somewhat over the years.
Here’s where we can help. At FindMyWhy we want you to confidently believe in the unique value you bring to the world. We want to empower you to create a career and a life you love, by helping you to understand what excites, drives and resonates with you, and equipping you with the skills and confidence to express all of this with the people who’ll help make your goals reality. We’re here to support you in every step on your journey to identifying, articulating and securing the opportunities that uphold your values, and make your life and career goals a reality.
FindMyWhy is a completely free and bespoke personal purpose project, which helps you to define and articulate your unique inner values. It starts with an online questionnaire – accessible anytime and anywhere – and results in informed, relevant guidance for where you are in life. This is presented as a comprehensive report to absorb and refer back to whenever your need, coupled with immediate access to a personal support pack containing bespoke toolkits and professional resources created to empower and support you in making your life and career goals happen.
Your individuality is your greatest asset and FindMyWhy will help you to channel every unique element of yourself, so that you understand more about your own value proposition and how best to use it in the professional business world. FindMyWhy will help you to project the best version of you; confident, self-aware and an ideal candidate for that highly sought-after job role, because you can clearly articulate your strengths and present yourself to others. So, before you get in that next lift, give us a call so that you’re fully prepared for anyone who may be in there with you …
We’re here to help with any questions you may have about your FindMyWhy experience. You can contact us directly, or simply click here to get started right away at no cost.