“How many elevator rides do you take in an average month? And of those, how many included a potential client? ”
— Ronn Lehmann
For years a common staple of sales has been the Elevator Pitch; a short, persuasive message designed to quickly capture a prospect’s attention and interest…say, in the brief duration of an elevator ride.
According to the Google-Verse, the Elevator Pitch originated in early 20th-century Hollywood, where screenwriters would ride elevators, waiting for studio executives to board, then deliver a quick pitch for their movie ideas before the doors reopened. The gambit had a resurgence during the tech boom of the 1990s and 2000s for entrepreneurs pitching to investors.
For years, a common staple of sales has been the Elevator Pitch; a short, persuasive message designed to quickly capture a prospect’s attention and interest…say, in the brief duration of an elevator ride.
Until recently, I thought the Elevator Pitch had long vanished. Then suddenly its virtues were again being extolled in sales seminars and in LinkedIn posts.
To which I respectfully respond, “Nuts to that.”
Allow me to elaborate.
My problems with this concept begin with the name and the premise. How many elevator rides do you take in an average month? And of those, how many included a potential client? And if one did, how receptive do you suppose said client would be to being ambushed?
Not to mention the social norm of uncomfortable silence during an elevator ride. Seems impractical to use that space for a sales pitch. Unless it’s just the two of you (see “ambushed” above.)
Perhaps I’m being too literal. A simple name change might solve one problem, but we’re still left with the idea that a well-crafted 30-second pitch can be highly persuasive. Whether delivered in person or via text/email, I’m skeptical of the efficacy of the Elevator Pitch in sales…if the contents of my Spam folder are any guide.
Especially when you consider the time and energy spent creating one. I’ve watched salespeople agonize over synthesizing their offering down to a 30-second pitch. And even the best ones seem to filled with what Nietzsche referred to as ‘nothingness’.
Not to mention the time you’ll waste riding up and down in elevators all day, waiting to bushwhack a hapless prospect.
Your time and energy is much better spent thinking about your potential client. What do they care about? What problems do they have that you can solve? What aspirations do they have that you can fulfill?
In short, what Value do you provide?
The answer is found in conversations with your prospective client, asking value-determining questions. And really listening to the answers.
Rather than struggling to create an Elevator Pitch that may never be shared outside of a sales seminar, why not focus on developing a Value Pitch that goes beyond the usual list of Features and Benefits and communicates where the true value of your offering lies.
Oh, and try taking the stairs if you can. It’s good for your health.
Ronn Lehmann advises organizations and leaders on the human factors that determine their culture. Lehmann developed the Cultural Audit Process, which is designed to provide an outside perspective of an organization’s culture: what’s important, what’s rewarded and punished, what the rules are, and how people “show up.”
Success Authorities’ book, “Conversations for Clarity: Critical Questions Leaders Must Ask Themselves” is available now at Amazon!
