Elevator Sales Pitch – 10 tips to elevate your speech

A lot has been written and spoken about how an elevator sales pitch should be. For those of you for whom the term is new – it’s an introductory sales pitch that introduces you, your work and how it can benefit the person you are speaking to. It generates interest and is short enough to be communicated within the timespan of an elevator ride. This is something that a salesperson keeps ready and handy to be used at all times.

So I am not going to repeat what countless other people have said on how an elevator sales pitch should be constructed. What I would like to draw you attention to are some essential elements of an elevator speech, which could prove to be the tipping point of its success.

1. Spontaneous and eloquent – at the risk of sounding repetitive - practice, practice and practice till it appears spontaneous and not something that has been learnt out of the words of a book. Also, eloquence is the key. Fumbling through sentences takes the impact out of it.

2. Does your voice convey confidence in what you offer? In the absence of time to convey confidence through your product or service, the potential customer senses the strength of your service through your voice. Record your sales pitch and replay. How does it sound? Does your voice  need assertiveness, modulation, pauses?    

3. Simplicity is the key. The use of short crisp sentences, simple words cannot be over emphasised.

4. What is the benefit to the listener? Let the listener grasp what there is in it for him.

5. Rapport, rapport, rapport – get into rapport with the listener. Else your pitch will sound and feel obtrusive.

6. Elevator sales pitch should be what it suggests – short. Much as we like to hear our own voices, brevity is of utmost importance.

7. Inspire curiosity - Choose you words with care. They should offer a glimpse, tantalise and make the listener interested enough to give you a second hearing.

8. Take a moment to reflect if your gestures and body language inspire confidence. Are they congruent with the image and message you are sending across through words? The mirror gives true feedback.

9. Is your message appealing enough to paint a picture in the recipient’s mind, make him want to listen to you some more, inspire feelings of curiosity? Pay attention to the picture the message creates, the sound of it and the feelings it inspires – an ideal combination of all three.

10. Be flexible to adapt – the moment you sense a barrier, change your approach. The content can be the same – the approach different.  

Elevate your speech such that it catches attention even in an elevator.

For more readings on selling, read:

Selling skills of a successful salesperson

Five secrets to confident communication in sales

Saying No to the customer

Service in 'Customer Focus' while selling

Selling with a difference

Rapport in selling

Emotional vulnerability equates courage

Vulnerability equates courage? For many this is very difficult to comprehend. How can putting myself out there in the open - susceptible to emotional hurt - be a moment of courage for me? My thoughts, words and actions all naturally work towards ensuring that my vulnerabilities are least exposed. So I posture such that I am perceived to be someone with no chinks in my emotional set-up. It’s a defence mechanism which for many, come as natural as breathing.

In fact, many of us would equate emotional vulnerability with weakness. I would not like to put myself open to ridicule, pain and hurt. When I expose my vulnerability, what would others think of me? I would rather go without than open myself to scrutiny. Little do I realise however, that covering up or posturing, just feeds the feeling of vulnerability. And then the next time I feel vulnerable, it manifests itself even more within me. And so begins the vicious cycle, with little room for escape.

Yet there is hope for escape - By opening up and acknowledging my vulnerability. When I allow myself to reach out and confess, first of all to myself, that I am only human. When I decide to take that first baby step and test the ground, not knowing if my legs will support me or not; when I decide to take a chance & open out the window of my emotional framework to others- even if it is just a crack; that is when I take a chance on leaving myself open and vulnerable. This is an act of the greatest courage. Often what we perceive as a weakness, is truly courage and strength of the highest order. Just as a bean bag is often perceived to lack strength – it however provides an inner support in any which way.

It takes great courage to lay ones heart on the line in a relationship; it takes immense guts for a leader to admit that he/she too could make mistakes; it takes immense strength for a parent to be able to admit to a child that he/she may not be perfect and know everything. All it requires is a willingness to let go – to let go of self and allow myself to become vulnerable. In letting go, I realise that I drift into nothingness. And in that nothingness, lie my greatest strengths – for there is nothing to prove, nothing to protect myself from.

Does this willingness to be vulnerable come naturally? Not to me and to a million others like me.  It's a decision we take day after day after day. And with each iteration, it becomes just that little bit easier to open that window a wee bit more...to experience that strength, power and courage that comes with vulnerability.               

Selling skills of a successful salesperson

I have noticed that every salesperson has sales skills in varying degrees. What bears scrutiny are those critical selling skills which prove to be the tipping factor between the average salesperson and the confident, successful salesperson. In my opinion, these essential selling skills would be:

1. The skill of forging lasting relationships: The focus of sales is shifting from pushing a sale, to one based on relationship building. Successful salespeople develop their ability to develop client relationships that have its foundation based on honesty. These relationships go way beyond the surface skimming, back slapping interactions with the client. They move onto a deeper and subtle relationship of trust and rapport and an awareness of co-dependence. A point that is beautifully brought out in the movie “The Avengers (2012)”, that I viewed recently.  All the super heroes of the movie are brilliant on their own; however they attain success against the common enemy only when trust and rapport get established among themselves. The super salesperson also similarly needs to establish rapport, not only with the client, but 360 degrees – with team, organisation and the client. 

2. Listening skills: Contrary to what is generally perceived, the successful salesperson is one who invests more time in listening attentively to the customer than in talking to him. A lot is learnt of the customers’ needs and wants by listening attentively and understanding the customers’ requirements. Tough to practice when we are itching to take the reins in our hands and wanting to bulldoze our way through with a mouth that runs a mile a minute. Customers want to be heard most of the time. not talked to. It is a skill worth developing.

3. Skilful questioning:  In fact, successful salespersons go a step beyond listening and enable the customer to take the buying decision, simply by asking the appropriate questions. Questioning skills is an art that very few people are master of. And it goes much beyond what is commonly perceived as open and closed questioning techniques. It’s involves becoming aware of the deletions and generalisations and filling in the gaps through appropriate challenging questions.

4. Skilful projection of Confidence: in self, organisation and the product/service. The customer is quick to hone in on the slightest dip in confidence in the salesperson. Start believing in yourself, your organisation and the product or service you sell. Even a fleeting hesitancy shown in any of these areas will be quickly picked up by the customer. Self-confidence is projected through voice, mannerisms and product knowledge. If you don't know something, have the confidence to say so and then get the information. When you show confidence as if you already have it, it soon becomes reality.

5. Follow-up skills: Rome was not built in a day. Neither does a sale, with exceptions. One of the greatest investments a successful salesperson makes is in time. Determination to follow up without giving up is a hallmark of a truly successful salesperson.              

Other posts on selling:

Five secrets to confident communication in sales
Saying No to the customer
Service in 'Customer Focus' while selling
Selling with a difference
Rapport in selling
Elevator sales pitch - 10 points to elevate your speech

Relationships and shoe sizes

Relationships and shoe sizes? You may wonder what type of a new combo this is and also at the connection between shoe sizes and relationships. As part of growing up, I’m sure everyone has had varying experiences with changing shoe sizes. Relationships may be related to shoe sizes – they grow and change with time. I consider that any relationship, be it between partners, spouses, friends, employer-employee, parent-child may be divided into four phases and each phase is to be experienced in full and dealt with differently. The four Phases:

1. Nascency: The beginning of a relationship is a gentle one of exploration and tentative first steps, even as the shoe size of a child grows gently at first. This phase of a relationship is a ‘getting to know’ phase and needs to be treated with kid gloves. Much is learnt about the relationship, even as the child learns which shoe sizes, shapes and designs are suitable for him or her. A lot of excitement is there in the newness of the relationship and time is invested in it, even as a child who first starts wearing shoes spends much of his waking moments wearing the shoe.   

2. The Surge: After the initial phase, the growth of the shoe size of a child becomes steady, as do relationships which grow and flourish with time. During this period of growth, there are sudden spurts of intense growth followed by a period of lull when there no seemingly outward indication of growth. When relationships between individuals grow, an expectation sets in of how the pace or depth of relationship will be over time. And when it doesn’t happen as per expectation, doubts creep in. As happens with shoe sizes, nothing can be predicted. Even during periods of seemingly no outward growth, there is a deepening of relationship in the calm still steps, if only one takes the effort to become aware of it. 

3. Vacillatory: There are also times when the increase in shoe size of an adolescent seem disproportionate to the increase in height. This may sometimes lead to disenchantment and questioning of the process happening within. This largely happens due to expectations of the human mind. Situations crop up in relations that may sound discordant with the symphony of the relationship thus far. Much like a square peg to be fit into a round hole. One expects the relationship to proceed in a certain way and when it deviates from what we expect to be the growth path, doubts creep in surreptitiously.  Accept the deviations. Relationships rarely conform to expectations. It’s the expectation that is the culprit, not the relationship.  

4. Sustainability: After the growth phase comes the plateau. The shoe size reaches its destined final size. A comfortable place to be in, as there would finally appear to be stability. Relationships between individuals also reach a stage of maturity and understanding. It levels off at this point. A feel good factor creeps in. Sometimes complacency sets in. What may be done to nurture the relationship at this point? Consider what adults do, after the attaining their final shoe size. They keep the interest alive by exploring new depths like shoe designs, colours, materials etc. within the given shoe size. Relationships also need to be kept alive and vibrant by exploring new avenues to keep the relationship intact. That’s when both feet and relationships remain comfortable and flourish.

Experience of each phase of a relationship is unique for an individual as also the time spent on each phase. This may vary from relationship to relationship for the same person too. 

Other readings on relationships:

Labelling relationships

Awareness in rapport

Five Secrets to Confident Communication in Sales

Over the course of the past several years of training different profiles of people, I sense an angst in many of them when I ask them to step forward and speak in front of the group or when asked to do a role play. I have also overheard many salespersons unwittingly convey a lack of confidence in their communications with customers.   Having come from a place where confident communication has been an acquired art which has been refined in the school of tough situations, I fully empathise with the situation that many find themselves in. Hence I pen these thoughts on the secrets to becoming confident communicators.

1. Create a mental map of success: Visualise yourself in the situation in the future, communicating confidently.  Become aware of the minute expressions of your face, your gestures and your relaxed state. Adjust the brightness and rearrange the facial expressions and gestures till you are completely satisfied. Listen to the sound of your voice, and tune it if required, till you hear the sound of confidence in your voice. Freeze the picture. Magnify it as if it were under a lens. It works wonders every time.

2. Practice, practice, practice: Practice creates confidence. Rehearse commonly used talk lines of a sales process. Particularly practice talking about how the customer stands to benefit from your product.  There is a reason for having role plays – practising makes perfect, even if it is a pretend situation. The tougher the situations practiced, the better prepared we are. Grab every opportunity to practice.

3. Listen: there is great strength in the silence of listening. It is indeed surprising that having spent nine months in the womb just listening to subtle sounds; we lose the propensity to listen as we mature. Much is learnt from listening. Oftentimes we are lulled into thinking that the world acknowledges and eulogises only the talkers. The rhythmic sound of the falling drops of water will be heard only in the silence. Similarly, the nuances of the thought being communicated both verbal and non-verbal, may be understood only in the silence of listening.  And many a sale is lost by the art of non- listening.

4. Let your voice reflect your confidence. Become aware of the tonality, the pitch, the modulation of the voice and let your confidence become reflected through your voice. Become aware of whether your voice projection reflects assertiveness. A person can reel off technical jargons but if he does that in a squeaky or high pitched voice, the customer just might back off.  Let the origin of your voice be from your body, not your head. Relax, breathe deeply and the muscles will relax, allowing the voice to flow out like rich molten chocolate. 

5. Be watchful and have flexibility. Become aware of the effect of your communication. Be poised to change the way you communicate if you feel the desired response is not obtained. Unlike what is usually thought, the person with the most flexibility in an interaction has the controls of the communication.     

Refer to my blogs "Communication Patterns" and "Becoming better listeners" for further readings

Labelling relationships

Do we relate to people by the labels or titles we assign them? I’m sure many of us do. Wife, mother, sister, brother, father, friend, partner, boss, co-worker, customer…the list is endless. It lends order, structure and definition in a chaotic world, in terms of how we relate, taking into consideration the dos and don’ts of society and also our own preference patterns.

Let’s take a moment to ponder. What is the basis of the relationships we have? Do we limit our experience of the relationship to the nomenclature of the label? We look at the relationship from one angle – from the angle of the label we have assigned. Do we at any point pause to consider that the person we are relating to is an individual whose entity goes much beyond the label assigned? An individual who may be a friend to one, a parent to another, a spouse to another, customer, boss & co-worker to another. He or she is defined not by any one relationship, but an amalgamation of all relationships.  

I wonder what would happen if we were to expand our horizons to beyond the labels we perceive in relations. Would the borders that define the relation then be a linear line or one which blurs into the horizon? The point here is that the borders of the relationship are ones which we draw. Would it limit the relationship or expand it? What will then change – will the limits of the relationship change? I guess they might become dynamic, as we still have the choice to acknowledge and define the boundaries. Would our perception of the person and relationship as a whole change? I should hope so. As there would then be an awareness of whole new dimensions to the individual we are relating to, not just the dimension that we relate to. Now to the bottom line. How does that help us? This increased awareness of the different facets of the individual would then give us flexibility in our own interactions, enriching the relationship by giving cognizance to the dynamics of the multiple factors at play. It would expand our awareness of the universe at large and give a sense of being a part of a whole. In the process it enables us go beyond the labels we define ourselves by, redefine the resources and identity we have.     

Saying 'No' to the customer

A week ago I was fortunate to attend a course with an Irish lady who, upon knowing the nature of my work, commented, “I hope you train the salesperson in India on how to say no”. It is a profound statement indeed. And I constantly wonder – how is it that the salesperson finds it so difficult to say no to the customer? Even if he/she does have the ability to say no, it inevitably (with exceptions of course) also sounds quite rude.

So I thought of dedicating this blog to the debate of whether the ability to say no to a customer is an essential skill for the salesperson. Some would argue that it is good to have the skill, but not an essential one to have. And that it certainly is not necessary to train the front line salesperson in this skill as an essential do-or-die sales skill. In comparison to the more essential selling skills of understanding, probing and closing the sale, it pales in significance.

I would beg to differ a wee bit on the above. While there is no dispute that understanding the customer and closing the sale are skills without which no salesperson may be called a successful one, I feel that developing the ability to say no to the customer is also fast emerging as a lifesaving skill for the salesperson. Only because future relationships with the customer or potential customer may hinge on this ability of the salesperson. In my experience of training salespersons, particularly from the retail industry, I find that in most cases, the normal salesperson gets flummoxed when faced with a situation when he/she has to say no to the customer. In extreme cases it’s almost like a fear psychosis. It could be in situations as varied when to say no for a price reduction to a service related issue. It is almost as if the DNA of the salesperson in India is lacking this essential component.

Let me explain why I consider this an essential trait to develop, especially among front end salespersons. Nothing irritates a customer more than a ubiquitous answer that evades the question. It is as false as a misleading answer that breaches the delicate trust the customer places on the salesperson. I say this is a fast emerging lifesaving skill because the budding relationship between customer and the salesperson can be shattered by an inappropriately uttered ‘No’.

The balance of power and equation between seller-customer lies in the ability of the seller to say no when the situation demands it, and say it with conviction (firmness) and humility (politeness), the two sides of the coin bearing the word ‘No’. What many fail to understand is that most customers will appreciate an honest and clear cut answer, and will remain a valued customer for life. What is essential to remember here is that the no is said appropriately, with an ingrained politeness and an explanation on why a no is being said. It should also be a no that is crystal clear - not a confusing maybe. Further additional value is felt by the customer if that explanation is followed by a suggestion of alternatives for the customer, if available, so that the customer feels good on sensing a window of options in the brick wall he/she has just encountered. 


For further readings on selling, go to:

Five secrets to confident communication in sales

Service in 'Customer Focus' while selling

Selling with a difference

Rapport in selling