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Wow people instantly (or ‘Elevate your Elevator Pitch’)

Tags: Be interesting | Meetings | Impact | Influencing

10th May

Imagine you’re suspected of committing a crime.

Worse, you might end up in jail.

You need a lawyer. Right now. You have a shortlist of three, from which you’ll choose the best one.

You ask them to quickly explain why you should choose them. The three answer:

  1. I’m a brilliant lawyer
  2. I represent my clients brilliantly
  3. I can keep you out of jail

#3’s best, yes? After all, #1 and #2 said how good they were; #3 said she’d help us achieve our priority!

Another example: you want to lose weight. You ask three personal trainers for their mini sales pitch. They say:

  1. I’m a brilliant personal trainer
  2. I deliver brilliant personal training sessions
  3. I can help you lose weight – quickly and safely

#3 again, yes?

These two examples show the three ways people describe their jobs:

  1. I AM (job title)
  2. I DO (deliverables)
  3. I CAUSE (AFTERs – why people are better-off AFTER you’ve done your job)

But here’s a weird thing:

  • When we’re buying from others, we want to hear #3 – the AFTERs – no jail time, lose weight etc.
  • But when we’re selling ourselves to others, we talk too much about #1 and #2

So if you want to help more people buy into – and buy from – you, lead with their AFTERs.

And it’s easy to do. Simply…

Action Point

  1. …List all the types of people you interact with – customers, colleagues, bosses, your team, investors, etc.
  2. For each, identify why they perceive they’re better off AFTER you
  3. Focus everything on these AFTERs
  4. To ensure you become an AFTERs Ninja, click here