My five-year-old daughter looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to guess the top card in the deck.
The adult in me freezes,
Because it’s an almost impossible task with a standard deck of playing cards.
And this is a Lalaloopsy card deck, so it’s not even about numbers and suits.
In fact, I have no idea where to even start guessing.
Flowers?
Thread?
Buttons?
My daughter, nonplussed, senses I’m at a loss.
She shows me the card.
“Chirpy.”
(Lalaloopsy fanatics relax. I’m pretty sure that isn’t the official name of the picture on this card).
Then she looks at me expectantly again.
Time to guess the next card.
In her made up language.
Interestingly, though, I realize that she’s not trying to trip me up.
A part of her still believes that I can read her mind,
So she’s genuinely surprised that I don’t know what card she’s looking at,
Assumes I’m just playing along,
And patiently and gently guides me through the names she has given the four types of cards:
Chirpy, dancer, pillow, and gardener.
And it gets me thinking about your Elevator Pitch.
Because so many people treat their Elevator Pitch like a guessing game.
“I try to quickly size someone up so I can figure out what to talk about.”
As if you’ll gain points (or sales) for guessing correctly.
As if they’re trying to be mysterious or secretive.
They’re not.
In fact, they can’t wait to find someone who gets them.
Someone who understands their pain.
Someone who speaks their language.
That’s who they’ll hire!
When you guess, you say things like:
“I help busy men look like a million bucks.”
But no one wakes up on a crisp fall morning,
Stretches, rubs their eyes, and looks in the mirror thinking:
“Man, I’m just not looking like a million bucks today. Now, who can help me with that…”
That’s the test.
Has anyone has ever actually used the words from your Elevator Pitch to describe their situation?
In this case, prospects are really thinking:
“I wish I could find clothes that actually fit.”
So how about:
“I help busy men find clothes that fit.”
Ahhh.
See, like my daughter, your best prospects are holding the top card in a non-standard deck.
They’re looking at you expectantly.
And if you resist the urge to guess blindly,
And instead remain open and friendly,
They’ll happily tell you what they’re looking at.
They’ll helpfully share their point of view.
Because they want help.
They want you to help them.
As long as you can speak their language.
Listen to how your customers describe their point of view.
Then use their words in your Elevator Pitch.
That will grab their attention of more people like them.