Ketchup Head

Dinner is so much more pleasant now that we’ve introduced hot dog man with a ketchup head.

My daughters and I used to argue about how much of the hot dog they had to eat,

About how much ketchup was required,

And where,

And who gets to squeeze the ketchup on their plate first.

Lots of confusion.

Lots of negotiating.

Lots of tears.

Hot dog man solves all of that.

They ask for him by name.

He comes with just the right amount of ketchup.

They gleefully clean their plates.

And it gets me thinking about your Elevator Pitch.

Because when you can clearly name what you do,

And present it in a way that gets people talking,

And deliver exactly what they’re expecting,

Well,that sounds like a good recipe for getting better referrals.

Here are the two key ingredients:

1. Be Opportunistic

I didn’t create hot dog man to solve the problems he actually solves.

I just thought he was a fun way of plating dinner.

Now I’m opportunistically enjoying the benefits.

And your Elevator Pitch benefits from the same opportunism.

I only started calling myself an Elevator Pitch Coach when one of my clients told me that that’s why he hired me.

I latched onto the phrase, with great benefits to my business.

And at a presentation the other day

One member of the group

Told another member of the group,

That he had left her favorite phrase out of his Elevator Pitch.

Latch on to that kind of feedback!

Your clients and business networking associates are probably better than you at describing what you do.

Use their words in your Elevator Pitch.

2. Stick To It

Two nights later I serve a different dinner.

Tears.

“Where hot dog man?!?!?”

When you find an Elevator Pitch that works.

When you find that key phrase that starts conversations and brings in leads,

Stick to it.

Keep using it.

The same exact way every time.

That’s how people get to know and trust you.

And bring you better referrals.

Got a clever way of presenting food to your kids? Post it here: