Two young professionals from Italy send us their resumes.
One is a consultant.
One is a farmer.
Both are very successful and eager to learn.
One gets a day planned around his interests.
The other gets stuck tagging along.
Why?
See if you can spot this common Elevator Pitch mistake:
The business consultant does mathematical modeling for small companies.
He runs his family’s transportation company.
He’s getting a degree in Aerospace Engineering.
And he has a deep love of poetry.
The farmer grows organic kiwis.
He wants to meet with Whole Foods distributors and Starbucks headquarters,
None of which are really located in this area.
So…
Who wins?
Here’s our team’s actual thought process:
The consultant probably isn’t that interested in Aerospace if he has two other businesses.
He mentions poetry, but does he really want to go to Walden Pond to look at a cabin in the woods.
What sort of consulting company could we introduce him to?
What’s his family business really about?
Bottom line, his resume creates more questions than it answers.
We can’t figure out what he really wants, so we punt.
He tags along.
Because the plan for the organic kiwi farmer is simple.
We take him to Wegmans and Whole Foods.
And through a connection send him to dinner with a local high level executive at Starbucks.
He’s delighted.
Because he’s laser focused.
You can’t get 10 seconds into a conversation with him without him mentioning that he’s an organic kiwi farmer.
As you talk to him you learn that he’s a leading distributor of kiwi fruit drinks and smoothies in Italy and Germany.
He’s here to explore distribution channels for his products at Whole Foods and Starbucks.
Turns out we can help with that.
And we do.
The consultant, on the other hand, tells a different story to everyone he meets.
And it gets me thinking about your Elevator Pitch.
Because so many people have
Lots of talent.
Lots of interests.
Great depth as people.
And no idea how to market their services.
Because instead of figuring out which one thing starts great conversations,
They randomly blurt out any interest they can think of.
Aerospace.
Transportation.
Logistics.
Poetry?
The combination leaves people scratching their heads.
Unsure how to help.
So how do you get people to put your interests first?
I’ll give you a hint:
Pick one thing.
The thing that starts the best conversations.
Otherwise you’re just tagging along…