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The Lowdown
Today let’s talk about your pitch. Your introduction.
When you’re in a networking meeting or when you meet new people, do ever get the sense that ‘I’m boring them‘?
Do you ever get the sense of they’re desperately trying to find an exit route? Who else can I go and talk to?
We’ve all been there, trust me. We’ve all been there.
You’re thinking how can I captivate them? So much so that they want to know more!
Here’s a very, very simple way of approaching this problem.
Let;s make this much easier!
Here’s the thing, if you’re worried that you are boring people with your pitch with your introduction, instead of rambling on about what you do or the modality you use (‘I’m a therapist or I’m a healer or I’m a coach), that stuff doesn’t really resonate with people because they just hear words, “blah, blah, blah.”
Instead, talk about a juicy problem.
Start off with, “You know how …”
This means you’re creating a level of interest where somebody wants to lean in and they want to know more.
This works beautifully because we humans love stories and it feels like you’re telling a story.
If I use my own example, I might say something like,
“You know how when you’ve got kids and you’re trying to get all the stuff for them, you’ve got school runs and you’ve got activities and homework and just keeping them alive(!) and then on the other side you’ve got your business it’s running you ragged and there’s a lot on your plate?”
And they’re thinking,
“Yeah, I know, I hear you.”
“And so what I do is I help business owners to run a profitable business but it only takes them 20 hours a week or less so that they can be less busy, less frantic, less overwhelmed and they can spend more quality time with their family. They can enjoy more freedom, more flexibility and without their money taking a hit.”
And the response I get is, “Oh, that sounds amazing.”
Sometimes it’s shorter, I say, “I help small business owners run a profitable business in 20 hours a week or less.”
The thing is you don’t need to give away the whole farm when you’re saying your introduction.
What you’re looking to do is plant a seed and pique curiosity.
I’ve had situations where I’ve said my pitch (this was a few years ago) and the person replied with “Hmm, that’s nice.“
That’s not the response that you want to get.
You want to get a response where somebody says, “Wow, that sounds really cool. Tell me more“
When I talk about what I do, I often attract people who are not parents yet but want to be parents or are planning to start a family and they say, “Oh god, I really need to know how to make the business work for when I do have kids.”
Or, that they have kids and they say, “Yeah, I’m really struggling now. So how could you help me?”
That starts a conversation.
That’s really what you’re really trying to do is; initiate a conversation.
When someone visits your website and they look at your blog posts, your videos, your podcasts etc, they want to get into your world and find out what it is that you do and whether you can help them.
If you’re thinking that your pitch is boring people and that they’re just tuning out, then talk about a juicy problem that they face.
If you’re not sure what it is that your business does, keep asking yourself that question.
What problem do I solve for my community, for my people, for my tribe?
This helps because you’re taking the focus off yourself and you’re putting it on them.
We humans are a funny species.
When someone’s talking to us, we’re often thinking ‘what’s in it for me?‘
Therefore, you need to be asking that question of ‘what’s in it for them?‘
Remember when you’re talking to somebody, they may not be your ideal client but they probably know someone who is or they could be a great referrer or a collaborator, a joint venture partner, you just don’t know.
They could just be a great buddy or a person that you can shoot the breeze with. It doesn’t matter.
The thing is, what you’re doing is you’re sharing what it is that you do and you’re being visible and you’re being concise and articulate about what you do.
Here are my top tips as a summary.
1. Talk about a juicy problem.
2. Make sure you focus on them and the person so that they can answer that question of, what’s in it for me?
3. What impact does this problem have on the person?
So in my example, when you’re really busy and overwhelmed what happens is it takes time away from you and your kids and you don’t get to enjoy the downtime you have. It creates a lot of stress and maybe you’re burning the midnight oil ’cause once the kids are in bed you’re then trying to work because you’ve been so busy all day.
You talk about the impacts on that person.
The key thing here is, especially when it comes to an introduction, especially when you’re initiating that conversation, is less of the I and more about them.
Make it about them.
You share your story and why you do what you do and why it’s so important to you but then it’s just got to be about them.
4. Make sure the focus is all about them.
This will help them to see you understand their problem and the fact that you understand and you can articulate that problem means that they believe that you have the solution.
And then they really want to know more.
Make it all about them.
Talk about a juicy problem, make it about them, focus on them.
And I promise you, your pitch will not be boring.
You will captivate them and you will magnetize the right person for your business.
If you’d like to know more about how I could help you in your Tiny Time business, get you more leads, more sales, more clients in 20 hours a week or less then be sure to book your Tiny Time Triage call.
It’s a free 15 minute session with me.
We will figure out where you need help and if I’m the right person to help you.
I’ll talk to you soon. Take care.
Yasmin xxx