The best minute of your business life or getting a brilliant networking sixty seconds

Many networking groups give their members and visitors just sixty seconds to put themselves across. So how do you make the most of this VERY short time to do what's also known as the elevator pitch on the basis that if you met your best prospect in a lift how would you get your message over in the time it would take to get to the 6th floor?


Some points to consider from my experience of good and bad pitches;

• Be passionate and enthusiastic about your business
• Smile
• Make good eye contact with everyone in the room, although don’t just rotate your head from side to side
• Humour can work well, if you can build it in naturall
• Be clear about your USP
• Use props
• The word "help" is very powerful - "I would like your help to find new clients..."
• The word "imagine" is very powerful - "Imagine you are facing a new business challenge..."
• Remember your VITAL call to action - "This week I am looking for.."
• Plan your elevator pitch rather than making it up on the spot
• Vary your pitches each time you deliver
• Facts tell, stories sell

Some years ago I attended a one day networking conference and got some inspiration for structuring my 60 seconds in the form of two suggested templates which might be helpful to you:

Hello my name is...
I help people...
And this is really good for them because...
I did this with (success story)...
Which went really well because...
So this week I would like to speak to ... and I want you to say...to them

OR

My name is...
I work with...
Who have a problem with...
Because what I do is...
Which helps them...
For example (success story)...
The person I would like to speak to is ...as I want you to say...to them

When we stand up and deliver our elevator pitch we sometimes forget that communication is a two way process. In fact it is a flawed process since one study concluded that:

• we hear half of what is said
• we listen to half of what we hear
• we understand half of that
• we believe half of that
• and remember only half of that!

...hence the reason why you need to explain yourself clearly when you rely heavily on word of mouth recommendation. Think of your networking time as a relay race with your 60 seconds being the baton that passes from you to a group member and from that member to their contacts. The better your pitch the easier it will be for others to spread the word on your behalf.