How to Create An Elevator Pitch
SUMMARY
When someone asks, “So…what do you do?” How do you answer? “I’m a Realtor/Real Estate Agent” is totally boring and dismissible. Upgrading your terminology to “consultant” or “professional” is just about as un-original as “Realtor.”
The answer is to have an elevator pitch. An interesting, compelling “elevator pitch” will capture people’s attention and make them curious to find out more. Here are 4 keys to creating a powerful elevator pitch:
1. CONCISE: 7 SECONDS (Bullet) + 30 SECONDS (Belief)
2. CATCHY. You want to be creative, not boring. An elevator pitch is a way to wake up people from their blah day and spark their curiosity so they’re interested to know what you have to offer.
CREATIVE PROCESS:
—What do I do? (10-20 ways to say it) What are different words to describe what I do? What are the benefits of what I do? Who needs what I do? How am I different/better?
—Write a short story of you doing your job and the people you help.
—What do you love about it and why?
3. CLEAR:
Don’t be so creative people aren’t really sure what you really do. It’s not about selling or using fancy words.
4. CALL TO ACTION:
Ask them for a “yes.”
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Hi there. It’s Kevin Ward with YESMasters Real Estate Success Training, helping you get more yes’s, and more successes in your business and in your life.
Today let’s talk about, how do you create a compelling, powerful, jaw dropping, shock and awe, elevator pitch. Every real estate agent needs a good elevator pitch. Basically an elevator pitch is, whenever you’re in an elevator or you’re standing in line at Starbucks, or at Trader Joe’s, or the market, or in the mall, or at a soccer game, or at church and somebody says, “What do you do?” You say, “well, I’m a realtor.” That’s not very compelling, it’s not very shock and awe. You’re probably not the first real estate agent they’ve met. How do you create a concise statement of what you do that is compelling? That’s what an elevator pitch really is.
There are four things that make a real good elevator pitch, and I’m going to walk you through what those four things are. We’re going to walk about as we go through it, how do you create that, how do you develop it, so that you have something when somebody says, “What do you do?” Then you can give them a great answer that doesn’t only communicate what you do, but it communicates it in a way that makes them go, “Really? Wow, that’s awesome.” As opposed to going like, “oh. Okay.”
Here’s the four elements of a great elevator pitch.
1. CONCISE.
The whole point of it being an elevator pitch is, if you’re in an elevator with somebody and you’re traveling from the first floor to the tenth floor, you’ve only got a few seconds when they say, “So what do you do?” You’ve got to be able to get it out quickly, concisely in a way that they remember, that is memorable after it happens. Number one got to be concise. When I say concise, I really think a great elevator pitch has 2 parts to it. One, is what I call the “bullet,” and the bullet is what do you do. That should take you about 7 seconds, that’s the way I look at it. I want to be able to say what I do in 7 seconds.
When somebody asks me as a real estate coach, “What do you do?” I say, “I train real estate agents how to make more money and have a life.” That’s way more interesting than if somebody says what do you do and I say, “Well, I’m a real estate trainer, I’m a real estate coach.” “Well, okay.” It’s just blunt, it’s just blah, it’s just boring, but it is concise. However when I say, “Well I train real estate agents how to make more money and have a life.” It’s amazing that people go like, “I know some Realtors you need to talk to.” Because I just don’t say I’m a real estate trainer, I tell them what I do, as opposed to what I am. When I tell them what I do, I create a benefit attached to, and it’s less than 7 seconds long. That’s the first thing it’s got to be concise.
If they want more information they’ll ask, “Tell me more about that.” You’ve got like 30 to 60 seconds. If you go online and google “elevator pitch,” most of the training out there, most of the blogs will tell you your elevator pitch should be 30 to 60 seconds long. The second part can be a little bit longer. We’ll say 30 to 60 seconds. I think this part should be “what I believe about what I do.” The first part is “bullet,” here’s what I do, the “belief” is, what do I believe about what I do. Why do you do it, what makes it powerful, what makes it compelling? That can be 30 to 60 seconds. That will be total, 30 to 60 seconds both for the bullet and for the belief. I want you to be #1, concise. If you can’t say what you do fast in a way that is compelling, we’ve got some work to do.
2. CATCHY.
An elevator pitch has got to be catchy. It’s got to be creative. It’s got to be different It’s got to be something that grabs them, that doesn’t just make them go, “Oh that’s what you do? Okay. Yeah, I know a lot of realtors.” There’s nothing powerful about that.
You want it when you tell them what you do they go, “Really? Wow. I know realtors but I never thought of it that way.” That’s what you want to create. An elevator pitch is a way to wake people up from their daily blah lives and to really spark their curiosity so they go, “Wow, so tell me more about that.” That’s what you want to have happen.
How do you go through this creative process, of taking what you do, I’m a realtor, and make it catchy? How do you get creative? What is the creative process to do that?
Let me just tell you real quick about 3 steps of a process of how you start creating this elevator pitch, with it being both concise, catchy, and we’ll talk about the other 2 in a second.
First of all you’d to ask yourself 3 questions. I want you to write these 3 questions down and you’re going to think about it, and you’re going to answer these questions in writing. Number one, what do I do? Then I want you to write down what you do in at least 10 different ways of saying it. What do you do. Well I’m a realtor. What else you do? Well, I help people buy and sell houses. Okay, cool, what else do you do? Figure out 10 to 20 ways to say it. What are different words, what are different phrases that actually and accurately describe what it is that you do?
Here’s the thing that you can add on to. What are the benefits of what you do? When I say what I do, I say I am a real estate coach, it’s about me. If I say I train real estate agents how to make more money and have a life, I’m now talking about a benefit that I deliver to other people, so it is no longer about me. I say I’m a real estate coach, I’m a real estate trainer, or you say, “I’m a real estate agent.” It is about you. When you say, “I help people get into a home of their dreams or sell a home.” How you’re going to say it, now I am talking at least about a benefit, so start writing that out.
Not everything you write has to be catchy. As you do this, you’re going to find the words that are both concise and catchy and have the criteria that we’re going to talk about in a minute. What are the benefits of what I do? Who needs what you do, how am I different? More important than how am I different, how am I better? That’s number one is, what do I do? What do I do, what are the benefits of it, who needs it, and so forth.
Second, write a short story of you doing your job and of the people that you help. What would a common scenario look like? Maybe write a story of one of the best experiences you’ve had in helping a seller move and what was it like, and how did it affect him? Tell it from their perspective, tell it from your perspective, tell it from both. Write out a story because a story is a narrative, and narratives are compelling. They make people go like, “That’s cool, that’s very cool.” To give you an example, I could say, “I take agents, sometimes new, sometimes very experienced. Like last year I had a real estate agent that was brand new, came to one of my events his first month in the business and ended up less than 12 months later having made over 100,000 dollars in his first year in real estate.”
That is a life changer, that will be part of the 30 to 60 seconds part. When you tell a story like that people go, ‘Wow.” It gives credibility, it gives heart, it gives reality, it gives meat to the bones. You’re ready to put some skin on it.
Third…the third question that I want you to write down and answer is, what do I love about what I do? What do you love about what you do and why do you love it? What is it about selling real estate that fires you up? As you write all that out, now you’re just brainstorming. You’re just creating ideas, you’re getting a flow of thoughts and words, and statements and phrases then you can start crafting into a powerful elevator pitch. I’m going to start looking for one, I got to keep it concise, it can’t be 4 long. Number two, it’s got to be catchy, I’ve got to use ways that make people go like, “That’s different.” It kind of interrupts their pattern of a normal conversation about, “So what do you do?” “Well, I’m an accountant, I’m a doctor.” What do you do? All of that is just boring. What can I do that is catchy?
3. CLEAR.
While you’re being catchy, you must also be crystal clear. You got to be clear about what it is that you do. For example, I go to a lot of self improvement seminars, and a lot of entrepreneur workshops, and I do masterminds, and events where you’ve got a lot of entrepreneurs, you’ve got a lot of people that are into self improvement, and a lot of them are coaches and trainers like me. You’ll ask them, “What do you do?” They’ll say, “I help people realize their higher self.” I’m like, “What?” That may be catchy but it’s totally confusing, now I don’t know what you’re doing for sure.
For example, what do you do? “I am a consultant and I am a dream fulfiller and I specialize in helping people realize their lifestyle goals by finding and purchasing and owning the home of the home of their dreams.” At the end it came out that you’re probably a real estate agent but at the beginning you’re going like, “I’m a consultant, I’m a dream fulfiller, I help people realize their lifestyle goals.” They’re going like. “Okay that all sounds cool but I have no idea what you’re doing.” In that first 7 seconds you want to make sure you’re clear. It is not about selling or about using fancy words, it’s about communicating clarity about what it is that you do so they go like, “I get it.” They want to understand, and you want to say it in a way still that is unique that makes them go like, “I know what you do but I like the way you say it because it sounds interesting. It’s not boring.” Does that make sense?
A way of figuring out what it is that I do, another template, another way of figuring out how to be clear about what you do is, what is the need that I fill? What is the need that you fill? How do you fill that need? We’re working on being catchy and being clear. For example, what is the need that I fill? The need that I fill is when somebody needs to sell a house, or when somebody needs to buy a house, I help them. That’s the need that I fill when they need to buy or sell a house. How do I fill that need? By representing them, by helping them find the perfect house, by negotiating on their behalf. As you write this stuff out, you’re going to now boil it down and find things that really speak to what you do in a way that’s both catchy and that is clear.
Now let us play with a couple ideas. What if you just said what is it that you do? Whenever you see somebody that needs to buy or a sell a home … Notice what I did. I started by rather than saying here is what I do, I started by saying you know when there is a situation where somebody needs this. I started with what’s the need that I fill. You know when somebody needs to buy or sell a house I am the go to guy that they call to help guide them through that process. Just think of what we did here. We started out with what is the need that I fill. The need is when somebody needs to buy or sell. Then what I do, I’m the go to guy that they call to guide them through that process and help them get the best results. That’s pretty clear about what it is that you do. Does that make sense?
You can say, when someone says “What do you do?” “You know whenever you see a sales sign in a yard? If it’s got my picture on it, I’m the guy helping the owner sell it for top dollar. If it’s not my picture, then I’m the one that may bring a buyer and help them buy it. I’m a real estate agent.” What I did is I just turned what I do into a little scenario. The moment I say, “You know when you see a for sale sign in somebody’s yard?” Immediately their mind goes, “Houses for sale.” They immediately go, “I get it.” They’re not thinking about who you are they got now a connection and an association that’s totally different than, I’m a realtor. Does that make sense? I put it into a context of what it is that I do.
I’m going to share with you an elevator pitch that I used to use. I don’t even know if I like it anymore but I had it for so long. I would say, “I’m a realtor and a lifestyle designer, which simply means I help people design and create the life that they want through buying and selling real estate.” What did I tell them upfront? I’m a realtor, I said right out of the gate in the first four words, I am a realtor and a lifestyle designer. I put into a perspective, I’m not just a realtor, I am also somebody that the way I look at real estate is that I help people design the life they want through owning real estate. Through buying a house, through selling a house, through being able to move into a new home, all of that. That’s what I do.
Then I would elaborate in the 30 to 60 seconds what I believe. “For most people it’s not about real estate, it’s not about owning a piece of real estate, it’s about their lifestyle. It’s about where they live, it is about how they live, it’s about their home. The way I look at it, for me it’s about helping clients, not just buy a piece of real estate, but it’s helping them really design the lifestyle that they want through home ownership and also through creating wealth through investing in real estate for people who want that. I love being able to help people do all of that. That is what I believed about real estate. To me what I believed about real estate is not just a transaction, it’s not just about them owning a house. It’s about their lifestyle, that’s going to be their home it’s going to be the way they live. That’s what excites me about real estate.”
It’s I’m not just doing a transaction, I’m helping people in a major transition in their lives. Hopefully it’s a good transition to a nicer place, or a nicer neighborhood, or a nicer home, but sometimes it is helping them in a transition that is going the other direction. Maybe it is downsizing, or it is retirement, or maybe there’s something bad that happened, a divorce, or a lost job or whatever. Either way I help facilitate and I help people design their life through real estate as the vehicle. I let them know right upfront, I’m a realtor and a lifestyle designer. I just tagged onto it, here is what I do that you would recognize being a realtor but here is what I really do. I really help people design their life.
You want to create something that is catchy, that is creative, that sparks their interests, opens their eyes wakes them up out of their blur life, but it’s got to be clear. Don’t get so fancy with words that people go like, “Okay, I’m not really sure what you do.” Let me just give you a couple of thought. Any time you say, I specialize, in our world today people very quickly have their BS radar detector going off. Don’t use the word, I specialize, because that doesn’t really mean anything, now you’re using a big word. It’s not horrible to use it, and I am not saying you should never use it but be careful about using words like, I specialize.
Everybody specializes in whatever they specialize in and if you specialize in one thing especially real estate, then you got to be clear is that really what you specialize in or are you just Bsing them. In an elevator pitch above all to me, has to be real, it has to be you, it has to be authentic and honest. I probably should put that in as a fifth one here, is it’s got to be real. It’s got to be really who you are, what it is that you do, what your passionate about. If not, it’s not going to be powerful. Does that follow? Just throw that on as a bonus.
4. CALL TO ACTION.
At the end, it needs to have a “CTA,” which is a call to action. What are they going to do about now knowing what you do? What’s the action for them? There’s a couple of ways you can do it. The way I would play it out was, if I was introducing myself to somebody here’s what I do, here’s when I do it, “When you know somebody needing to buy or sell a house, did you have a fabulous go to realtor?” That would be the call of action. “When you know somebody needing to buy or sell, did you have a fabulous go to realtor?” I am looking at it, qualified, can I help them? Most people are going to say no. Notice how I asked, I didn’t say, “Do you know a realtor? Do you have a realtor?” I didn’t say that because everybody knows a realtor, everybody knows probably 10 or 20 realtors.
“Whenever you know somebody that’s needing to buy or sell a house do you have a fabulous go to realtor that you refer them to?” “I know some realtors but I wouldn’t say any of them are really my go to realtor.” “Perfect, I would like to be your go to agent. When you know somebody that’s either needing to buy or sell a house or invest in real estate or whatever would you call me?” Notice the question, “Would you call me?” Call to action means I am actually making a request to them and asking for something, as opposed to saying, “Here’s my card, whenever you know somebody that’s looking to buy or sell a house or if I could ever help you, call me.” That’s telling them what to do. Asking them, “Whenever you know somebody or when you need help, would you call me?” Is a question and is very different when I send a statement to your brain, it does something different than when I send a question to your brain.
When I send a statement to your brain like, “When you know somebody call me.” I’m just telling them. When I say, “When you know somebody would you call me?” They go, “Yeah.” Their brain not only understood that I’m asking for something from them, but they then made a commitment back to me by going, “Sure, I’d be happy to.” Awesome. I say what, “Here’s my card, we should exchange information and stay in touch.” That process, it’s not only that made the connection now and got them interested in what I do, but when I walk away I’ve now established a pattern or I’ve established a commitment. I’ve given them a call to action so now they know what to do with who I am. They know what to do with the information they just learned about what I do, and now they can actually help me build my business.
I’ll say this, whenever you do an elevator pitch, understand their life, it is not just about you. Really being interested in helping people in an elevator pitch conversation when you’re talking about what you do, find out what they do, get interested also in what they do and ask them questions about it. Figure out ways how can we reciprocate, how can we help each other and add value to other people? I promise you them knowing what you do, is not near as powerful as them knowing that you’re interested in them and who they are. Way more important than them knowing what you do is that they believe that you’re interested, and you’re real, and you’re awesome. That comes not just by you talking about yourself, and having cool things to say about you, but is also about you being genuinely interested in other people and connected with them. When you walk out of that elevator, it’s not that you’ve pitched them, it’s that you’ve connected with them. That is powerful.
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