http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jun2009/sb20090616_017396.htm
I respect the spirit of the article, but I have to disagree.
[The gist: there's power in brevity. People don't want to hear your life story. Using Twitter's 140 character rule to create a pitch can help you form that ideally short message.]
He's absolutely right in saying that people don't have time to listen to your life story, but time - like money - can be invested correctly or incorrectly. They may not sit there and listen to yours... but ask them about their life story and watch what happens.
The more time you're willing to correctly invest in a prospect, the more time you can expect from them as a client, in the form of a sustained relationship based on mutual appreciation.
The problem with a Twitter pitch is that you can't very effectively communicate uniqueness or value in 140 characters or about 20 words as Carmine Gallo suggests in his article. If you're familiar with the concept of a "Unique Selling Proposition" (or USP) you really *only* have room to be clever or gimmicky to establish "uniqueness" and most folks are resistant to gimmicks alone, especially now in this economy; establishing trust is just the price of entry!
This blog is relatively new, but is syndicated to Facebook and announced through Twitter... so, for the most part, you'll know that I'm passionate about the subject because crafting well formed, 30-seconds-or-less elevator pitches is my specialty, along with how to inject it into your marketing in whole or part. I do it using my own 7-step "Message Tuning Formula," which is an evolution of the USP. I have a specific name for this evolution (complete with shiny, new acronym! haha) but I'll talk about that all in depth when I release my coming product.
Now, there's a use for a short and simple tagline, but it's not to sell yourself... It's got a different and far more useful purpose! Don't worry. I'll cover this concept as well later...
Oh, if you're not familiar with the phrase "elevator pitch" as fewer and fewer are these days, the concept is this: if you were on an elevator and someone asked you what you do, could you deliver a compelling enough message to capture their attention and have them wanting more from you before you hear the "ding" and they get off on their floor? It's about 30-seconds...
ReplyDeleteI've received enough questions about this that I thought I'd comment about it to supplement the article: "What is a Unique Selling Proposition?" Simply put, it answers this question in your prospect's mind: "Why should I do business with you over every other option available to me?" In other words, what makes you so special? Most folks answer this question the wrong way, and correcting their approach would be a step in the right direction... but to reach the new market defined by the emerging economy... it may not be enough anymore. More to come!
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