Going Up?

Ah, the classic elevator pitch. Sixty seconds or less to spill the beans about who you are, what you do and why you do it, applying an optimum level of passion and fervor without sounding overly rehearsed. No big deal, right?

Right.

What if I told you that your next consumer, client or audience hinges on the performance of your elevator pitch and could be lost forever based on your presentation? Did it get a little hot in here?

You have one shot.

As prolific lyricist Marshal Mathers once penned, “If you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it, or just let it slip?”

So often in business when someone asks what you do, you likely get caught up in the “what” of your everyday. Not to worry though, it happens to the best organizations. However, rather than talking about the “what” of your business, your elevator pitch is better positioned when you talk about the “why” of what you do. What’s the purpose behind this thing that you put so much effort into each day?

Here at Koch Comm, we do social media management, public relations, branding and a plethora of other things. Sure, those are the services we offer, but the bigger picture is that we’re in the business of helping people. That’s why we do what we do and that’s what makes us stand out from other agencies. We just so happen to do that through our marketing and PR services.

Take Apple for example. What do they do? They manufacture some pretty amazing technology. Why do they do it? According to their first mission statement in 1977, “Apple is dedicated to the empowerment of man – to making personal computing accessible to each and every individual so as to help change the way we think, work, learn and communicate.”

Dedicated to empowering. It’s not just about what they do – build computers – but why they do it – to empower.

Just like a corporate Mariano Rivera (the celebrated relief pitcher), being able to close the deal in crunch time is highly regarded across all facets of a business. And when you’ve got one chance to make a first impression, whatever you say will be taken as truth. This extends even to informal out-of-office communications. When someone asks how it’s going, the door swings wide open for you to sell them on all the amazing things happening in your workplace and why you do it.

Always. Be. Closing.

An elevator pitch is not a necessity for just you or your salesperson —it’s also for your entire team. This means the CEO, the interns and everyone in between. Consistent internal messaging begets consistent external messaging. Clearly communicate your company’s goals, values, business purpose and passions to everyone in your organization. And remember, you only have 30 – 60 seconds to get your point across.

Aside from being passionate and concise, your pitch must be relatable. Relatability allows you to put yourself in your audience’s shoes, showing that you understand their problems and frustrations. This creates the opportunity to offer up a direct problem/solution value proposition that answers their pain points.

Passion, relatability, brevity. Start with why you do what you do, then let them know how what you do can help them solve their problem. Ultimately, you want them to ask for you to tell them more.

“Koch Comm is a digital, creative and PR agency that aims to serve as an extension of our clients’ businesses. Our team pairs expertise and thorough knowledge of our clients’ businesses and industries to produce impactful strategy, design and communication.

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, we work as guides for our clients across the region. Every step – from the first meeting through strategy, execution, reporting and optimization – is a purposeful step towards the summit of reaching our clients’ goals. We’re not like other agencies. We’ll never work for our own glory. We aim to communicate clearly, honestly and regularly – never leaving our clients high and dry. We are a partner through every stage of our clients’ businesses.”