pitching

The One Sentence Pitch That Works in a Pinch

pitching

Business is fast moving and very hectic, whether you’re the CEO of a big corporation or an entrepreneur starting out. This can make your life as an entrepreneur very exciting, but it can also pose problems when you go to pitch your business idea or product to someone else. If you’re talking to a potential investor, and you want him to know just how great your product idea is and why he should invest his money, you don’t want to overwhelm him with a five minute speech. Instead, craft a one sentence pitch that will make him say “I want to know more.” Below are some tips on how to do just that.

Don’t Give it All Away

One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to pitch their business to someone is to attempt to explain the entirety of the concept or product in the first conversation. This is not only unnecessary, but it’s a poor sales tactic, as well. When Steve Jobs introduced the Apple iPod, he said it was “a thousand songs in your pocket”. That’s a lot more compelling than launching into a ten minute oratory about the inner technical workings of the iPod. For the most part, nobody cares how your idea or product was developed, how it works, or the time it took you to create; they care about what it can do for them. So give them a teaser, and let them ask you more question.

Play on Emotions

People, whether they want to admit it or not, are run by emotions. If you can make someone feel excited, happy, shocked, and so on, you can influence them in ways you couldn’t under ordinary circumstances. Make your pitch something that sparks emotion, even if that emotion is simply “Wow, you can do that?” Surprise and excitement are two of the most compelling emotions, and if you can surprise someone with your idea and make them excited to know more, you’re on your way to a great sales meeting.

Make it Measurable

When you’re pitching your best friend, you may not need to do much to get a favourable response. But when you’re pitching the potential investor, you need to make sure your pitch is measurable. In other words, “My device will increase the space on a hard drive by 50%,” is much more impressive than “My device can give you some more disk space.”

Go Local

Once you have your pitch, try it out in your community and with small business owners you have at least a friendly relationship with. They will be able to offer you advice from a business standpoint, and will be invested in your best interest because they know you. Also, while seeking out a wide market for your business is smart, local marketing can also help you drum up a following for your idea, so this test pitch might take you places you weren’t expecting.

Essentially, you want your pitch to tell someone who you are, what you’ve created, what it does, and for whom. Get across some basic information, and make it exciting but short. When you focus on creating a short pitch, it forces you to be brief and effective in what you say. The point is not to explain your product, but to make your prospect ask more questions. Come up with a few lines about your business or product, and test them out; use the one that has the most impact, and watch your business grow.

William Sumner has a passion for small business. He often blogs about effective methods of increasing business exposure.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll to Top