20 May 12 A new take on your elevator pitch
===
[00:00:00] So today's episode was inspired by a conversation that came up in one of the group coaching calls inside my coaching program, the Corporate to coach Accelerator. So several of our members were preparing for networking events, some for, you know, the first time in their new iteration as a coach. And there was this collective sense , of, you know, a bit of.
Dread might be overstating it, but you know, a bit of fear around answering the question. So what do you do? Right? And we've all been there. , and you know, depending on if you're like me, you might, , freeze or you might ramble a bit or default to something vague like, oh, I'm a coach. Or you might be self-deprecating.
This is definitely me. Something like, oh, I'm just starting out figuring ,it out. Still learning. Or most likely you say it without conviction, right? Oh yeah. I'm an [00:01:00] executive coach, sort of, but you know, just work. Yeah, just starting something like that. , , and also, you know, we might use these technical terms like executive coach, where, where that not, might not be the most understandable terminology for people outside of HR or the coaching industry.
So what followed when we were talking about this was a very helpful and honest discussion, not just about what to say, , when people ask you this question, but how to say it with confidence, , and you know how to use it really as , , the jumping point into, you know, a conversation that is grounded on.
Them knowing, , not, what you do in terms of your title, but having a sense of who you help and how you help them. , because really , the reason for it is this idea of referability. And so in this episode, I wanna share a slightly different take on your elevator pitch, right? So it is still, it's, it's having a, a soundbite that helps you speak with clarity, with [00:02:00] credibility.
And curiosity so that you stick in people's minds, and particularly when they're thinking about referring you. , so whether you're new to coaching or reworking your messaging, or even an experienced coach who has ever felt that sense of, uh, that, that cringe when you are in a networking event, then this is the episode for you.
Okay, so why does the traditional elevator pitch feel awkward? Right? Why do we feel awkward selling ourselves or telling people what we do? I think particularly as coaches, we come to our work with. A great sense of humility and we come to it with a, a sense of service, right? And it can feel very contradictory to this idea of being in service of others to feel like we are promoting ourselves.
So typically, , you know, we, we might, we go down all sorts of, , you know, training and development to get better at coaching, but. Often we don't get better [00:03:00] at talking about what we do. And of course there's this, this contradiction because if people don't know who we are and what we do, then we're not gonna get the opportunity to coach a lot, are we?
So anyway, it feels awkward because of those things. It is counter counter to a lot of our values as coaches to feel like we are self-promoting and an elevator pitch by its definition, a soundbite like this. Is ultimately self-promotion. I want us to think more positively about this idea of self-promotion because that is how we help people.
That is how people, that's how we're going to have an impact on the world and it is how we're going to help people to solve their problems. Right? And the first part of that is letting people know what we do. So, you know, most coaches have either one of two tendencies. , one is to overexplain, right, to go into the technical details of.
Of what a coach is, what we do, exactly what they do, the sorts of, the sorts of, , models they bring in, right? So they [00:04:00] might tend to over explain, and you may have met some of these coaches, , or they undersell what they do, right? And when underselling or understating what they do, they might start with things like, oh, I'm just getting started, or, , , I do a little bit of everything.
Or, you know, I'm just seeing how it goes. And all of this dilutes your credibility. So the first thing we need to do is, is get really confident or at least make a commitment to figuring out how we are going to explain what we do. Without the, without the writers. Right? Without the Oh, but, or the, I'm just, or, or this like to, you know, we need to commit to getting to a place where we can explain what we do in a very clear, short, simple way.
Because also if your, if your sound bite leaves people confused, then there's no way they're going to refer you. Right? They [00:05:00] probably won't remember you, but they certainly won't be referring you and you know. I think all of this comes down to what we're saying is reflecting our inner world, right? And so if we are feeling uncomfortable defining ourselves in a way that feels aspirational to us as we start, or if we feel like we are overstating our new identity or role that we're going to, we're, you know, that we are still exploring, , you know.
We are not going to be clear. And so that's what I'm hoping, , you know, I can help you with today is getting clear on what you're gonna say. But more importantly than that, how are you going to say it and being aware of what might be getting in the way. So firstly, we need, really need to reframe the goal, right?
The goal is not to introduce ourselves, not just to introduce ourself, right? The goal is also to train your network. And this was shared by one of , our wonderful members. This idea, , what we're actually doing is we're helping people [00:06:00] to learn who we help. How we help and why it matters. And the goal is to make it easy for them to say, oh, you should talk to, you know, person A.
And also for them to know when they should tell person A, that they should speak with you. Right. That's ultimately the goal. It's not to introduce yourself, it's not to, you know? Yeah. It's not networking for networking's sake. We wanna get out there. We want people to know who we help. How we help them, why it matters, and make it easy for them to, to join the dots between us and either themselves or a person that might need us.
So what should this soundbite look like and when should we use it? So this framework works in lots of contexts. You could potentially use it in your written communication in many formats like, , LinkedIn, or , you know, bios, those sorts of things. But really what I'm talking about is a framework that you can use, , when you meet people in formal networking events, and especially in those [00:07:00] casual conversations, those casual meetings where you're introduced by someone in your network and that person says, Hey, what do you do?
Right? We want to be confident, we want to be referable and we wanna be really clear so that. We are referred, right? It's pretty, pretty simple. So what is this soundbite? The soundbite is simple and I'm gonna give it to you in two parts. The most simple version of this soundbite is I help or I work with your target audience who have or are in certain situation or certain problem, right?
So really clear. I help or I work with. , who have this sort of problem, situation challenge. Really simple, right? So we want people to mostly remember. Who you work with and what challenges those people are experiencing that are basically hand raises, right? So we can get people to go, oh yeah, that's me, or that's us, or that is this connection that I know.
Once we clarify that, what we [00:08:00] might choose to add when we feel comfortable, when we feel more confident is a result or transformation. That this person or organization gets as a result of working with us and possibly even a connection to a bigger outcome or emotional payoff for those organizations or individuals.
Okay. So though you can add those if you want to, and that makes it sort of a longer sound bite. , and you can choose whether or not you want to add those second parts out. The second part, certainly if you're putting it in written communication, I think is, is important. And I would love you to get to a point that you feel comfortable saying it out loud, but if you just do the first bit, that's still great.
So here's some examples, and bear in mind that I'm talking about coaches selling into organizations, , you would have a different one for individuals, right? You would just take the same theory and apply it to individuals. So here's an example. I help law firms going through rapid, rapid growth to strengthen their leadership pipeline, [00:09:00] like new partners and senior associates, right?
That's the first section, and then I could add on to the end so that they can grow without burning out their top performers or getting a bad reputation that makes it impossible to hire. Okay, so here we go. , I help leadership teams in government agencies struggling with silos and misalignment to build shared focus and collaboration so they can lead change more effectively.
Or, I help finance departments going through restructures to rebuild trust, clarity, and confidence so they can keep performing in the face of the uncertainty. Or, , I help senior HR leaders who are trying to embed a coaching culture. , to take it from a buzzword to something people actually use so that managers can lead more effectively day to day.
Or I help executive teams in mission-driven organizations or purpose-led organizations who are stuck in firefighting mode, help them to reconnect with their strategic priorities so they can lead with purpose, not just urgency. Right? So you can kind of hear where I'm going. Now. [00:10:00] All of these work, if we just share the first part, right?
So. I help law firms navigating rapid growth to strengthen their leadership pipeline. I help leadership teams and government agencies struggling with silos and misalignment. I help finance departments going through restructures who need to rebuild trust. I help senior HR leaders trying to embed a coaching culture, but where people in the organization see it as a buzzword.
I help executive teams in purpose-driven organizations who are stuck in firefighting mode. So you can see how. Those stand really well on their own and we can add more to the end. But no matter what, if you share even that first section, it's going to be a conversation starter. Right? It's going to give people a sense of, oh, that's so interesting.
Right. So that because, because you've painted a very clear picture for them, but beyond, oh, that's interesting. What we really. Hope it will do and it will do if we give them this layer of specificity is say, oh, I know that [00:11:00] person. Right? Oh, I know people like that. Now I actually, you know, you might remember back to previous episodes, which is that, you know, I don't recommend being too niche, and these examples that I have shared are very specific, right?
So I've suggested that you might have. Up to three ideal, , ideal clients, right? So sectors or industries that you work with. , and I don't want you to be too narrow, so you kind of wanna think about, , you, you might have a couple of these depending on the audience where you, you're in, or you might genericize the, the who you help a little bit, right?
So, you know, instead of, , saying executive teams in purpose driven organizations, you might say. I help executive leadership teams who are stuck in firefighting mode, right? Or you might say, I help organizations that are trying to embed a co coaching culture, or I help, , organizations going through restructures to rebuild trust.
Or I help leadership teams struggling with silos and misalignment, right? Those sorts of things. So you kind of. Get a sense [00:12:00] of what we're talking about. So take some time, definitely write yours out. , and I think I, , I'm gonna share this offer as please, if you'd like DM yours to me on LinkedIn, you can either do it in writing or in a voice note.
, and I'll give you some feedback. I'd love to, , so please do that. But what, because once you have it in place, you really have to practice it. And this is the same for presenting, it's the same for running workshops. Unless you say it out loud, you are never gonna get comfortable, , saying it in the moment.
Right. So you have to practice so you can get comfortable saying it without the cringe factor and you know, the cringe factor, right? It's, , and, and we want you to go in there and have none of that. Ooh. , we want you to just go into there. Into these conversations embodying confidence. So here are some ways you can practice.
So firstly, record yourself on audio or video. Listen it back. Listen to it back. You could tweak a word at a time, right? Make the tweaks, listen to it again. Say it, [00:13:00] record it. Listen back, tweak it, record it, listen back, tweak it, record it. , the next thing is say it out loud at least 10 times before your next event or, , the next time you think you might have to use it.
And I want you to really get in your body when you are saying it right. Really feel like you are in that. Context. You've been asked what you do and you're ready to go. Right? And think about the people who do it most naturally. You can see a sense that they're relaxed, they're not overthinking it. Think about not just saying it, but also embodying it like a whole body, , sort of situation.
And then make sure you remove all qualifiers, right? I don't wanna hear, I'm just starting out, or I'm kind of doing, or I'm trying. You need to be concise and you need to be proud of what you do and in love with what you s the service you're offering and the outcomes you can help people achieve. [00:14:00] So, , I would also say if you feel like you are, , over-engineering it, go for confident over clever.
It's better to be clear than, you know, cute or, you know, doing some, some word gymnastics. Being clear is the answer here. You can also ask chat, GPT to give you some feedback. Like if you don't wanna, , DM it to me, you can ask chat. GPT. So this is what I'm thinking. , you know, what would you tweak and see what it says.
And then I would say gradually scale your use, right? So start practicing it or sharing in your coaching communities, right? So like, like the corporate to coach accelerator. Then, , take it to your friends and your family. , try it out with them. Make sure you're saying it out loud. Sometimes that will be even more awkward than a, , a networking event, but once we're out there, we're practicing, we've said it out loud, we've, you know, we're good with it, then the sky's the limit and you can change it, right?
These things aren't set in stone. It's just a tool to have in your toolkit to help you navigate [00:15:00] those certain contexts, right? Networking events. Informal introductions where people ask you what you do and you want to be open to letting opportunities emerge, right? So that's what we want it for. Have this tool in your toolkit.
So I really hope this has been helpful. If you would like to send me yours, as I mentioned, just drop me a DM on LinkedIn, , and I will give you some feedback. So bonus points, if you send me a voice note of you saying it out loud and you know, let me know how it feels like, what does and doesn't feel right.
And I will give you my thoughts. And as always, if you are wondering if my program, the corporate to coach Accelerator is for you, please head over to the show notes to book a call. I love talking to coaches about your businesses, and I would love to help you achieve your goals, so let's have a chat about how we can do that together.
In the meantime, have a great week and I'll speak to you again next week.
