Published on : 31 August 20213 min reading time
Facing your interviewer during a sales meeting is a real challenge. The most difficult thing is to persuade them to choose your products and/or services. Do you want to give a good impression of yourself and your offer? The use of a persuasive sales pitch is essential!
What is an elevator pitch?
The elevator pitch is a concise, condensed and clear presentation of yourself and your plans. The objective is to arouse the interest of the interviewer and make him/her want to know more about your profile and your project.
The lightning argument is used during professional interviews during which the hierarchical superiors or recruiters leave a short period of expression to the candidate. The latter has just enough time to introduce himself and explain the broad lines of his project. He or she will have time to go into more detail during a second interview if the audience likes his or her speech.
The quality of the offer will be judged by the effectiveness of the intervention. This method of oral communication is used when looking for funding, at a conference or trade fair, at a job interview, etc.
Classic mistakes that can devalue a pitch
Drowning in details
You want to put yourself forward and talk about all your skills, but this can sometimes damage your image. The trick: focus on the essentials! Avoid unnecessary information that will not work in your favour. Giving too many details will lead to rambling, off-topic and incoherent statements.
Losing your audience
You risk losing your audience when the speaker does not understand what you are trying to say. Take time to choose words carefully, use short, punchy sentences to support your ideas. Your audience can also get bored and lose track of ideas if you give a monotonous presentation. Keep your speech short and to the point.
Gawking during the interview
This kind of reaction is often interpreted as a lack of preparation and self-confidence by your interviewer. So make sure you remain positive despite any remarks. Anticipate the questions and prepare several speeches so as not to be caught off guard. Work on your reaction and your reactivity to remarks. Take the time to practise to gain confidence and master the strong and weak points of your presentation.
Making a success of your elevator pitch: the key stages
To begin a persuasive pitch, you must first answer three basic questions: “who are you?” “what do you do?” and “what are you looking for? Take the opportunity to share your skills in relation to the field you are seeking, without expanding the subject too much. Have a good sense of synthesis and talk briefly about what can add value to your profile.
When presenting a product or service, use a target-oriented speech to ensure the relevance of your offer. The pitch should then be structured in an organised way:
Present the product (product name, targets, target needs)
Identify the product’s function (solutions provided by the product, competitive advantages, supporting evidence)
Call to action