The 60 Second Pitch
IN THIS GUIDE WE WILL TRY TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
· What is a “60 second pitch” and what use is it anyway?
· Is this just an elevator pitch, by another name?
· Isn’t it just a gimmick?
· Why should I do a 60 second pitch, isn’t it a bit corny?
· Where would I use the 60 second pitch?
· What does it sound like?
· What does it look like?
· OK, I’m convinced, anything else I should know?
· Is there a template I can use and an example?
WHAT IS A “60 SECOND PITCH” AND WHAT USE IS IT ANYWAY?
The 60 second pitch is an idea to help companies develop a short and simple answer to the question “What do you do?” Most companies answer this by giving a series of (usually) factual things that they do in terms of products and services. Customers however are assailed on a day to day basis by companies selling their wares, in these terms. It is therefore extremely difficult to differentiate yourself from the pack by simply pointing to a bunch of products and services that other companies probably have. In both Marketing and Sales terms you are now on the back foot, having to justify why you are different and how the features of your product are so much superior to everyone else’s and furthermore you have the ‘best’ people, etc, etc.
In order to differentiate yourself you need to be able to quickly (in under 60 seconds) state what it is your company does and why it’s important to the customer. The reason for the speed is that sometimes you don’t have that much time, and customers make snap decisions. The other reason is that you want everybody in the company to be able to state what it is you do, in a way that is simple, straightforward and above all honest.
ISN’T THIS JUST AN ELEVATOR PITCH, BY ANOTHER NAME?
Yes, but with a structure behind it.
ISN’T IT JUST A GIMMICK?
No, because it forms the basis for lots of other things the company can and will do. For example it’s good to use these messages on your web-site on the front page as a way of communicating to your visitors what you do. If the message is honest it will form the basis of all your marketing, until you come up with something better. Sales people can use it when they’re with clients. Your entire staff can use it when they are asked the question.
WHY SHOULD I CREATE A 60 SECOND PITCH, ISN’T IT A BIT CORNY?
It may seem corny until the next time someone asks you what you do, and you stumble around trying to explain what your business is all about in words that The Professor of Jargon in the Department of Advanced Jargon at the University of Jargon wouldn’t comprehend.
WHERE WOULD I USE THE 60 SECOND PITCH?
There are no hard and fast rules - the simplest one is ‘Everywhere’…
· Sales Pitches by way of an introduction to the company
· In front of potential investors
· Marketing materials
· Collateral, backed up by real customer evidence in the form of White Papers, testimonials and Case Studies
· The Web-Site
· Advertising
· PR
· Friends and family who have always wondered what it is you do
WHAT DOES A 60 SECOND PITCH SOUND LIKE?
Firstly it should be memorised by everyone so that they can immediately state it in spoken language, rather than written language. Therefore the actual 60 second pitch should never appear in written material without it being heavily modified into written language.
It should sound natural and not be laboured but it should ring true for yourselves and for your customers. The best 60 second pitches are the honest, heartfelt ones.
It should be simple for a complete layman or child to understand. It should contain absolutely no Acronyms, Mnemonics or jargon of any kind.
Avoid any ‘unsupportable superlatives’ like “We are the best in the world at…” or “ Our people are the best in the world at..” We are the world’s number one…” unless they are true and can be supported by facts or statistics.
There should be no waffle, hums, haws, or pregnant pauses. It needs to be slick and memorable.
A word or two on honesty. It was once said that if Hewlett Packard were to pitch a Sushi bar, they would describe it as ‘Raw, Dead Fish’. Honesty is one thing, putting customers off is another!
WHAT DOES A 60 SECOND PITCH LOOK LIKE?
A good 60 second pitch has the following structure
1) Introduction - it’s good to start with a substantiated statistic that backs up the nature of the problems you solve.
2) Problems – Emphasise the problems you solve from the customer’s perspective, in the customer’s own language.
3) Solution - Then you need to state ‘how’ you do things and your corporate credentials. The ‘how’ needs to be as unique as you can make it. Avoid any me too stuff.
4) Payback/returns - Lastly you need to explicitly state the payback, or returns, customers get from buying from you and you alone
WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO KNOW.
Once you give a 60 second pitch it normally invites questions. These will be around the areas you’ve mentioned, strangely enough, but also around more detail in each of the areas. It is therefore important that you have answers for each and every single part of the pitch, in case you are asked a question.
If you state a statistic, make sure you know the source and can point the customer to the statistic. If it comes from your own research then make sure it’s supported by external research which you can point to, or it was done by an external company.
When discussing customer problems it is as well to have good research to back this up, or at least for it to be completely intuitive to your audience. You are looking for customers to put their hands up and say ‘I’ve got that problem’. As soon as that happens you have an audience. This is also the time when you can drive the sale, by creating real but unsolved problems.
You must think carefully about what it is you do, and how you do it and your company credentials so that customers will trust that what you’re saying is true, believable, honest, trustworthy , and you come across as all these things.
Be wary of ‘cutting, leading or bleeding edge – most customers will run a mile, they want ‘tried and tested’. Also be wary of trying to put across the super-cool image company, that is not generally what customers buy in B2B selling.
The last thing you need is a good customer reference where you have achieved all this and more. The more customer references you have, the better.
In many ways it is possible to reverse engineer the Proposition from customer feedback.
A TEMPLATE FOR A 60 SECOND PITCH
1. INTRO
“As you are no doubt aware, [75%] of companies in [your sector] have [this problem].
2. PROBLEMS
[Our Company] has solved the [one two or three] biggest issues associated with [this problem]. These are [Problem 1], [Problem 2],[Problem 3]
3. SOLUTION
We solve these problems by having developed [two or three] unique features. Expertise in, Unique Product or Feature that…, specialist expertise in [a specific area]
4. PAYBACK/BENEFITS
Typically our customers receive the following benefits from our products & services. They improve [their revenue by 90%, increase sales by 75%, reduce costs in this area by 50%].
A REAL EXAMPLE
The first time I ever tried out the 60 second pitch was with a company I joined. We operated in what’s called the ‘ERP’ sector or ‘Enterprise Resource Planning’ but in layman’s terms they sell accounting systems to legal firms – often referred to as PMS or Practice Management System.
I was looking for a strong proposition and researched some of our customers. They told us that the thing they valued most about the system was its ease of use. This meant that lawyers, who don’t particularly like using computer systems (at the time), were encouraged to record their time, very simply using the time clocks. This in turn meant the firm could issue more accurate bills to customers, which were paid sooner. Not only that they also increased billings by 39% - a staggering figure but all because the lawyers found the system so simple to use. The time recording system was unique to our client and was extremely powerful, because it accurately reflected how lawyers worked.
This led us to develop the proposition, but in doing so, we found that they could qualify in or out of a deal, dependent upon the reaction to the proposition. If the law firm bought into the proposition we were in pole position to win. If the lawyer didn’t buy into the proposition the likelihood was that there was a long uphill battle to win, so better to qualify out earlier.
The proposition went something like this:
“As you are probably aware, most Practice Management Systems do not have a good return on investment. They are seen as a necessary evil and are simply a necessity of doing business.
One of the biggest impediments to a law firm’s successful introduction of a new Practice Management System is its ease of use. If the system is complex, lawyers won’t record their time properly and this will inevitably result in poor data. The best reporting systems in the world cannot fix bad data.
Our Legal PMS has solved this problem by being incredibly easy to use. Multiple On Screen time clocks allow lawyers to record time on multiple matters and open and close clocks whenever required. Nothing is missed and the system ensures that time is allocated to the right matter.
Results show that typically our clients improve billings by up to 40% and bills are paid typically 15 to 20 days earlier. The payback period for our legal PMS can therefore be measured in months with our clients continuing to receive new benefits as we introduce easier to use systems.”
This particular proposition is easy to understand, based on a simple premise that our Practice Management System is easy to use. The assertion can be backed up by a little jargon and technology that lawyers understand, with real examples. The more our client used this, the more important it became that the law firm bought into this proposition right up front.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The 60 Second Pitch is a powerful tool but it takes time and effort to get right. Don’t worry about getting it 100% right. Get it 50% right, then start using it. You’ll soon fine tune it and hone it to perfection. Then you’ll be able to break the rules of the 60 second pitch and make it a 20 second pitch of hard hitting customer focused messages.
Good Luck.
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