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It’s that time of year when inevitably people at the holiday party are going to ask you what you do for a living. Say arrivederci to the meaningless, awkward mish mosh you were taught in the past. Try these new, cool elevator pitch ideas.
Them not you
Think for a minute about all those times you’re at the holiday party eating some canapes and somebody asks you what you do. Have you ever spouted off some mumbo jumbo elevator pitch that you practiced and honed ad nauseam and paid a business coach $2,000 to teach you? Then after you’re done with the Emmy Award-winning performance, the person on the receiving end gives you back this blank look and an uninspired, “That’s great.”
(exit stage left to the Camembert platter)
Awkward!
Let me shock you with a statement that contradicts what everyone else has told you about the elevator pitch.
Ready?
Because you are an advisor and not the Time Warner cable company, you’re not going to make a sale from some slick elevator pitch you hurl at somebody over the taco bowl. So stop trying.
Make sense?
In other words, what an advisor does is too personal, too customized, too sophisticated to distill down to a 20-second pitch. And how do you even know that the person you are speaking to is qualified? Stop trying to create a magic spell and charm people into being impressed by you.
Now here’s something even more radical: The elevator pitch shouldn’t even be about you. It should be about them. The goal is to get them to react, respond and tell you their story. The objective is to make them curious so they speak – not stun them into silence.
I’m going to simply it even more. Remember my two-sentence rule? It has direct application here. Say something cool and then shut up. If they like you, they’ll get the point and say something back. Isn’t that the goal?
Sure beats standing there talking to yourself all night!
The two-sentence elevator pitch
Here are the components of a cool elevator pitch: two sentences only. The first one is a statement and the last one is a question.
That’s it! Easy, right?
Here are some basic guidelines:
- Understand this is experimental. If you don’t get it right on the first try, please don’t take to Twitter bashing me. Not like it wouldn’t be the first time people have blown me up on Twitter, but you’ve got to recognize that it may take you some iterations before you get the right pitch.
- Leave your company name out of this. If you’re working for a big brand, some people may be put off and if you’re working for a small brand, it won’t carry much weight unless it’s a super creative name. Which none of you have because all your firms are named Blue Tree Mountain River Financial or some permutation of that.
- Leave your qualifications and title out of this. They don’t know and don’t care. Remember I just said it’s about them not you.
- The last sentence should be something that provokes a response. The point is to engage them. This is not the inaugural address. End the pitch with a question, an exclamatory phrase or (heavens forbid) something humorous to make people laugh.
Examples of cool elevator pitches
Now my four kids are bugging me and won’t go to bed so I have to end this article. I’ll leave you with five examples. All of these have to be delivered with extremely high confidence. If you’re not a fan, you can just flex them to your style.
Humor
I’m a financial advisor. Anyone want to buy an annuity?
Shock
I’m a financial advisor. Interested in hearing more or should I stop talking now?
Engagement
I’m a financial advisor who specializes in helping people who want a more meaningful way to invest by using ESG strategies. Ever heard of it?
Empathy
I’m a financial advisor for business owners who think they’re never going to retire from their business. Ever been guilty of letting that one cross your mind?
Curiosity
I’m a financial advisor who helps people solve a big problem – running out of money when they retire. Is this a problem you’ve ever worried about having?
Sara’s upshot
Many advisors have found that my membership has taught them how to simplify their communication on social media. I hope you’ll join me there, but if not maybe you could at least send me a cool message over LinkedIn or APViewpoint and say hello.
Sara Grillo, CFA, is a marketing consultant who helps investment management, financial planning, and RIA firms fight the tendency to scatter meaningless clichés on their prospects and bore them as a result. Prior to launching her own firm, she was a financial advisor and worked at Lehman Brothers.
Read more articles by Sara Grillo
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
