This article comes from John Hirth, a sales process training consultant. To head off the obvious question yes, an airplane speech is the same as an elevator pitch, but since flights tend to be longer than elevator rides, it’d behoove you to have a longer-term strategy for such an occasion.
John understands how to pitch value versus static, so I suggest you read the full article, but here’s a quick overview…
Key Takeaways:
- You should already know this, but being great at sales has way more to do with asking good questions and listening than talking at your prospect.
- When it’s time to give an elevator/airplane speech, your answer needs to be well-crafted and keyed to the value that you bring to your clients/customers but not so specific that you create objections or dis-interest.
- Responding with something that is somewhat vague and non-specific but that does a good job of creating interest and starting a conversation can be effective. (e.g. “It’s a little difficult to explain but I guess the best description of what I do is I help companies make money.”)
- Don’t pitch what you DO (e.g. sales training, ad sales, etc.) pitch the VALUE of what you do (e.g. help companies make more money)
- Crafting your message involves knowing your features or benefits and then communicating them in the form of questions that are difficult to say “no” to and also keep you from sounding like you are selling (helps to eliminate defensiveness.)
- The point of an elevator pitch / airplane speech isn’t to tell people what you do, it’s to create interest, identify needs, and offer a solution (sale!)
- Action Step: Take your features and benefits and ask “what do people really get when they buy from us?”. The answer to that question will form the basis of your “airplane speech”.
Read the full article: Do You Have a Good “Airplane Speech?” by JohnHirth.com
Photo credit: intothedeepofmysoul
