The Key To Our LinkedIn Success

There is no doubt LinkedIn has become one of the most powerful marketing tools of the 21^st Century. Using the platform, you can get your message in front of key decision makers, gain media exposure by connecting with journalist/editors and grow your business by creating strategic joint venture partnerships.

Whilst LinkedIn is a great avenue to reach out and make new connections for your business, ultimately it comes down to your ability to build meaningful relationships with these contacts. And like all good relationships, it all starts with the impression you make when you first connect. In today’s fast-paced business world where clients have a myriad of choice when choosing which company to purchase from, your first impression can either be your best or last.

This is why it’s important to have a compelling: “Elevator Pitch”.

Have you ever walked into a room and not known what to say or perhaps you attended a networking event and collected a lot of business cards but had no follow-up calls? We’ve all been in these situations where we KNOW we could have communicated more effectively. When we look back at the results we’ve personally achieved in business let alone LinkedIn, we can honestly say that none of it would be possible if we didn’t enter those meetings, phone calls or emails with a strong and compelling pitch.

In our opinion, everything in business STARTS with an introduction. The challenge is taking everything that’s great about you and what you have to offer, and condensing it down to 30-seconds.

So what is an “elevator pitch”?

A 30-second talk that describes:

1) Who you are?
2) What you do?
3) Why your audience should engage with you?

“The purpose of an elevator pitch is to describe a situation or solution so compelling that the person you’re with wants to hear more even after the elevator ride is over.” – Seth Godin

A powerful pitch enrols others into your vision. Whether it be customers, partners, investors, team members or fans, they all fall in love with what you do because of the pitch.

Whether it be customers, partners, investors, team members or fans, they all fall in love with what you do because of the pitch. The goal of an elevator speech is to pique the listener’s interest and make them want to hear more. You only have 15-30 seconds to make a powerful first impression.

The attention span of the average person is just 30 seconds before their mind starts wandering. You need to grab them quickly or lose them forever.

To gain a deeper insight into the importance of having a compelling pitch, we recently had a chat to Glen Carlson, co-founder of Key Person of Influence. The world’s leading personal brand accelerator that teaches business owners and industry leaders a 5-step process on how to become a key person of influence within their industry. Below Glen shares his top 5 tips when creating a powerful elevator pitch:

1) Don’t try and sound different or unique straight away. This is counter intuitive, however, your listener’s brain needs to first associate you to something it already knows before it is able to process why you’re different. Opening with a simple industry category like ‘Accountant’ or ‘Fitness Trainer’ is ideal so long as you back it up with the next three steps.

2) Clearly defining the market you serve differentiates you while building relevance in the mind of the listener. Counter-intuitively, the narrower the niche, the more effective your communications will become and the more opportunity you will attract as a result.

3) Now is your chance to explain why you’re different. Perhaps you have a unique methodology, have won some awards or have a reputation for achieving a particular result for your clients. Any one of these is a good ‘hook’ to quickly position you as ‘different’. You shouldn’t need more than a tweet for each of these steps.

4) Share your 90-day goal. Quickly defining what you are up to that’s exciting in the next three months is a great way to enrol people in your journey.  Being an accountant is boring. Being an accountant that specializes in doubling profits for inner city restaurants, now that’s something exciting to talk about.

5) The biggest mistake people make when crafting a pitch is the overuse of jargon and fancy adjectives in an attempt to make them sound more interesting. This only makes your listener work harder to try and work out what you actually do. The first 15-30 seconds of a pitch need to focus on clarity and simplicity above all else. In a world of hyperbole, simple sells.

When doing something like for the first time it can obviously be a little daunting, wondering whether what you’ve done is correct or going to get the result you’re aiming for. To take the guess work out of it, you’re best off outsourcing it to people who have years of experience to ensure you maximise your efforts and also don’t burn opportunities. Remember your first impression can often be your last.