The quintessential elevator pitch has been indoctrinated into our culture for aeons. It is time to call time on that.
A pattern interrupt is anything that forces someone to change their natural pattern of thought. As a result, it is a technique that sales development and business development professionals use for a variety of situations in sales calls and sales processes.
Pattern Interrupt is an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) technique for breaking a person’s usual habits by altering their mental, emotional, or behavioral state. Consider it an unexpected act that shocks them into a different state of mind.
” 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
The brains of our audience are overloaded and preoccupied. Even a tiny bit of memory space is hard to come by. Experts will suggest the 3C model for your elevator pitch– Clear, Concise & Compelling. There is no shortage of advice floating around.
What if we do a pattern interrupt on the conventional elevator pitch? Which typically has always been about you making a pitch to a potential business partner or employer in the shortest possible time frame. No one ever bought anything on an elevator. The elevator pitch isn’t about selling your idea, because a metaphorical elevator is a lousy place to make a pitch.
When you are trying to cram in your perspective, your truth, your nuance, your past & your ambitions, all the while being judged, as you ride up a few floors, in just a few seconds, it is a sure fire way to failure.
So, how about putting the shoe on the other foot? We move from elevator pitch mode to a question mode, the elevator question. Beginning a conversation with the person you wish to connect with. Understanding who they are and what they want and then mapping it against who you are and what you want. So the elevator is like your trial room to check if the fit is right. And if the fit is not right, it is a signal, an opportunity to help the other side, even if it is not from you.
Rejection sets in when there is a mismatch of needs, narratives and what’s on offer. Rather than salivating over the prospect of the other person hiring you or doing business with you or fund you, calibrate your mind to think that no one can do these things. While you do that, open up the sunroof to bring in the sunshine of what you can help the other side with( and there are plenty of people whom you can help, mind you). And one way is that help could also come in the way of NOT making a pitch to them.
Hustle is de rigueur in our culture but a pattern interrupt that will work best is not to fall into the trap of hustling others.
Building a personal brand is an art. If you agree, this article from BrandKnew could be of interest, https://www.brandknewmag.com/you-need-to-establish-a-personal-brand-to-succeed-in-the-workplace-of-tomorrow-heres-how/
ENDS