Elevator Pitches and Presentations (Constructing the verbal words)

[YourFriend]

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone is aware of some database or collection of entrepreneurship pitches: Basically I'm bad when it comes to words production and what to say, how, when, etc. More than elevator pitch, I'm looking for some samples of encouragement pitches to make sure C levels will listen with full focus the PowerPoint presentation I have for them. The video is to be recorded and uploaded on a CD and shipped to headquarters of company (board of directors). One of the elements to be included in that pitch, before PowerPoint presentation starts, is telling them my awareness of what is happening in their company that could be solved with my offer. But its NOT yet description of the offer because this will be after PowerPoint presentation is finished. That presentation is to increase the trust element, credibility, reliability and to hand them some partial proof that I am worth a trust.

Pretty much all the resources I find on that, including Youtube videos, are low quality elevator pitches. I rather need some words after the start of the video and before presentation of their company results (they are already aware of), starts. Not sure how exactly to verbally "drive" them to the start of presentation.

Would anyone be willing to tell me about some quality free of charge resource on this? I'm aware there are people on Fiverr, Upwork, Clarity, etc. willing to help on that but the problem is I have no budget and trying my best to find some ideas.

Or maybe if anyone of you has experiences with entrepreneurship pitches, kindly let me know please.

 

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[sparechange]

Check out shark tank?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G4OuCjTZzI

 

[YourFriend]

@sparechange thank you for reply. I'm aware about Shark Tank but no, I'm looking for some more appropriate encouragement entrepreneurship pitch to lead them with maximum interest to the PowerPoint presentation and telling them before what is the reason for contact - what is going on in their company.

Even if I searched for elevator pitches only, those are not good on that Shark Tank source since they are not enough "value proposition" related.

 

[sparechange]

@sparechange thank you for reply. I'm aware about Shark Tank but no, I'm looking for some more appropriate encouragement entrepreneurship pitch to lead them with maximum interest to the PowerPoint presentation and telling them before what is the reason for contact - what is going on in their company.

Even if I searched for elevator pitches only, those are not good on that Shark Tank source since they are not enough "value proposition" related.

Not sure, your best bet would be studying sales and delivering speeches I guess. For me I learned on the fly from door knocking and cold calling, after you do it a few hundred times you get better and better at it.

 

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[Primeperiwinkle]

You need to hire a copywriter. This is exactly what they do for a living.

 

[sparechange]

Might wanna check out Grant Cardone, he has some good content (free)

Loved his audiobook 10x.

 

[amp0193]

The video is to be recorded and uploaded on a CD and shipped to headquarters of company (board of directors).

First problem, no one uses CDs anymore. If you sent me a CD I literally wouldn't have a way to play it.

Also these people have no time. They aren't just waiting around for something to watch. You need to get on their calendar.

That presentation is to increase the trust element, credibility, reliability and to hand them some partial proof that I am worth a trust.

All of those things are better communicated in person. You can't communicate trust, or credibility well without in person communication. You need to get in front of these people.

Would anyone be willing to tell me about some quality free of charge resource on this? I'm aware there are people on Fiverr, Upwork, Clarity, etc. willing to help on that but the problem is I have no budget and trying my best to find some ideas.

Read the book Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff. It's one of the best.

 

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[YourFriend]

@amp0193 in person? Seriously? No way to do that. I don't have the money not even for car taxi, how could I pay for both sides plane ticket? Perhaps even ending up target person is not available on address of headquarters. I don't think anyone would be doing the face to face communication in such type of business. That's same risk as playing the lottery. Firstly asking family members for travel permission, then searching flight tickets, a way to go to address, in worst case even visiting hotel for overnight sleep, searching the address in the city, etc. just to end up being told person is not available or not interested. Even pre-arrangement may not work. Besides this, when you do the video recording and send CD, you still have a chance for improvement if not fully satisfied with the speech. If doing in-person face to face meeting, there is no "come back" if failing at something. If you/me/anyone farts while recording then new video can be recorded. If fart while being in his office... good luck with that.

However, with all the respect, you may have misunderstood the question in my first post. I was asking if anyone knows sources of samples.

 

[becks22]

You're trying to do too much. Besides @amp0193's point about having people play a CD, if you're mailing a large corporation the CD won't even make it to their desk.
Read this thread and consider doing this. It's free or mostly free and I can 100% guarantee you would have better rates using video then mailing a CD HOT TOPIC - Crushing B2B Sales with LinkedIn

 

[amp0193]

If doing in-person face to face meeting, there is no "come back" if failing at something. If you/me/anyone farts while recording then new video can be recorded. If fart while being in his office... good luck with that.

Big deals are done in person. Zoom works too in the age of covid, but it's not as good. Phone call is fine too.

Whatever you do, don't waste your time with cds.


About the uncontrollable flatulence... you may want to see a doctor.

 

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[Ronak]

Hmmm...you sound vaguely familiar....weren't you posting something a few months ago?

Anyway, One of the best books: selling to VITO.

 

[amp0193]

Hmmm...you sound vaguely familiar....weren't you posting something a few months ago?

Anyway, One of the best books: selling to VITO.

Whenever @Ronak recommends a book on this forum... I buy it!

He knows the good ones.

 

[YourFriend]

I was just trying to give the example how could face to face in-person meeting fail. I apologize if my example insulted anyone. To clarify this further: When you speak in-person with prospected customer, you may say words differently than you wish. When reviewing the video before shipping it, this can be fixed IF catching the "failure" soon enough. But when on the meeting in the office, there is no "come back".

@becks22 the address on front side of the envelope would contain C member's full name and not just headquarters' address or Investor Relations department. You said I would have better rates using video than mailing a CD. Not everyone is on LinkedIn and even if they are, they may not reply and/or they may not be active at all. How else could I send a video if not on CD? Surely you didn't mean USB key which is at least 20 times more expensive than CD?

@amp0193 Impossible to waste the money, even if I had it, on travel needs. I agree the best chance of success is on in-person meeting but possibility to take back spoken words are impossible.

 

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[rblitz]

What is it that you're offering?

 

[Ronak]

No c level exec worth their title is going to stick an unknown CD, USB, etc, into their computer in this age of hacks, security breaches, and cyber espionage.

You are being a perfectionist, which is not uncommon, but you have to be willing to try and fail. That's the way you will get better.

What happens, ignoring the above, if you perfect your script, somehow get your target to open your package and play your CD, and he wants a call? Send another CD with your followup? At some point, you will have to talk and have a conversation, and if you're not prepared, it will all unravel.

Above poster asked a good question...what are you offering? Why not post your pitch here and get some feedback? I will volunteer, as I'm sure others will.

 

[rblitz]

Just read the whole thread.

My question (what are you offering) is still valid.

Others have said this a few times now but I it's worth noting this a few more times because you're looking for some magical solution....

No one will put your CD anywhere---besides in the trash. For the simple fact that CD drives aren't used anymore (have you seen the "recent" MacBooks over the last 5 years?). And WHY should they play your CD? Do you think someone is waiting for your sales pitch?

You mention "taking spoken words back" quite a few times... And that's your problem. You're simply feared of face-to-face communication... which a lot of people have. But there is no other solution than getting to interact with some other human being directly.
And I'm not talking about meeting face to face (at least in the beginning).

But... as long as your underlying problem is the fear of having to speak to someone else (because you can't take your words back...) you won't have a chance to pitch your product/idea to anyone.

As someone mentioned above: I'd go with the LinkedIn route. Send them a personalized request, along with a Loom video or something like that where you create a connection with them and mention a specific problem/need they may have with their company. But don't pitch them your idea in the first message...

As for what to write, etc. there's a whole industry doing just like that (Copywriting) and you can't expect some generic sentence or "pitch" to get you anywhere near success.

 

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[becks22]

You need to scrap the CD idea. It's not going to work-- they won't watch it. You'll be wasting your money. There are plenty of other outreach ways that are cheaper and have a better success rate. You need to take what has been said here and go back to the drawing board. Brainstorm better ways to get your message across and repost them here for more feedback.

 

[Knugs]

@YourFriend: You should take that feedback serious. CDs are horrible. There are better alternatives.

I have been part of an accelerator that was heavily teaching us pitching. I was doing live pitching events weekly infront of 50-150 people for multiple months. The first one I did was horrible. crumbling speech, forgotten text, horrible story telling. After many practise sessions and events I feel more comfortable and could now pitch any product.

Only this way you will build the perfect pitch for your product.

In terms of free resources we used the google keynote pitches to analyse and reflect on their presenting, story telling and even tonality.

For example:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyRPyRKHO8M&t=3242s

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYKt5YgV0pk


Analyse these videos. Watch them multiple times. Why are they good? Listen to the story. These pitches are probably one of the highest quality pitches you will ever find. The presenting slides are flawless and fit the pitch.

My pitching mentor and a real top-gun recently published his pitching book. "Agile presentation design" by Ole tillman. I'm unsure if this is available in the US.

Pitching means story telling and using emotions and body language to get the message across. That is extremely difficult over digital means. I know its a scary idea seeing yourself standing infront of 4 C-suits but its by far the most effective way.

Doing the uncomfortable things will set you apart.

 

[amp0193]

@amp0193 Impossible to waste the money, even if I had it, on travel needs. I agree the best chance of success is on in-person meeting but possibility to take back spoken words are impossible.

Not sure why you're fixated on making mistakes in a conversation.

If it's a concern, can't you just practice your answers to the top 10 objections your customer will have, so you are prepared?

And yes, it's virtually guaranteed you're going to fumble, and sound like an amateur for the first few meetings. Like anything in life... it takes practice and you get better as you do it.

 

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[YourFriend]

@Ronak I wish I could refrain from usage of CD as @becks22 said because that would mean saving some additional costs, including hiring top quality lawyer and content writer both together to get me (or help me creating it) worldclass letter assuring C level public company (usually large ones) member will use the CD. My guarantee about having 100% safe file is not enough. I need to impact C level mindset to make him/her/them sure the file is safe and not some harmful file such as keylogged, virus, etc. This is first call to action. Unfortunately delivering such letter on the paper with few other legitimate strategies (sticker on CD, e.g. with company logo, email style signature at the bottom of letter, marked values from printed annual reports, etc.) may not be enough. There is no paper based content that would really guarantee the safety of file on CD. So my big challenge is particularly their anxiety about nature of file (safe or harmful), minority also considering CD (and it's file) as time consuming. First call to action is using the CD, opening the file and entirely listening it. Second call to action, as the answer to your question, is to schedule web appointment with me (calendly) or, as a less preferred method, call me to my mobile phone.

The problem we are dealing with is the fact that not everyone is on LinkedIn and even if they are, they may not be active. Sometimes even their closest board of directors colleagues aren't on LinkedIn and actually even if they were, it wouldn't help me because I target exact type of C level and not just any.

I'm pretty sure CD, even if large expenses for me, would catch more attention than cold call. So please don't suggest cold call. What else, besides in-person meeting, could be done if he/she is not a member of LinkedIn or not active there?

@r6203 It's not just about fear but particularly about the fact that I don't have possibiltiy to travel, mainly due to financial reasons. Paying the cost of travel to risk inavailability is also not something I would want. There are other reasons too and not just financial ones: having to use mobile Open Streets GPS Tracker. My phone provider charges a way too much for mobile network usage in foreign country and WIFI places are NOT really everywhere, particularly not when you walk or drive towards destination address. So traveling is really out of the question and I cannot target LinkedIn members only. Its simply not possible because I see opportunities far beyond who is on LinkedIn and who not. Besides this there is no feature on LinkedIn revealing when was the last time particular member logged in.

@becks22 Please list me those outreach ways other than: LinkedIn, email message, cold call (e.g. investor relations, gate keeper, C level directly, etc.), travel (in-person). I would really love to know them because according to my understanding the CD idea may be the third best one, right after travel and LinkedIn (IF he/she is active). Of course idea could be envelope too but without a CD. However, I don't think there is any letter that would be as powerful as content on CD is giving him/her/them the real human-contact feeling when I record myself. It's not just about getting the message across (e.g. marketing), as you said becks22, but it's about getting in touch with EXACT individual person.

@Knugs I haven't tried those keynote pitches you suggested but will definitely try them. Thank you for idea. I believe you were referring to my original question: which resource should I use to get some ideas about constructing the pitch as "pre-presentation" e.g. something that will drive them into the presentation (powerpoint). During my major issue of finding out what to do about making sure the CD will be used by C level member (hopefully @Ronak @r6203 @becks22 and/or anyone else could still comment further), I decided about that pitch you are referring to, to just verbally show my awareness of current situation in their industry, what is happening and have the reference point on this using researched internal data ( * ) about their exact company. I don't say in that particular pitch anything about my offer yet because the main idea of this starting pitch is to literally "drive them" into the presentation. This presentation has its own goal which is usually a proof why they need my offer. This is to block a lie or objection in advance, e.g. "We currently really don't need this." I just showed a proof, in the reliable, always able to be verified, values ( ** ) they need an offer.

( * ) data, similar to the ones from Bloomberg Terminal or Thompson Reuter's Eikon. So some really "hardcore" internal based information what is going on in their company. It's to rise the trust and credibility so they show the willingness to listen to entire video. This is to get their mindset to the way thinking something like "How does he know that?" It can only be a positive effect built before presentation is even started. After revealing to C member how would I like to add the value to their company, I doubt very much that someone would get angry because of knowing such data (information).

( ** ) those values are not the data I was previously referring to. Values, as I defined them, are from financial reports, while the data is awareness of what is happening in their company: e.g. (completely random case): they failed to get material from Y supplier on time and not having sufficient budget to go with different supplier while the client is unwilling to extend the deadline.

@amp0193 I have very good responses on objections in my collection and fortunately I'm pretty quick when it comes to finding appropriate one in exact time on web appointment. However, the bad thing is that for me its pretty hard to memorize them. This leads into the need of having all those MS Office Word files in front of me which may in some cases bring some negative consequence. Particularly because I cannot use instantly my teleprompter with minimum lines width to make sure the eyes don't move on the camera. It takes time to copy paste needed responses into teleprompter so I'm not really using it at all for objections handling. I rather use it for some longer term speeches where I can prepare a part of text in advance and another part I speak "freely" out of my head without having to read it. However, memorizing everything is not possible and this have nothing to do with my inability to travel.

 

[amp0193]

However, memorizing everything is not possible and this have nothing to do with my inability to travel.

Any business owner should be able to answer any question about their product or service without having to refer to any notes.

And if you can't, then you need to prepare more.


But if you believe it is impossible, then it will be. We make our own realities.

 

[YourFriend]

@amp0193 I am able to answer any question about the offer if the question is within the frames of information I received. However, this is not primary need I'm asking for. Instead, I would like to know the CD vs. Anxiety of harmful files vs. solution here.

 

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[amp0193]

Here's a great response to a question you don't have a good answer for:

"I'll don't know the answer to that off the top of my head, but I can follow up with you later with that information".

 

[Ronak]

Listen my friend, @YourFriend, @Neighbour, or whatever you're calling yourself now;

When you posted on the forum 6 months ago, for every legitimate response to your question, you came up with 5 objections of why it wouldn't work, and then turned around and restated the same question expecting some magic pill answer. I see that it hasn't changed, and I refer you back to my final post on your other thread.

Business is messy, unpredictable, and full of failure. You are too afraid to fail to just try something, and are too much into your own mind and way of doing things. Until that changes, you will continue spinning your wheels. I wish you well, but I do not plan on spending any more energy replying here until you show that you can at least accept some guidance and put it into action.

Good luck.

 

[becks22]

I don't know why you're so stuck on using a CD. You're not taking any of the advice given to you. Lots of people on this thread are trying to help you with their real world experience. If you're not going to listen to them and argue that you think your method is right, people are not going to stick around.
I'm not going to help you list all the outreach options available under the sun if you can't even attempt to try LinkedIn on one outreach.

 

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[YourFriend]

@becks22 I am listening but majority (fortunately not all) of the people who I am trying to contact, all of them being on C level, are not registered on LinkedIn, at least not with their real full name. I was doing the searches while being logged in.

 

[rblitz]

So how about you ditch your idea, product or whatever you want to sell and come up with something that doesn't require sending CDs around the globe. Something which you can do in your home country, without having to pay for mobile data usage....

The amount of energy you put in to come up with excuses is just ridiculous.

 

[becks22]

Unless I'm missing it, you still haven't given us any indication on what you are offering these executives? Are you sure you need to sell to the CEO directly? I've had good luck targeting either the Director of Business Development, COO, or Vice Presidents

 

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[Neighbour]

@becks22 CFO mostly. I still believe CD would be after in-person meeting and LinkedIn approach third best way of contact. However, I understand and agree it's very unlikely that such high company hierarchy member would use the CD and open the file on computer. If CFO's name is on front side of envelope, e.g. second or third line (before street name) then he/she should still get it to his/her hands but that means nothing. Just like @r6203 said, it would most likely end up in trash.

In the meantime of doing countless of researches what else could be done, I got new idea which is based on assumption that always is expected to be registered on LinkedIn at least one C board of directors member on the company. Someone being very close to final target prospect (individual), e.g. CFO. So idea behind is simple: Use that person from their board of directors as intermediate one, just like the messenger, and build up some quality entrepreneurship pitch to ask that intermediate person, being very close to target prospect, to forward to him/her the video. Such intermediate contact strategy might somehow work but the problem is: it can happen that the only C member, who is registered on LinkedIn, is not active there. It can even happen that entire board (no one) is registered. In such case, I could still search for shareholders but don't know where to get shareholders list. Not on annual report. There is always a doubt how "close" particular major shareholder is to CFO.

Besides this, first and last name might not be enough just in case if on LinkedIn are multiple members with same first and last name. So some more info is needed, e.g. city and country.

However, such intermediate contact strategy could somehow solve the CD shipping issue and (not) opening it. I still need to find out how could I avoid possible negative feedback from intermediate person (C level: target prospect's colleague) who might tell me why I'm speaking in the video colleague's name (my target prospect) instead of his/her (intermediate person's) name. Surely some more disadvantages too.