“If you aren’t selling yourself, who will?”
Robbie Crabtree
That’s a hard truth I had to accept.
Because I always felt uncomfortable talking about myself.
When I worked in the corporate environment for 10 years, I only had a handful of interviews that landed me the jobs I wanted. Once I was in, my job title pretty much carried me through my workdays. And as I was eyeing another position, my boss did the pitching for me because he was convinced by the quality of my work.
Now, as a business owner, I have to pitch myself constantly. I can’t rely on anybody to do this for me. Even the best testimonials, referrals, or recommendations aren’t enough. Potential clients and partners need to hear from me why we should work together.
At the same time, I despise hard sells, bragging, and icky-meets-pushy sales tactics. Hyping myself up feels as unnatural for me as putting anchovies on pizza.
So, if you’re in the same boat, then I want to show you how you can pitch yourself without feeling sleazy.
First, you need to realize that even though you’re pitching yourself, what you’ll be really talking about is your audience.
A pitch doesn’t mean bragging about your credentials or your years of experience. It’s all about how you can solve a problem for your listeners and make their life easier.
To give you an example, here is my pitch:
So, how can you develop a pitch like this?
A simple formula to follow is AIDA, which stands for attention, interest, desire, action.
Let’s look at each element in detail:
Attention: Grab your listener’s attention.
How can you stop them in their tracks? By talking about something your audience cares about – themselves. In my pitch, I mention what they’ve already achieved. Everyone likes to hear that. Then I hint that it doesn’t quite feel “enough” for them and that they want more.
Interest: Pique their interest so they’ll be open to what you’re offering.
There are many different ways to do that. I decided to talk about a pain point – that launching an online course is complex and doing it alone is hard. You can also mention a limitation or false belief holding them back and what’s actually true. Or you can talk about the dream outcome they’re after.
Desire: Make them want what you have to offer.
This is where I talk about how I can help them and make their life easier. I mention what makes me uniquely equipped to solve their problems. If possible, mention a concrete outcome your listeners can achieve.
Action: Ask them to take action.
The last step is to simply tell your listeners what you want them to do next. Spell it out for them, so there’s no second-guessing. I’m asking them to join my newsletter. Sharing their email address is a small commitment that doesn’t cost must effort.
That’s it!
Your pitch can be as short as 60-90 seconds. The goal is to make the most impact with the least amount of words.
Write it out. Then practice it in front of the mirror and in front of real people. The more often you say it, the better your pitch will become. And if you record it and publish it on YouTube and/or your website, it can work for you 24/7.
I’d love to hear your pitch! Maybe I can even give you some pointers on how to improve it. Send it to me at julia@juliasaxena.com.
