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How can I sell myself in a 30-second elevator pitch?

<p>Our resident career coach helps a freelance sustainability consultant improve his answer to the question: &quot;What do you do?&quot;</p>

[Editor's note: Dear Shannon is a career advice column for sustainability professionals and wanna-be professionals. If you have a question for Shannon, send it to her at [email protected]. Let us know your thoughts on the column in the comments section below.]

Dear Shannon,

I'm a freelance sustainability consultant and am finding that there are more and more of us popping up in the market. As competition increases, I feel the need to better position myself with an opening line to win clients and build my network. But every time I try to write one down, I get stuck. When I say it aloud, I stumble over my words. Do you have any quick tips for writing an effective elevator pitch for sustainability consulting? I'm so passionate about my work that it should be simple.

-- Justin, New York, NY

Hi Justin,

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

It's still unclear if it was Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain or Will Rogers who coined this phrase, but while its provenance is shaky, the observation itself is rock solid. This is especially true when it comes to that initial conversation with a potential client.

Whether you're at a cocktail party, on an airplane or at a networking event, if someone asks the simple question -- "What do you do?" -- the last thing you want to do is freeze.

As you're finding out, passion doesn't always convert into positioning. That's why taking the time to invest in a strategic, compelling elevator pitch is so worth it: Doing so can help you win contracts and build your business. Think of it as your brand statement. People who like your pitch will be more likely to tell others about you, too.

Elevator image by megastocker via Shutterstock.

Why?

According to Harvard Business School, you should be able to communicate six key points to your listener in your elevator pitch:

1. What you want them to remember about you
2. The value you bring in terms of impact
3. The unique benefits you bring to business
4. How what you do is different from the competition (your "USP")
5. What your immediate objectives are
6. What you expect them to do for you

They even have created a helpful online tool, The HBS Elevator Pitch Builder, to help you with the process. But before you go about getting your ideas down, make sure you understand the key elements of a killer pitch.

What?

The 10 key elements that make a pitch compelling are:

1. Hook: The statement that makes the listener want to know more. It's a good idea to start with this so that they pay attention to the rest.

2. Concise: 30-60 seconds if said aloud, the equivalent of two to three floors in an elevator or around three sentences.

3. Clear: Be clear about the problem you are solving and use simple and clear language, not in-depth technical details, so that even your granny would understand it.

4. Confident: Effectively communicate the competitive advantage of your specific product or service. Be positive and proud of what you have done.

5. Enthusiastic: Make your story come to life so that your listener wants to hear more. Make your enthusiasm contagious.

6. Visual: Put yourself in a client's shoes and paint a visual picture based on how you want them to feel if they work with you.  

7. Skills focused: Don't focus on roles or functions, instead focus on your qualities or skills.

8. Targeted: Know your audience well enough to weave in specifics that may interest them. You may even have a different pitch depending on who you're speaking to.

9. Goal orientated: Once you identify your audience, you need to be clear what outcome you want from them. This is your call to action.

10. End with a question: To engage in the two-way conversation that makes for good networking, end with a question, such as, "Tell me about yourself."

How?

Here's an example:

Before:

"I am a sustainability consultant who writes strategies and supports employee engagement for companies wanting to be more responsible. I can help management to identify their challenges and sometimes design programs to help turn the strategy into practice. I enjoy working with companies who care about the future."

So how do you turn the 10 elements in our original pitch into one that will win sustainability consulting gigs? Time to get out that laptop and start typing. Write down:

1. What you do: Write it in 5 different ways. Don't worry about making it sound good, you can do that later. Be silly, serious, funny, reserved -- it doesn't matter. Let yourself shine through authentically.

2. A short story: Your brand is all about the story you can tell to illustrate who you are and what impact you have. Paint a picture. All effective sustainability programs communicate their "story" through real people and real projects.

3. Your goal: What are you trying to get out of the pitch?

4. Action statements: Draft 10 action statements that will get you closer to your goal above.

Then act on it:

5. Record yourself: Record a video of yourself presenting your pitch and play it back. Do this three times. Then see what feels good and what feels uncomfortable. Trust your instincts and be yourself.

6. Sleep on it: Come back to it the next day and see if it still resonates for you.

7. Circle what works: Reflect on your writing and verbal recording and circle the words and sentences that worked. Look for the ones that hook you with a clear and confident story. Avoid connector words when possible.

8. Pull it together: After writing down several versions of the parts you circled, come up with your final version of what you do and why people should want to work with you.

9. Practice: Just like for job interviews, practice makes perfect. Talk to a mirror or into your iPhone video recorder.

The result

After:

"I create strategies for small to medium-sized businesses that want to increase their competitive advantage through sustainability while also making profit. I have propelled the leadership forward on their sustainable business journey for Client 1, Client 2 and Client 3 (name them). I have a hands-on approach to implementing live projects, incentivising employees to act and measuring impact with hard numbers. Getting clients clear on what is working and what isn't is key to how I add value."

I wish you the best of luck with your new sustainability consulting pitch.

Let me know how it works out for you and if you need hands-on help with your personal branding, LinkedIn profile and key words or with your networking strategy.

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