The ten second pitch

 

Have you ever been to a networking meeting where person after person trots out their "pitch" in a series of jargon phrases that leave you with more questions than answers? It's "optimizing" this and "enabling" that. For example: "I optimize my clients' SEO to enable them to gain better internet visibility",  "I coach my clients to enable them to be their best selves." Certain things are assumed here- what is my best self anyway? None of these jargon phrases answer the potential client's most important question: what can you do for me?

Like many creatives, I struggle with self-value. I know I have the skills to provide a service to my clients; what I forget is how much I know in contrast to the general public. We are all experts in our own areas; the challenge is to explain our skills to our clients, briefly and succinctly, so that they can see the value in our service. 

I've been challenged several times recently to simplify my pitch. One formula is the 30/10/3 method. 30 words, 10 seconds to say, no more than three sentences. It should say three things you are, three things you do and for whom. Another coach pared it down even more to "I help who do what".  I'm not ready to be that brief but I'm working on the 30/10/3. Here is what I have so far:

"I'm a photographer, an artist and a restoration expert. I take beautiful pictures of you and your family, I create art for your walls and I rescue your old photographs. Photos are the stories of our lives; let me help you tell your story!"  

I used a website called wordcounter.net to analyze my writing. It tells me that I have 44 words, 3 sentences and a speaking time of 15 seconds. It also tells me that it requires a 7-8th grade reading level where 4th grade is ideal. What I have done is take out the jargon and use simpler words. It's a work in progress!  How about you? Can you make a ten second pitch that will tell your potential clients exactly what's in it for them?