Pitch an Idea in 15 Seconds or Less

Today’s consumers love everything to be short and sweet. Think about it. When you want some info on a specific topic, instead of reading an entire article, you Google your topic and read a few sentences until you have the basic gist. Unfortunately, the same disinterest or distractions can take place during a face to face conversation. So when you’re presenting an idea to a friend, co-worker or client, it’s important that you get the message across quickly while still being effective. Reeling them in is key - save the questions and fluff for later!  

As real estate virtual assistants, we are constantly pitching ideas to our clients on how we can effectively better their business. From blogging, social media, listing marketing and more, our ideas need to be clear, concise and easy for them to understand. So whether you’re pitching an idea for a new product, a new business strategy, or even just suggesting a restaurant to a friend, here is how to do it in 15 seconds or less!

Create a Headline: Like our descriptions on Twitter, figure out a way to introduce the idea in a short and clear way. This should be the single most important thing about your idea or plan, and should also be the thing you want your listener to walk away understanding. In other words, you should start your pitch with a gripping one liner that gives the overall gist of what you’re saying. For example, here is ours:

A Real Estate Virtual Assistant Team of 18. Do What You Do Best and Delegate the Rest!

Breakdown: You know we are a virtual assistant company. You know our niche is real estate. You know that you can delegate any work to us that you don’t have the time or know-how to complete yourself.

Three Bullet Points: When giving a presentation we often use bullet points to help us elaborate on the bigger picture. When pitching your idea, use this same method – but cut down on the elaborating part. Determine what you feel are the three most important things about your idea and lay them out for your listener. If you begin to ramble there is a good chance your listener will forget anyways, so make sure you pinpoint what they absolutely need to know.

Back it Up: Ok. This is the last thing you need to do to complete your pitch. After we’ve established the three key points, now we can back them up with some stories, examples or statistics. Remember, we’re trying to complete this in 15 seconds so keep it short and to the point.

Example: We work fast. We completed the marketing efforts for an entire listing in just a 48 hour turnaround time.

Think of examples that will really make your pitch stand out. Offer an example of a time your client was over-the-top happy with the work you did. Present a statistic that sets you apart from other businesses in your industry. Or tell a short story of how you tried out a similar service and didn’t get the results you need but you know you can deliver.

Similar to an “elevator speech” where you deliver a short presentation of what you do, this is what we refer to as “message mapping.” We hope these steps have given you some insight on how to be short yet thorough when pitching to your listeners. If you need help creating a concise delivery, your real estate virtual assistants can help!   

Lauren Wille
Marketing & Copywriting Specialist