Every professional woman needs to have a pitch. Now, more than ever, whether you’re looking for a new job, building your business, or trying to manage the job you already have, it’s important to have your pitch ready.
You may be pitching to HR about why you need a permanent work-from-home assignment or why you need to work remotely; pitching to your boss to take on a long-term assignment or new responsibilities as part of departmental restructuring; or learning how to make a case as to why your department, in danger of being cut in a reduction-in-force concern, needs to be saved and why you need to be saved. Regardless of your situation, you need to have a pitch ready. Whether you’re asking for a promotion, a raise, to work remotely, or just to lobby to keep your job, everyone needs to have a pitch.
The August 20th Webinar, Visibility Trumps Ability: Sharpen Your Competitive Edge in the Time of COVID-19 is for any professional woman who wants to make sure she is prepared for the current moment and ready to return to work. It’s always a good idea to keep a solid pitch in your back pocket!
A Compelling Personal Value Proposition
A personal value proposition helps you differentiate yourself from other job seekers. Right now, the market is flooded with well-crafted résumés and stellar LinkedIn profiles. It’s helpful to make sure that once you get that phone interview or screening, you stand out from the pack. With a solid personal pitch in place, you bring your résumé to life. You animate your LinkedIn profile and help the hiring manager understand why they picked your résumé out of the pile.
Side Hustle Pitching
If you’re focusing on being a “Sidepreneur,” then what you’re trying to do is make sure your product, service, or whatever it is you’re presenting to folks is highly compelling. Just like being a professional saleswoman, whether you’re looking for new customers, Kickstarter funding, resources, retail space, someone to carry your product, or just to get in front of new folks—you want to help people understand why what you’re doing is valuable and why they should continue to support you, whether it’s your customer base, your funders, or your vendors.
I’m a professional saleswoman.
I’m out there knocking on doors (or dialing and smiling, as the case may be today) and selling. I’ve got amazing sales sheets, and I have everything I need. Still—why do I need a value story? Why do I need a pitch?
Fill a Need
Theodore Levitt said, “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill; they want a quarter-inch hole.” Your pitch and your value story connect the importance of the item you’re selling with the need of your client. Remember that you can have the most wonderful solution on the market, but if you can’t explain to your client why this solution does the job for them or for their customers, you’re not going to be able to get them to sign that contract.
You need to be able to pitch your product and explain to your client how it meets their needs, especially now, when there is a lot going on and a lot of change. Adapt your pitch and adapt your value story to meet the specific needs of your client in this present environment. You can refine your pitch. You can make it stronger. Now’s a great opportunity to do that. Folks are returning to work, and things are reopening. Now is your opportunity to get in front of new clients and sell them on why your solution is the best. Join me and Precious Williams (the 13-time national elevator pitch champion) for a Sistas In Sales August 20th webinar to learn how to take your pitch to the next level!
Being visible and getting in front of your audience is incredibly important, now more than ever. This webinar will enable you to be incredibly forward-thinking: it will get you thinking about future opportunities, about how the current environment is shaping future markets, and about how you can make sure you’re best positioned to take advantage of it.
Finally, pitching helps you address your prospect’s needs, desires, and pain points by helping you empathically tailor your approach to meet those specific needs. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to understanding your audience. Make sure you tailor your pitch and approach. This webinar will give you the skills you need to do that tailoring and to meet the specific goals of your audience.
Here’s to Selling Mastery,
Cherilynn
Head of Education and Growth, Sistas In Sales
Cherilynn Castleman, Sales Trainer/Executive Coach, has been a sales executive for 20+ years. With her natural talent for teaching and a drive to sell, Cherilynn uses her skills to coach and train other executives and sales professionals.
