Convince me in Five Words or Less!

Written by Christine Buske
on March 12th, 2007 / 4 Comments / Print this

We all know what an elevator pitch is, right? For those who are now ready to Google the term, it is a small “talk” you prepare to convince a more powerful individual that you are great. Now, really this just means that you either convince your boss of your many accomplishments (to get a promotion down the line) or a potential client that you are “the one” for them.

Elevator pitches are not just for individuals employed by large companies who have to come up with a useful thing to say when riding the elevator with a CEO. It is imperative that you come up with something significant to say, to anyone! You never know who would be a next client or customer, and it all depends on how you say it.

This became blatantly clear when I attended a large convention last week. It was the second year I went, and while last year I was not fully convinced yet of what I could do for these people, this year I had a perfect pitch in mind.

I’ll actually tell you what I said, and how I could have said it if I wanted a 0% response:

I’m, surprise surprise, a copywriter. Simply saying “I’m a writer”, or even “I’m a copywriter” would not turn too many heads. Trust me, I experimented with this approach just to see what would happen. Some people would look disappointed, because I was neither an investor, nor a potential employee, nor a potential client. Only some would ask “what do you do then?” giving me the chance to elaborate.

Although I am a copywriter, that is not what I do for my clients. I don’t just write copy: I create results. I develop successful marketing strategies, cut back on marketing expenses and improve their business.

What did evoke a response, and is essentially the exact same thing was the following “elevator pitch” using the knowledge of what I do, instead of what I am:

“I am in the business of increasing a company’s ROI on their current marketing strategy, and help companies identify which strategy is best suited for them so they can achieve better results on a lower investment.”

This little line took about five seconds to spit out, and the interest it created was phenomenal. What company does not want to increase their return on investment?

This brings me to the promised article on tag lines: Tag lines/slogans (from now onwards I’ll call it tag line) are like short elevator pitches. They have to be well crafted to create a response, otherwise it’s best to just not say anything at all.

The ingredients for a successful tag line are:

• Be relevant
• Be memorable
• Add value to your brand

All are easier said than done: a cliche is memorable, but not the route you want to take. Especially because cliches also tend not to be relevant. Above all, a tag line has to add value, i.e. it has to say something about your product or business.
As an example, I saw a very good one walking down the street today:

“Software for safer health care”

The company/brand was called “solutions” and I have never heard of them before. However, with recent patient data going missing in some hospitals in the area and a general concern for data safety I would definitely give them a call if I were to be in that field.

Another great tag line is for a church called “the meeting house”. It is frequented mainly by a younger crowd, and they work hard at differentiating themselves from a traditional church. Their tag line is:

“a church for people who aren’t into church”.

Both tag lines say everything you will need to know about their business in a few words. They are also sticky (I remembered both several hours later), and relevant.

Now, how would you build your own successful tag line?

The lazy strategy is to get a professional. If you are determined to do it yourself, try the following strategy:

Try to write down the benefit of your product/service for your clients. If there is more than one, write down as many as you can think of and try to summarize it the best you can.

What is the main benefit of your service/product?
For example: if you provide financial consulting services, your clients may benefit by having more disposable income due to your knowledge of tax laws or investment strategies.

How will clients gain, and in what area, from your business?

Will they be richer? Happier? Better looking? You can’t be everything to everyone, so find your niche and figure out exactly what you are offering your clients. Designers and people in the furniture industry may consider that they are making their clients house into their home, a place of refuge from everyday life. A dentist may make his clients smile more, and a financial planner may help you be more efficient with your spending.

Correctly identifying what it exactly is you do, is half the battle.

Now, start writing down all words that somehow relate to your business or product. A really good writer will be able to create a tag line with terms that have seemingly nothing to do with your business, but create a fantastic response because of their unexpected relevance and creativity. However, if this is not what you do for a living, don’t break your pen over it.

Once you have the relevant terms and actual benefits down on paper, you can start creating combinations of the two. Create as many as you can, read them out loud to yourself and friends and then decide which one seems to have what it takes.

Every business is unique, and as a result there is no set “rule book” to creating a winning tag line or marketing strategy. Careful analysis of your business and what sets you apart from your competitors will however put you on the right track to developing tag lines and marketing content that is relevant and effective.

Christine Buske