It's been some time since I've posted. My last post was about 30-second elevator pitches. Here's is another of Blair Singer's emails to me on the same subject.


Hi Paul,

There you are on an elevator with the most perfect candidate for your product or service. You have a few floors to generate enough interest so that this short ride turns into long-term business. Have your game plan set?

Over the past week you've been reviewing your current 30- second elevator pitch against...

"The 3 Pillars of a Persuasive 30-Second Pitch"

1) Establish credibility
2) Make a promise
3) Remove the risk

We've covered the first two already but the most overlooked pillar is "risk removal." This is really about making it easy for your audience to take the next action.

Quite possibly the most famous pitch that incorprated this is the pitch from Domino's Pizza:

"Hot, fresh pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less, or it's free."

The promise is the quick delivery time. The risk removal is the "or it's free" guarantee (it's even strong enough to create credibility by itself).

Here's the thing, you don't have to offer a "free" guarantee to remove the risk. You can offer a complimentary initial consult, or if you're a Realtor you can specialize in "holding the hand of first-time hombuyers."

So, while it can be a money-back guarantee, it's more about making your audience feel safe and comfortable about taking another step or asking another question... not too many enjoy diving into unknown waters head-first so don't force them to.

There's no point diving into a pitch or presentation unprepared, either. Now you have a process to engineer a winning 30-second pitch so you don't have to. With an elevator pitch you have 30-seconds to create interest and action. Use this formula to win big.