Prospecting on social media: How to use “elevator pitching” for phenomenal social lead generation

Imagine you're riding in an elevator with somebody and only have 30 seconds to convince them to buy your product or service. This scenario is the inspiration for the term "elevator pitch," a brief, clear description of your offering that's easy to understand.

Crafting a successful pitch requires the same research and creativity needed for finding new prospects. By mastering your understanding of one, you can accomplish your goals in both areas at once.

What is a pitch?

Sales professionals - such as real estate agents - often pitch their services and goods to existing customers and sales prospects as if interviewing for a job. How many times have you conversed to the prompt "introduce yourself and why you would be perfect for this role (or client)?”

The elevator pitch is a bit more extreme than most functional pitches. When applying for a job or writing a pitch email, you'll hopefully have more than 30 seconds to do so. Regardless of the context, the goal of a pitch is the same: to pique your audience's interest and move on to the next step in the sales process.

Formulate a successful pitch for social media

Social media platforms are the best stages to effectively pitch your ideas. These platforms are all about quick consumption - think of platforms like Twitter or TikTok, featuring rigid limits on content length. Luckily, this can work to your advantage when pitching ideas.

If your prospective customers already spend time scrolling social media - whether for news, memes, business or more - they're already prepared to consume and understand a quick pitch. All you have to do is bake the right ingredients in your proverbial pitch pie.

A great pitch on social media includes:

• A hook. How do you grab someone's attention? Try sparking interest with a relevant question or by addressing a known pain point.
• The big idea. The point. The reason you're here. It's essential to articulate your idea concisely, clearly and conversationally.
• A call to action. When it's time for them to learn more, make sure they know how to contact you - and why they should do so right away!

Use your tagline to your advantage

Another important aspect of successfully pitching on social media is to be memorable. Your prospective customer scrolls through dozens of pitch Tweets or posts per minute, so it's crucial to make sure they remember yours.

The best way to add "stickiness" to your pitch is with a great tagline. A tagline is similar in concept to a hook, but used as the closing statement or "punchline." The tagline is what will stick in your customer's brain and make them remember you even after they've put their phones down.

Creating the perfect tagline is a process all on its own, but once you have it, you have a powerful marketing tool for social media interactions. A quick, simple and memorable tagline can go at the end of a post or even be a hashtag if it's short enough.

Repeat your tagline often, but naturally - there is a delicate balance between spamming and reinforcing your audience's memory.

Prospect your target audience with a quick checklist

While you can't choose who else is riding in the elevator with you, you can choose whose newsfeed your pitch will appear on. With social media and marketing tools, you can make sure your pitch gets to the right audience.

A basic checklist for reaching the right person with your pitch might include:

• Define your niche. What sets you apart from the competition?
• Clarify what you're pitching. Are you selling a service, product or amazing customer experience?
• Recognize and describe your ideal potential customers. Who will benefit most from working with you, and how will they benefit you in turn?
• Identify your customer needs and pain points. What problems can you solve for your customer?
• Define and measure your goals. How will you collect and measure data to determine if your strategy is working?

Remember: successful marketing campaigns do not exist in a vacuum. Outside factors can and will change, and you'll need to stay flexible to reach your target audience.

Prospecting efforts start with a good pitch

While prospecting is generally the first step in your sales process, nailing a perfect pitch can help you keep prospecting. If you find your pitch falling flat with your target audience, you'll know it's time to reconsider and readjust your strategies.

A static plan is doomed to fail. Whenever you're working with living, breathing people, your ability to analyze and adapt your strategies is paramount. Whether your goal is to close the sale or simply find more prospects, utilizing the ideas behind social media pitching will help you succeed - in and out of the elevator.