Firstly, pitching takes imagination, effort and practice. There is no shortcut or magic potion. However, there is a process that works providing you stick to the right order. As a financial adviser there are two areas where you might find yourself needing to pitch:
- Social Pitch – this is generally short and explains who you are and what you do
- Prospect Pitch – this is your Social Pitch expanded when you are prompted to do so by your listener. It is your full pitch, which you must be ready to deliver when an opportunity exists to acquire a new client.
Whether you are pitching to an audience, introducers, or potential new clients, your pitch should consist of five main points. Pitching is a straightforward and efficient way to introduce you, your experiences, the financial problems people face and, most importantly, your solution. When you know how to best pitch, you will be happier in life and in business. As a financial adviser, it’s one of your most powerful assets.
Your pitch process should work in order from one to five. In full flow it should take no longer than four minutes and could be as short as two. The content depends on you and how you want to make it work, but it has to be engaging, enticing, enlightening, encouraging and energising. So from here on in, practice your pitch. Do not provide your official job title a your answer, as if filling out a passport application, but instead provide a progressive answer, thus allowing your pitch to further engage your audience.
Engage – clarity and authority:
Make sure you make it clear to your listener who you are and why you’re worth listening to. You could state your experiences, explain your qualifications, cover any notable achievements or mention a respected friend who may have introduced you. It should be succinct.
Entice – explain the problems people face:
If there’s no problem, there’s no business. However, as an experienced financial adviser you know there exists a savings gap, and that is a problem. Generally, people do not save enough or early enough. Equally, there exists an inheritance tax (IHT) gap. The wealthy do not gift enough or soon enough, and that too is a problem. In general, you could say there is an advice gap. Therefore, explain to your listener the reason you became a financial adviser. It is not because you thought you could make loads of money, it is because you want to ‘change attitudes and help people to understand the importance of saving, investing and gifting’.
Enlighten – explain your solution:
Impart your advice strategy for solving these savings and gifting problems. Describe your process and methodology in providing solutions along with the benefits and outcomes. Educate your listener on your insight.
Encourage – offer your services:
Have your audience understand what they should do to seek your advice and to bridge their own advice gap. Be clear about their next step and why. Financial advisers who end their pitch with a request for a no obligation meeting, connect with more clients. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Energise – drive their emotion:
Don’t finish on a flat note, instead end with a story about another client you successfully advised, where they were and where they are now. Generate their excitement and people will be encouraged by you. People can only remember so much first time, but they will certainly remember the way you left them feeling. Be sure to deliberately leave your prospects feeling confident.
It is all about engaging with your listener by clarifying who you are, what you do and providing authority to your subject. Practice makes perfect. Write down twenty pitches and test them in a mirror. Try them out at the next event you attend and review your attempts, then improve them. Eventually, you will have a pitch that will encourage conversation about what you do, why you do it and who will benefit.
