You can’t shrink your way to greatness. Not in THIS economy. If your business is “generalist” with a depth of knowledge, skills and services, this article is for you.

The world is complex and fast-changing. Yes, shrinking your products and services to a niche lets you focus on your core competence. You are more sensitive to new tech and new competitors, and what customers want. Being an authority gets you visible on podcasts and LinkedIn.

BUT there is a dangerous downside. AI comes along, or drop-shipping, or a new app that offers your job for free, and you can’t pivot.

Are you a generalist with multiple services, and it’s getting in the way of “niching” your pitch? I have a simple solution. You don’t HAVE to niche your business, as long as you CAN niche your 1-minute marketing pitch!

Each marketing channel has it’s own idiosyncrasies.  Click here to learn about identifying and posting for your LinkedIn niche audience.

Creating a memorable 1-minute pitch

What they remember about you once you walk away, is how you can help them.

• Can you buy from them? Do you need their service?
• Can you introduce a client to them? Are you connected?
• Can you offer a direct service they need?
• Can you do or teach them something useful for free?
• Can they serve an existing client by introducing you [safely]?
• Can they subcontract your services for profit without effort?
• Can they partner with you?
• After speaking with you, do they feel better about themselves, their product and their business?

How to niche your 1-minute marketing pitch for networking

The essence of the 1-minute marketing pitch is to create a simple, intuitive, high-impact message that sounds conversational. It makes your target customer’s heart beat faster, because you are talking about THEM. Their problem, and your easy-sounding solution.

A 1-minute pitch isn’t for every customer, it’s for the customer that has THIS problem.

That’s why you don’t blurt out one specific pitch to every person, as you meet them. First you listen to what they do and who they are. Then you pick your pitch for THIS prospect, and “brand” yourself into their consciousness.

The secret is a SET of effective 1-minute marketing messages to make sure you are seen, heard and understood in an instant, by a specific niche of customer.

• Start here – recognising the 7 emotions behind marketing messages that work

Your 1-minute marketing pitch message should answer:

1. What do you offer？(IMPACT)
2. How will it make THIS listener’s life better? (CREDIBILITY)
3. What should they do next? (ENGAGEMENT)

IMPACT: What do you offer

Keep it simple

Yes, you’ve been told this a million times. You SWEAR your 1-minute pitch IS simple. But if it’s not working for you, it probably isn’t simple enough.

The world is a noisy place, and you need to make a pure, clear sound to be heard.

How can you simplify?

1. Consider your most profitable service
2. Consider the service most people ask for initially
3. Consider the service your favourite clients asked for first
4. Consider your simplest, most easy-to-explain service

If any one service says yes to 2 or more questions, start with just THAT service. 

Try to get your pitch into 5 words. A simple, easy to repeat phrase, in real human language. If it contains “excellence”, “precision”, “customers” or “service”, start over. You are going to sound silly saying words like that in a conversation.

Like a good movie, your 1-minute brand pitch will go through rounds of edits, omissions, revisions and deletions. Sometime actors (i.e. products and services) end up on the cutting-room floor. It doesn’t mean you don’t DO those services for existing clients.  Maybe those services have their own pitch, for specific events with specific kinds of customers. 

What you need to find, is the “foot in the door” niche service that gets you an appointment.

Cut the detail

Don’t try to explain HOW you will deliver. Your intention is good but your timing is wrong.

The reason why you are tempted to explain detail to the client, is because you are trying to answer “why us”.  You want to prove you are more capable than your competitors. That you have the right people, the right attitude, the right software/ hardware/ equipment.

But the client isn’t there yet. He’s still working out what you do! You have sparked him to think about his problem, not your solution.

This is where blindly (or stupidly) confident salespeople have the edge. Confident people assume they knows all the answers. They FEEL like experts. Their empty “hype” builds trust in a client who wants to believe in their solution. “This is an expert in my problem,” thinks the prospective client.

Because you know your industry and business, you also know what goes wrong.  But this is not the time to mention those risks.

Be absolutely precise

Why does identifying a business niche work?  By offering one service to one type of client, the marketing  message is always precisely targeted. You never fall into the trap of a vague tagline:

• “Impossible Is Nothing” (Addidas)
• “Enjoy Better” (Time Warner)
• “Truth in Engineering” (Audi)
• “Be Your Way” (Burger King)

If you think about it for a bit, you can eventually work out how they got to these gloriously vague brand statements.

But you CAN have multiple services, as long as each one has a niche 1-minute marketing message, and you know which one to use.

But your prospect doesn’t have the time or energy to puzzle out what it is you sell. It burns too many mental calories, and they really aren’t interested in your “Why”. Don’t make them work hard to figure out how you help them survive and thrive. 

CREDIBILITY: be authoritative

I hope you are starting to evolve your first 5-10 words that create IMPACT.

Now you have 60 more words to BUILD CREDIBLE CONTENT.

• “Can I trust this person?”
• “Can I respect this person?”

Review my other articles on Marketing here.

ENGAGEMENT: What do they next?

Finish with one simple statement:

In Person: can I have your card.. (never leave the next step to them)

Online: can I have your email address…

1. so I can schedule an appointment
2. so I can create a customized plan
3. so I can email you more information
4. so I can contact you about your priorities