As a small business owner and consultant for 10 years, I live and die from my ability to throw. Pitching is the fastest way to do business when you have nothing. There is also a very real possibility that competition for work will become much tougher. With the millions of newly unemployed people.
Here are my secrets on how to win more seats.
It may not seem intuitive, but you don't really want to freeze people. If you get permission to pitch, you can increase your conversion rates with your list. 99% of all cold pitches look something like this.
Hello Mr. Prospect.
My name is Austin Iuliano, I am a social media consultant. I wanted to tell you about this great new offer that I think you will love. Here is a large text wall about me. But … let me list a number of bullet points so that you can actually read these points.
After reading everything, I would like to ask you to tell me when to contact me.
-Austin Iuliano
I'm sure you've seen this type of pitch before. Aren't these slots annoying when they get into your inbox? Come on guys, let's do better! Try a permission-based lead in pitch instead of doing a straight cold pitch.
Hey (name)
My name is Austin Iuliano, I am on behalf of Josh Marsden from CVO Accelerator. In 2017 you were a speaker for a virtual summit with Josh. I wonder if you are open to helping Josh promote a new summit. The focus of this event is on e-commerce and we would be happy to establish you as a partner to compensate you.
May I send you further information?
-Austin Iuliano
http://austiniuliano.com
As seen on Forbes, Business Insider, CMO Summit
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Let's break this pitch down to the key components.
This pitch is short and can be read in less than 60 seconds like an elevator inclination. It touches the 5 main components to a good pitch. End this pitch with a simple yes, no question, to send more information. Steal this template and get permission to send more information.
Out of 100 parking spaces that I sent to the previous speakers at this event, I received a response rate of over 22%. That doesn't mean 22 people said yes. A no is as important as yes because it crosses out another person to continue with.
My focus was on signing partners and micro-influencers to promote the event. I also had a free hand trying to catch big, long-range influencers. I knew that these "whales" would not register without further incentives and advertise someone else's event. That is why I have concentrated my pitches on what is in them for them.
Here's the exact pitch I used:
Headline: Over 10,000 new email subscribers for virtual speech
Hello (name)
Could you have someone on your team call me to bring you in front of more than 10,000 customers for a virtual conversation?
My number is 555-555-5555
-Austin Iuliano
http://austiniuliano.com
As seen on Forbes, Business Insider, CMO Summit
.
This pitch is also a very simple but effective pitch:
I didn't know these massive influencers and had to chill them. I sent these pitches through their website contact forms instead of looking for their personal email addresses. Website contact forms are tools for lead generation and my offer is a speaking lead. I made it very easy for your team to get a grip on me.
I focused on giving speakers new email subscribers. New email subscribers are new potential customers.
If you follow my advice by starting conversations asking for permission, you will have many prospects. To complete the deals and win the pitch, you have to be great in your follow-up. If you are asked to send more information, follow this format with your pitch.
Here is an example to show you what I mean:
Hey (name),
The Summit Is E-Commerce Unmasked – How To Start, Grow And Scale An E-Commerce Business. So far we have some amazing well-known speakers in the series, like Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income.
Our goal in creating this event is to help those struggling with COVID-19 to build successful and profitable e-commerce businesses. There are many companies that have problems because they do not have the tools and resources that we have available. So we wanted to create something to solve their needs, deliver a lot of value, and at the same time create profit for everyone involved.
Since you were a former speaker at Josh during its last virtual summit in 2017, we would like to offer you the opportunity to be a partner for this upcoming event.
The partner highlights you would like to know:
I have taken the liberty to enclose the full breakdown of this event including the full list of speakers, breakdown of remuneration, relevant dates, etc. If this sounds like something your audience would find valuable, I would love to get it. You started as a partner.
I look forward to hearing from you!
-Austin Iuliano
http://austiniuliano.com
As seen on Forbes, Business Insider, CMO Summit
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If you look at the structure I presented, you can see that I have an attention-grabbing paragraph. I draw attention to myself with a big drop of name (Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income).
From there I sell the idea of this event and why we are putting it together. You have to sell the idea before anything else, otherwise this event is like any other event out there. From there I can go to the key points and sell the benefits to the partner.
I attached a beautifully designed single sheet that I received from templatemonkey.co. I customized for every person I put up. Share your picture that I got from social media or their website.
Finally, we ask you to say yes to be a partner. I want you to show interest instead of sending the login link. This way I get permission again before I go on sale.
Finally the email signature. Email communication can be days apart and you may have forgotten who I was. This simple formula works incredibly well. Use this template and win more seats! I landed 2 whales in less than a week.
Organization is an important key to winning parking spaces. When you're looking for new stores, there's a lot to consider. For example:
There are many tools you can use to stay organized, but I use Hubspots CRM.
In addition, I use an analog system to check my work. Write names on sticky notes on a whiteboard. A redundant system helps you check your progress.
This system also helps me visualize my workload without starting up my laptop. While drinking my morning coffee, I can see who I need to contact and get back in touch.
Let me know what's your secret to getting more places? Let me know in the comments.
Image: Depositphotos.com
