elevator pitch Archives - Page 2 of 2

“I work for a non profit.”

May 15, 2012 by Erica Barnhart

Dan Pallotta's ad campaign to get people "over" overhead.

The topic of renaming the non profit sector came up a lot at the Washington State Nonprofit Conference last Friday. That’s because Dan Pallotta, author of Uncharitable and shaker-upper-of-all-things-traditionally-nonprofit, gave the keynote. He’s the guy who pointed out that, in Latin, non profit means “non progress” and that that’s a pretty lame name for a group of people hell bent on making progress on a better world.

While we continue the hunt for a better name for the non profit sector–one that might actually stick so people would actually change behavior and stop saying it–I’ve got a suggestion.

People who work in the for profit space don’t say, “I work for an S-Corp/C-Corp/LLC/etc.” They say, “I work for a bank.” or “I’m in IT project management.” or “I build websites.”

Why do those in the ‘for purpose’ space, as Pencils for Purpose Founder Adam Braun would say, start with, “I work for a nonprofit. We [insert blurb about what you do]”? Why do we feel compelled to preface our answer by clarifying our tax status?

Taking out the tax status reference would be a giant step toward being known for what we do and why we do it, rather than how the IRS refers to us.

That can only be good, right?

Elevator pitch – Door opener or Deal closer?

April 13, 2012 by Erica Barnhart

Earlier this week, I made the case for having a good Elevator Pitch. But let’s be honest: creating an elevator pitches can be stress-inducing. It doesn’t need to be! Watch this short video for tips on how your nonprofit can open more doors with a simple elevator pitch.

Elevator pitch – Door opener or Deal closer? from Claxon Marketing on Vimeo.

Death of the Elevator Pitch?

April 10, 2012 by Erica Barnhart

Dan Roam, Blah, Blah, Blah, book — Are you blah, blah, blah'ing?

Last week at the Nonprofit Technology Conference (#12NTC), Dan Roam showed how non profits could draw their way to communications success.

He gave new meaning to “show and tell”!

In Roam’s new book, Blah, Blah, Blah, he posits that the person–or organization–who can best describe a problem is in the best position to solve it. This should give us all pause. Consider how much time we spend trying to fix things vs. making sure we’ve clearly identified the most important things to be fixed…makes you want to bust out a marker and hit the whiteboard.

Here’s my beef: Sauntering on up to a whiteboard, or whipping out a napkin with pictures on it, isn’t a practical substitute in certain instances.

Envision with me, if you will, the following: You’re at the airport waiting for your flight. You strike up a conversation with another waylayed traveler. After awhile, your new-found companion asks: “What do you do?”

There’s no whiteboard to be found and passing him or her a napkin that shows what you do would be downright awkward!

Let me be clear: the case Roam makes is that we need to get our visual and verbal minds back in balance. He’s advocating that we flex our visual mind muscles more than our verbal muscles for a spell to get them in shape. Our verbal mind has been honed, shaped and forged through years of school and testing. Our visual mind, not so much. (At no point on any standardized test are we graded on our ability to draw an answer to a problem, right?)

I agree 100% that using our visual mind to better define problems yields superior results to relying solely on words.

That doesn’t mean you stop fine-tuning your elevator pitch.

Here’s what I’d recommend: Use the visual grammar that Roam teaches in his book to define the problem you’re tackling. Then do the word+picture combo to articulate your unique approach to solving the problem. Then come up with a word only version you can use next time you’re stuck at the airport or a cocktail party or networking event or…you get the point.

Do we overuse words? Yes. Are we often sloppy with our words? Yes. Are they still useful? Yes.

If you’re intrigued by visual thinking, read Roam’s book. See how you can apply it to your mission, your work, your cause.

Marketing Main Street

July 29, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

Yesterday, I joined 13 of Washington state’s Main Street Managers in Mt. Vernon. Our task was to figure out how each could engage their communities in the unique awesomeness their downtowns offer.

At most trainings I do, each organization has a different Belief Proposition. In this case, they shared a common one–a belief that downtown revitalization leads to lasting, positive economic impact.

That’s what made it so interesting when we started working on messaging. It was tempting to think that since they believed the same thing, they could talk about that belief in the same way and have it be compelling in all communities. Not so!

Since each downtown was so unique, their messaging had to be as well. Here’s a smattering of the Lean-In Lines (otherwise known as Elevator Pitches or a response to the question “What does your organization do?”) the participants created (or at least a close proximity based on my recollection):

We’re leading the charge to make downtown THE place to be!

We’re helping our community rediscover downtown.

We energize small business and celebrate our small town charm.

We bring Meeker Days and so much more right to the downtown core. (Note that this also rhymes which makes it fun to say and easy to remember.)

All are about downtown yet not about any ol’ downtown–THEIR downtown. The lesson: frame your messaging in a way that highlights what’s unique about your organization and what’s most compelling to those you need to engage in your mission.

This group of dedicated, fearless Main Street mavericks made me pine for a Main Street in my (not-so-small) town that was as amazing as theirs. To find a Main Street community near you, check out the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation’s handy listing of Main Streets around the state.

Pitching Inspiration

April 29, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

For the last four years, I have the great good fortune of teaching in the University of Washington’s Certificate in Nonprofit Management program. Earlier this week, we had the ‘2011 Pitch-Off’, which meant five student groups gave an elevator pitch for this quarter’s organization of choice, the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Sure, it was a class assignment so they HAD to do it. But they didn’t just come up with something to stick in a “good enough” box. They went beyond. They inspired.

They encouraged us to think about music as a window to the soul. They connected the dots between discipline, focus and orchestra as community. They dazzled us with the idea that when you put instruments into a child’s hands, you tune their minds and hearts. They introduced the concept of an air violin–which a young boy played for a month because there was no money to fix his real violin. They challenged us to think of what our world would be like without music.

They could’ve simply blah blah’d about the features of the orchestra–that it’s the oldest and largest in the country. Or they could’ve enumerated its strengths–number of students, number of orchestras, number of performances. Our heads would’ve been choc-o-bloc full. But if a nonprofit doesn’t connect with someone’s heart, they are unlikely to inspire them to take action.

In his post today, Carrots and marketing to the poor, Sasha Dichter proclaimed: “Benefits don’t sell.” That might be true if you’re trying to market shampoo in the developing world, but it’s not true if you’re trying to engage mission-minded people in your cause. (No offense to Sasha who writes one of the most on-point, thought-provoking blogs in the social sector, in my humble opinion.) The two B’s–beliefs and benefits–matter a lot. Together, they speak to both our hearts and our heads. It’s a matter of aligning what you and those committed to your cause believe with the benefits they care about most (and that you presumably offer) in a way that is clear and compelling.

In the Pitch-Off, students found ways to nestle the benefits the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra has to offer (endangered instrument program, anyone?) into what we believe–that music lessons are life lessons.

Tuesday I was reminded of why I love teaching so much–it’s because I get the privilege of learning. I learn way more from my students than they could ever learn from me. It’s humbling.

Hats off to all the students–especially those brave enough to stand and deliver–for speaking to our hearts…and then our heads. You pitched inspiration. Well done.

Being human

April 25, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

April’s theme is elevator pitches–the good, the bad and the ugly. So when we gathered for our monthly Meet-Up, we talked about just that. What to say, how, when, tone of voice, words, meaning. We covered all that. But when you get right down to it, what we talked about was being human.

Here’s what I mean.

We spend so much time crafting pithy, punchy responses to the question, “What do you do?” that they end up feeling contrived. Robotic automatons are not engaging. No offense to C3Po, but robots aren’t generally inspiring. They don’t make us want to ask follow-up questions. If they inspire anything, it is efficiency, i.e. how quickly can I get through this conversation and move on. You’re human. Play to your strengths!

Here are some tips we covered for being more human when you’re getting a conversation started:

Remind yourself that an elevator pitch is a door opener, not a deal closer.
Don’t call it an elevator pitch. The term conjures up visions of grinding metal, gunky buttons and cloying perfume. Call it your snappy one-liner or your lean-in line or something that makes you smile and want to say it.
Talk about a specific person that benefits from your work, not the millions that could potentially. For instance, if you work with orphans in India, talk about Rajit, a five year old who has lived in an orphanage in Delhi since his parents died of AIDS two years ago. Your listener can relate to Rajit. He or she can’t relate to the 31,000,000 orphans living in India. It’s too big. Contrary to popular opinion, bigger isn’t always better.
Draw comparisons we can wrap our brains around. Make it easy to visualize. For instance, if you work to end water-related illnesses say, “We’re on a mission to end water-born illnesses. Why is this so important? Because more children die every day from these preventable diseases than live on Bainbridge Island. Imagine if Bainbridge just disappeared. It happens every day. And it doesn’t have to.” Pick a town close to where you live or, ideally, where your listener lives. I can visualize Bainbridge Island disappearing and it’s shocking.

What’s your compelling why? Do you make it specific, relative and human?

Elevate Your Elevator Pitch

March 28, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

On a recent Wednesday, I spent the day working with 10 different non profits. This was an opportunity for them to work on their most pressing, aggravating, ulcer-inducing marketing challenges.

Guess what topped the list? Elevator pitches. 9 of the 10 identified their elevator pitch as a trouble spot. This didn’t surprise me too much since elevator pitches come up a lot under the heading of ‘things that we know are important, cause us consternation and yet we wish we could just ignore’.

What was striking was that most organizations were struggling with the same thing: diving right into what they do vs why they do it. We’re human: we’ve gotta get the why before we care about the what.

Let’s do a comparison:

Example #1: We provide clothing, scholarships and other services to people in need.

Analysis: It’s technically accurate, yet vague and uncompelling. It’s also a mish-mash that doesn’t quite make sense, i.e. I don’t expect clothing to go with scholarships, so I’m not likely to remember exactly what they do. It’s also passive because they used the word ‘provide’. Never good and always avoidable.

Example #2: Do you remember being a teenager? What you wore mattered, right? It still does. Yet a lot of low-income kids have to wear clothes that make them feel embarassed. That’s why we’re on a mission to make sure all kids feel cool when they go to school. If you have the chance, stop by our Thrift Store and you can see what I mean.

Analysis: Does this tell you everything the organization does? Nope. But it gives you a taste of what they do and, more importantly, tells you why they do it. And then it takes you to a place you can easily remember–the awkward teen years–so you can feel the importance of what they do without having to think about it. Emotion is memorable and compelling.

If you believe what they believe (i.e. if you’re someone who would rank high on their Belief-o-Meter), you’ll ask questions and learn more. And that’s what an elevator pitch is all about: starting a conversation. It’s a door opener, not a deal closer.

For more tips on elevator pitches, check these out:

10 Elevator Pitch Tips for Non-Profits from the More Donors blog
How to Write a Great Elevator Pitch for Your Nonprofit from John Haydon
Made to Stick by the Heath Brothers (Not about elevator pitches, per se, but excellent fodder if this sort of thing is on your mind.)

Are you stumped by your elevator pitch or do you have one you love?

Make ’em lean in

February 16, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

Bootcamp Week #7: Top-Level Message

(this week’s vid)

Your answer to the question, “What does your organization do?” should make someone lean in. Actually, physically lean in. Or, depending on the listener, they might raise their eyebrows. Or tilt their head to the side while making a little ‘o’ shape with their mouth.

You get the point.

If that doesn’t happen, revisit the other points on the roadmap because you’ve either skipped one or not dug deep enough to come up with a top-level message that does justice to your cause.

Yesterday, I judged 14 teams at University of Washington’s Global Social Entrepreneurship competition (GSEC). Three of the 14 made me lean in. One of those three, Sanergy, made me lean in AND laugh. Although all three were fantastic, that’s the one I remember. That’s the one I still want to know more about.

This Week’s To-Do

Try it! Say your top-level message to as many people as possible. Start with co-workers, friends and family. Then move on to others. Keep track of who you say it to and how they respond.

Next Week

Making your message resonate with Supporting Messaging by Audience. (It’s more exciting than it sounds.)

About Claxon’s Nonprofit Messaging Bootcamp

This is week #6 of our Nonprofit Messaging Bootcamp. If you’re just joining the Bootcamp, here’s what you need to do to get started.

Download the Nonprofit Messaging Roadmap,

Sign up for our free Tune-Up Tuesday videos,

Complete messaging to-do’s outlined for you each week on our blog, and

Get caught up by reading posts from Week #1, Week #2, Week #3, Week #4, and Week #5!

January Tune-Up Tuesday Re-cap: The Nonprofit Messaging Roadmap

January 18, 2011 by Erica Barnhart

In January, we held our monthly Tune-Up Tuesday meet-up at The Hearing, Speech and Deafness Center in Seattle where we reviewed the Messaging Roadmap and discussed how to relate it to participants’ organizations. Below is a re-cap of our lively discussion.

(Note: This month we also presented at AFP Washington’s Martini Mondays where we discussed the Top 5 Nonprofit Messaging No No’s. This re-cap includes some questions and concerns about nonprofit messaging that came out of that presentation as well.)

Common Questions and Concerns about Nonprofit Messaging

What is the basic difference between a tagline and an elevator pitch?

A tagline is read not said.

An elevator pitch is said.

What is the difference between how we’d write a mission statement and how we’d write top-level messaging?

Most mission statements (but not all!) speak to the what and the how. Top-level messaging relates to the why and speaks to the hearts of your audience.

Note: There is great value in the process of creating mission and vision statements internally. To develop great messaging, you need to go one step further. Take the work that goes into creating your mission and value and make it compelling.

When we try to do messaging, it gets picked apart and everyone has a word to add.

That’s why we discourage messaging by committee! Messaging is about what your target audiences want/need to hear, not what internal stakeholders want them to know. This is a tricky, and important, distinction to make.

How do we convince our board to see the value of marketing and messaging work in particular?

First of all, don’t use the word Marketing. Marketing and Fundraising are part of an engagement continuum. Marketing is critical to any organization that wants to engage new supporters and retain current ones.

Even within our Fundraising Department, we say different things. How do we get on the same page?

Many organizations have departments that work in silos. If you are in Fundraising you may find that your major gifts team isn’t on the same page as your general fundraising team, for example. Getting people to the point where it’s about the audience perspective is key. Start by writing a job description for your fundraising team (see this post for more on this idea) – including the role of your major gift officers – showing how everyone has a piece in accomplishing your goals. Remember: Your audience doesn’t care about your silos; they care about how they can support what you’re doing.

How do we get our messaging shorter and more impactful?

Often we have the tendency to speak to the what. We lead with what we do instead of leading with what we believe. If you are in Microfinance you could lead with “We believe poverty can be eradicated. Microfinance is a powerful tool that can help us do that.”
Ask your supporters what resonates with them using surveys or focus groups…or just pick up the phone and do a quick, informal check-in! Asking those further away from the day to day work will often speak to the why of what you do. (Plus, it’s a great cultivation tool!)
Be careful not to pack your everything into your messaging. Often, board and staff are nervous about leaving something off. It feels really uncomfortable to not talk about everything.

Our current messaging is just not resonating. What should we do?

First, start by going back to the why (Point A on the Messaging Roadmap). You need everyone in your organization to come to an agreement on an answer to the following questions: Why do we exist? What would be different in our community if we didn’t exist?

How do you talk without jargon?

Every year, Lake Superior State University publishes its Banished Words list—make sure to avoid these! In the end, speaking to your audience’s heart is the key. Turn statistics into stories. For example, if you’ve been around since 1850, how many generations have you helped?

Handouts

Messaging Roadmap
Messaging Framework

Nonprofit Messaging Resources

Watch AFP Washingon’s Martini Mondays Nonprofit Messaging No No’s.
Subscribe to Nancy Schwartz’s Getting Attention Blog.
Participate in Claxon’s 9-Week Nonprofit Messaging Bootcamp! (Here’s how to get started: 1. Sign-up for Tune-Up Tuesdays Video Series, 2. Read our blog starting with Week #1 of the Bootcamp and 3. Sign-up for next month’s Tune-Up Tuesdays Meet-up in Seattle.)