The votes are in and I am extremely proud to present the 1st through 4th place finishers. Thanks to everyone who participated for making this contest such a success.
Without further ado, I am proud to present the 2009 March Madness 'Elevator Pitch' Champions:
- 1st Place: Phil Bernstein of Clear Channel Radio & Online
The Pitch
I'm in the attention-rental business. If you want to deliver your sales message to thousands of prospects at once, I can help you rent their attention -- 30 or 60 seconds at a time.
A word from Judge Rick Roberge
Phil Bernstein's elevator pitch is a good example of ‘walking the talk'. So many salespeople try to do too much too quickly. Phil gives us one line that hooks us and makes us want more. He rents our attention and in a few seconds, and we have to believe that he can teach us to do the same. - 2nd Place: Dan Harding of ConnectAndSell
The Pitch
If you are a B2B sales rep and have experienced the frustration of trying to get to a decision maker on the phone. Now there is a solution for you. It's a technology that can help get the right people on the phone time and time again. In fact you can speak with as many prospects in one hour on the ConnectAndSell service as you would in an entire day of manual dialing. The system is simple to deploy, integrates with most CRM tools, and provides a strong ROI that your organization will benefit from on day one of using the service.
A word from Judge Trish Bertuzzi
I like this pitch because it paints a picture of a day in the life of a B2B sales rep. It uses words to create a kind of video in your head about what it is like to sit down at your desk and experience the frustration of not being able to talk to your prospects in a timely fashion. It also does a great job of giving an ROI example: “you can speak with as many prospects in one hour as you would in an entire day of manual dialing” – who wouldn’t want that? - 3rd Place: Dominic Serafini of Brafton Custom News
The Pitch
Brafton Custom News helps companies increase their visibility online by publishing unique content to their websites, purpose-built to be relevant, engaging for their target audiences, and then helping to drive those visitors to online revenue streams. Brafton helps websites stay fresh & updated, with interesting news content that is found nowhere else online, so it is incredibly attractive to search engines & online visitors alike.
A word from Judge Mike Volpe
I think this pitch is excellent because it focuses on the benefits (increase online visibility and drive visitors to revenue) while still explaining how they do it (publishing unique, engaging content). I cannot tell you how many pitches I get that just tell the "what" and completely ignore the "how". This pitch is clear and concise. After reading it I totally understand both the benefit to me and how it is delivered, so I can easily decide what the next steps should be. - 4th Place: Roger Llamas of Central Desktop
The Pitch
Central Desktop delivers a Web Based Collaboration software (Saas) for progressive business teams to interact, share and manage their daily work activities from anywhere at any time. It's also been designed to serve as a Company Intranet and Project Management tool as well..
A word from Judge Trish Bertuzzi
I love the first sentence in this pitch. It uses lots of visual verbs like "interact, share, manage" so it draws the listener in. The use of the phrase "progressive business teams" is great because who doesn't want to be viewed as progressive? I also like the pitch because it is succinct. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, I don't think they need the second sentence. I think they tell a great story in just the first sentence and should leave it at that.
The Pitch Thanks again to all who entered, all who voted & to the judges. Please join me in congratulating Phil Bernstein and the other contest winners.
Who would you have voted for? Please share your thoughts in the comments.