Sales Pitch, Elevator Pitch, Corporate Pitch, Quick Pitch etc. At the end they are all the same.
What is it?
A "pitch" is a quick way to communicate who you are, what you're trying to do, and why you do it better. In Twenty five words or less, in thirty seconds, in one elevator ride, you have to sale your self.
Marketing guru’s say:
If you cannot describe what makes you different and excellent in twenty-five words or less, don’t fix your copy. Fix your company.
Everything is a sale. How much you get paid at your job depends on how you sold and keep selling yourself? If the product is good even better, but a good product or service without a decent sales pitch, marketing, packaging & etc, is not a enough. An Ipod is great not because it is different from anyother mp3 players that existed prior to, but because it was packaged marvelously and marketed brilliantly.
Some people can and will sale you dirt for five hundred bucks. One Thousand Paintings numbered one through a thousand selling at an average price of over five hundred dollars. He has sold over five hundred nineteen of them. Just genius!
Here at Bernos, we haven’t done a good job pitching our product. We do sell thanks to a top of the line product made by American Apparel, which btw sales the blank shirts for 15$ at it's retail stores. But our sales numbers should have been a lot better, thus proving our failure in pitching.
Remember, we are not just selling t-shirts, we are selling memories.
We are lacking in a few areas, we have identified them and we are working on fixing them. If you want to help, please mention as to why you haven’t bought what we are selling! Thank you for all your support!
Published by July 31st, 2006 in Bernos and Design.Send this post to a friend
I ordered my ‘memory reminiscing gear’ earlier this morning, so I can’t respond to your “…mention as to why you haven’t bought…” inquiry at this time. But, you brought up a very interesting point, so I wanted to say something…
First of, you are absolutely right! You are NOT selling t-shirts, you are (if you allow me to rephrase your point) bringing memories back. So, my suggestion is DO NOT TRY TO SELL YOUR PRODUCT. Give it enough exposure that are cleverly designed, and the product will sell itself!
I bought mine, not necessarily because I needed t-shirts, but because I honestly enjoyed your product and felt that it is my OBLIGATION to support my ethnic compadre’. Just remember, I may ask for the same favor from you tomorrow…
Secondly, there is a big difference between a con man and a good salesman! The difference being one does it for the satisfaction he/she is getting from selling a product that he/she really believes in, the other does it for the satisfaction that he/ she is getting for cheating people out of their hard earned money. Here is something that you can bet on; a good salesman will last for a long, long time, while the con man will more likely be done right after his scheme is discovered.
I no longer get WOW’ed by those people who can sell a pound of meat for $100. I now only get amazed by the Sam Walton’s (founder of Wal-mart) of the world that can do their job with perfection day in and day out regardless of the surrounding environment.
So, be a true salesman, and not a con man.
The only suggestion I may have on your product line (I know this can only be accomplished if you have the buying power with your vendor), have several designs available for the consumer. You don’t have to have them available in stock. If your vendor is flexible enough, you can make your product available to your customers on ‘as ordered’ basis. You may have to push on your vendor to get this accomplished.
True success requires believing in oneself…unfortunately the process sometimes takes time…
BELIEVE IN YOURSELVES, AND OTHERS WILL FOLLOW YOU!
You did not “fail in pitching”, rather, you are introducing a new concept to an audience that hasn’t had much exposure to the idea.
Genius like Gates and Dell did not get to where they are at overnight. I am sure their concepts were rejected by the “ordinary man” more than once…
If this topic was posted as another way of soliciting for more sales, I will give you an A+++++ for marketing. You are selling, without selling!
Good luck guys!
BTW, I would suggest that you don’t listen to those “marketing guru”. If they knew any better, they would own the product. I am sure some “marketing guru” sold the concept of making the Ford Pinto to someone!
that picture is not good marketing, you can do better.
To me more choices is the key. Choice of color, choice of “memories”. I love the desta keremela design. Does it come in white/sage green/orange/etc? I was amazed to discover that lots of vendors were in t-shirt selling business at the LA event. I bought some. But some faded and some shrunk. So telling people that your t-shirts are top of the line is important. Keep the great work up!
I bought abebe bikila shirt, indeed the best quality shirt I’ve ever had. I hate cheap stuff
yo Mamo… I dont respect wallmart… they got ahead on the backs of illegal immigrants…
among other things…
I just placed an order for two shirts and will reserve judgement, regarding whether the price equates with the quality, for later on . I do agree with Debulbul that having more choices , be it color or design, will do you some good. Personally I prefer , or shall I say seek, T-shirts with Amharic characters/alphabet. Do you guys have any in the works?
I don’t want to deviate too far off the main discussion topic, so I won’t say much about Walmart. But, as a young entrepreneur, I strongly suggest that you read (if you haven’t already) the book “Made in America” co-wrote by Sam. Please make a note that I said “the founder” not the “company”.
Sam has good things to say about work ethics and inventory control…
One more favor to ask you, next time, please refer me with due respect…I am not “yo mamo”…I am Kilo…Mr. Kilo that is! Or for you people from ‘dega’, that would be ‘Qilo’..
Ye Zare lejoch menem sew ayakebrum….ahahahah
Just kidding…have fun, and peace out!
Now, out to Walmart to buy me that cheap tennis shoes ….ahahahah
Yes, his philosophy, get the cheapest prices for the customer made him the richest man in the world in the 80’s… at the same time he said the customer is always right… thus abused all his employees…to get the cheapest prices in the market…
Well, just wanted to tell you that, your concept is Amazing!!! I really didn’t learn about your product until my trip to LA in July… You need to find a promoters of each major “Habesha” cities and get your products out! Giving away a few t-shirts to those contacts would most certainly help, cause once the people started seeing the t-shirts, they will start talking about it and would inquire where to purchase. The moment I got a hand of few t-shits in LA (Abebe Bekila & Desta Keremela as well as Addis Ababa - Classic), your promotion started on it’s own. I have been asked and complimented on those t-shirts… just by wearing the t-shirts in and around NYC… Specially the “Desta Keremela” was a big hit!!! So, I got online and ordered gifts to send back home to Addis.. You see, that’s where you want to start selling, I know your cost is high, but like they say (Abouara Ke-Addis Abeba neew ye-minesawu) then the word get’s out to Europe, Middel-East and North America… Most of the time your product will advertise for you if it’s made and designed well, and I agree with Dubulbul… your next batch should include Amharic words etc.. Also, I would love to have a choice of colors, women t-shirts so I can by gifts for my 23 sisters.. Just kidding, but you get the idea. Keep up the great job! ~Maki~
http://www.bole2harlem.com
Remember Nolawi, we live in a capitalist society…
”abuse ALL his employees”, don’t you think that’s a little harsh? If you were to ask me, based on my personal observation (hence not a fact), I say immigrants are abused more by other immigrants than by big corporations…at least big corporations comply to the minimum wage philosophy
Let me just say that I love your shirts, and kill this discussion. I don’t want to spoil the fun…
Mr. kilo
why have I not bought a bernos tshirt yet?
I got a friend to hunt and find Bernos tshirts at the soccer fest since I could not be there and sales reps had him wait not on one but two occasions without any shirt… he was ready with cash in hand to buy not one but two shirts but no tshirts…they said that they were not planning to sell at the fest or sumething like zat!
See if I was rocking a Bernos tshirt in my town-T.O-people would ask, wher’d u get that shirt and I’d reply Bernos.org… and I would have made the pitch for ya!
First impression lasts! But I’ll give Bernos another shot!
Nolawi.. I LOVE IT. The date is August 16, 2006 and I am just now seeing this. I am about to purchase a few for me a some friends. But yeah I wasn’t too in love with the buna desta keremela so bring on the different colors (orange beteley). Good luck.
Nolawi…………
I have ordered one of your T-shirts and am I am eager till I indulge myself inside of it. On the other side your concept of diverting marketing along to the demographical perspective is total right. When ever it comes to marketing, the last word is “show me the money” ….oh ye it is the last. Remember what I said; I said just when it comes marketing. But in addiotion to all this marketing process the advertising, expressing personal and social ideology, or beliefe, tourism and so on through the product are the second primary elements after the major primary component which is marketing, of the entire process.
Your post is on target. Keep it up.