About 15SecondPitch

What We Are About (Biz Profile):

A Brief History of the 15SecondPitch™

In late 2001, Laura Allen and Jim Convery saw many of their friends and colleagues struggling to find work and wanted to help. While attending numerous business networking events they noticed that many people had trouble concisely explaining what they did for a living and what they were looking for in a future opportunity. This seemed especially true for the legions of recently dislocated tech workers they encountered. In addition, most people Laura and Jim met at these events either had no business cards, or mass-produced "free" business cards that did nothing to highlight their individuality or draw attention to their unique abilities.

Laura, an admitted extrovert and a fixture on the New York networking scene before during and after the bursting of the tech-bubble, had by then honed a no-nonsense style of introducing herself and explaining what she was looking for. Jim, a database consultant with a background in psychology, was interested in identifying the essential elements of an effective pitch and creating a method anyone could use to improve their own pitch. One thing that was obvious to both Laura and Jim was that a good pitch had to be short; even the classic "elevator pitch", typically 1-2 minutes in length, was clearly too long-winded for an informal introduction. In a world of ever-decreasing attention spans, less was definitely more.

What followed was several weeks of brainstorming and experimentation to identify the elements of a compelling and informative personal introduction, during which time Laura and Jim attended and hosted many networking events, putting their new-found principles into action. Feedback on their new technique was so positive that they created a new name for it, and a website to go along - and the 15SecondPitch™ was born. The 15SecondPitch.com website was first launched in the fall of 2002.

Our Products/Services:

The 15SecondPitch™ Professional Pitch Training package provides a comprehensive approach to building an effective personal marketing message. Over the course of five 1-hour telephone sessions, 15secondpitch.com co-founder Laura Allen will help you uncover your hidden strengths and turn them into the centerpiece of a confident and effective personal brand. Sessions are tailored to your specific needs and goals with a strong emphasis on developing and perfecting your pitching skills.

Session 1 - You and your business (1 hour)
How and why you started your business
Where you are with your business right now
The primary goals you want to achieve with your business
Session 2 - A Pitch for Every Niche (1 hour)
What your niche is (or what it could be if you don't have one yet!)
Ways you can dominate your niche and be the "go to" person in your area of expertise!
Which areas of your business to focus on in order to fully service your niche
Session 3 - Creating and/or Refining your 15SecondPitch (1 hour)
Crafting a 15SecondPitch that you will absolutely love
Practicing your pitch so that if flows easily and sounds authentic
Making sure your pitch includes the four key elements every successful 15SecondPitch must have
Session 4 - The Power of the Third Party Pitch (1 hour)
The secret of the Third Party Pitch: how to empower others to sell your product or service for you
How to create a successful Third Party Pitch and use it to get the right kind of new clients
Session 5 - Selling Without the Sleaze (1 hour)
How to build your self confidence in any sales situation
How to calibrate your technique for different types of sales
How to sell deeper to your existing client base