“Tell me in 30 seconds Why Talking with You for 5 Minutes will Make Me More Money”
Courtesy 20th Century Fox
“Tell me in 30 seconds Why Talking with You for 5 Minutes will Make Me More Money”
By Steve Lamont
Back in the greedy 1980s, around the time of Gordon Gekko from the movie Wall Street, I saw a TV profile of an obnoxious businessman who answered the phone every time with the phrase: “Tell me in 30 seconds why talking with you for 5 more minutes will make me more money!” He said he answered the call the same way every time, even if his mother called. The TV show portrayed him as a bad person and emblematic of everything that was wrong with the 80’s.
Looking back though, he made a good point. Perhaps he overdid it, or perhaps he was just too overt. But I think he offered a lesson that is valuable for startup founders. The lesson applies to raising money, enlisting partnerships, selling to customers, and attracting great employees.
When founders pitch to investors they have about 30 seconds to compel them to listen to the next 5 minutes of the pitch. When founders reach out to prospects or potential business partners, they have only a 30-second email introduction, voice mail request, or chat with a call screener, before they get deeper access to pitch to the person they are trying to reach. Even when founders pitch to VC partners and their staff in the VC office, it is not surprising how many times the VC partner excuses him or herself 5 minutes into the pitch to “take an important call”, and never returns.
The bottom line is that real life for startups is more like the 1980s “greedy” businessman than we might want to admit. How should founders use those 30 seconds to “set the hook” and keep the attention? The key is to open with substance important to the target audience, including:
Make it about the audience, rather than the founder. How is the message relevant to the target? The audience is less concerned about the origin story or how the startup needs money now.
Tell them how they are going to make money. Will it be a winning investment with a likely 3X return? Will it enable them to grow revenues by 10%? Reduce costs 20%?
Say what is unique about the company. How it stands out from others. Why it is important now.
Keep in mind the goal is to get the audience to want to hear more, not to close the deal on the spot. It is not necessary to cover all the points in the introductory 30 seconds, or even in the 5 minute expanded version. The objective is always to move them along to the next step.
So before founders make that next pitch, place a phone call, or send the email to a prospective investor or customer, they need to think how they will make the most of the introduction. How will they encourage the audience to want to go to the next step?