Killer Pitch Master: Precious Williams Shares What Every Woman Must Know about Perfecting The Elevator Pitch
“I was told I was "too fat, too black, and did not have an Ivy League degree." Who did I think I was? I knew that I had to educate, captivate and titillate the masses and through pitching, I did just that! “ Today’s woman dreamer, Precious Williams, is an empowered woman, best-selling author, and public speaker to know. She coaches professionals around the globe on perfecting their elevator pitch. In this inspiring and informative interview, Precious shares her top 3 public speaking tips to women, top 6 public speakers who have nailed the “secret sauce” to pitching, and her next big dream. Enjoy her story!
1) Tell us your story. You have had a dynamic and inspiring career, with your own company, a best-selling author and recent recipient of the Women of Color grant program (through Goldman Sachs, Tory Burch Foundation etc) . What inspired your journey and made you the leading woman you are today? Were there any challenges you faced in your journey and how did you overcome it?
What inspired me to become an entrepreneur was knowing that there were over 40 million women like me who society does not acknowledge are sexy, stylish or fashion forward. I wanted to change the narrative and show these women that there are men and women who desire us and our undergarments should be as pretty as smaller women's. I started my first company, Curvy Girlz Lingerie, because it was time. My biggest challenge in the beginning was that other people including my friends and those in my network truly believed that as an attorney, I did not have the capability to start much less grow a successful intimate apparel brand. I was told I was "too fat, too black, and did not have an Ivy League degree." Who did I think I was? I knew that I had to educate, captivate and titillate the masses and through pitching, I did just that! I overcame that and my own fear, worry and doubt my keeping my vision ever present in my focus. I started pitching my business at pitch competitions and winning most of them hands down! That turned the tides and others started to see that I am the real deal and that there was a large population of women who were not being served. It was darn time!
2) You coach professionals on writing their killer pitch. This is one of the key challenges for all of us, especially as women. What are your top 3 tips to women in writing their elevator pitch?
My Top 3 Tips Are:
1. Own the Stage and Bless the Microphone-any time you are given time to pitch your business, SEIZE it! Approach the stage and/or your audience with supreme confidence and bless them with the power of hearing about your amazing company. Sell it! Don't tell it!
2. Address the Elephant in the Room-Who is this pitch for? Who is the target market and why should they buy your products and/or services from you? You have to speak to them in their own language, make it plain, and address their real challenges and how you are the only choice that matters, PERIOD!
3. Make Your Call to Action SIZZLE-What do you want your audience to do after hearing you? Buy? Check out your website? Go to your lead magnet? Set up a call? Whatever it is, make it plain and clear to them SPECIFICALLY. Leave nothing to chance!
3) What are some of the common blocks/issues women in particular face when pitching themselves? How do you help your clients overcome them?
Some of the most common issues women especially have with pitching is 1. a lack of confidence, 2. being afraid to self-promote and 3. thinking others know how great they are by the work that they do! All of these are WRONG! I help my clients overcome these internal challenges by facing them head on and showing them that visibility plus credibility equals CASH (Dr. Stevii) Their confidence muscle has to be used repeatedly in order to work. They have to practice their pitches, be challenged with different questions and objections and they will get better. We all need to self-promote. As we do good work, we then need to secure testimonials and ask for referrals to keep our client/customer funnels full! It all works together. Finally, it is so important that as you do good work that others champion for you so you got to let them know the successes you are having as well as your clients and customers!
4) Who are some leaders/public figures that you think have mastered the art of the perfect pitch? What do you think is the "secret sauce"?
Some of the best leaders/public figures who own their pitches are
1. President Barack Obama-secret sauce-He knows his stuff and is always thoroughly prepared!
2. Oprah Winfrey-secret sauce-wanting everyone to live their absolute best life, no matter what! She demonstrates that by the people she has around her, in her own speeches and mirrored in her own life. She dreamed BIG and captured it!
3. Sara Bakely-secret sauce-pure moxie, grit and determination. She never took no for an answer and built a multi-million dollar company Spanx!
4. Beyonce-secret sauce-turned trauma, drama, and stress into fuel for her art and music career. She lets her artistry do the talking for her. Seh weathered the storm of being held responsible for her group imploding, went internal and channeled her feelings into being the greatest artist of her generation. SHE IS THE STANDARD IN MUSIC!!!!
5. Serena Williams-secret sauce-unshakeable belief in herself and her dreams. Grew up in Compton california and through her father's training and guidance became the best in the world at a sport that had never seen a black woman dominate decisively for years!!!! Grit!
6. Bill Kurtis-secret sauce-He took his legal career and created an entire network, A&E, which captivated my mind as a teenager. I watched his shows, documentaries and biographies and he taught me how to dream BIG through his eyes! He gave me a new way of escaping poverty through the tales of other successful figures in history!
5) As the platform for women dreamers, what is your next big dream?
My next BIG dream to become a nationally syndicated talk show host. For my company to become the #1 pitch/communication skills company in the US and then the world. 3 To show women, of a certain age, how to give birth to their next beautiful now!!!!!
Thank you Precious for sharing your inspiring story with us. We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!
Bio: Precious L. Williams is a 13-time national elevator pitch champion. She has also been featured on "Shark Tank," CNN, WSJ, Forbes Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, Essence Magazine, the movie "LEAP." Her current clients include Microsoft, LinkedIn, Google, NBCUniversal, Federal Reserve Bank, Intuit Quickbooks, Harvard University, and more. Precious is a dynamic speaker, effective trainer and 3X 1 bestselling author.