Developing influencing & pitching skills

Influencing and pitching skills EAN Elevator Pitch

CEO, The Careers & Enterprise Company Claudia Harris CEO, The Careers & Enterprise Company Create an elevator pitch of no more than 30 seconds explaining what impact your Enterprise Adviser Network will achieve

Who are our priority stakeholders? Employer & school stakeholders

Identifying the needs & drivers of stakeholders In your groups, identify the needs and drivers for your school and business stakeholders. Please consider: Explicit Implicit Contextual Objections to overcome Our offer

Researching a business Targeting from cold Preparation What to expect at an exploratory meeting Follow up

Stage 1: Researching a Business Source a Company Name Check others’ knowledge of the company Google! Visit company website Check Linked in Look up specific job roles Ascertain the company email address format Ascertain right contact and initial interest Consider next options for targeting

Stage 2: Targeting from Cold Business / lead is cold Fish for interest Confirm initial interest Work to convert interest to curiosity

Stage 3: Exploratory Meeting 1. Build credibility First impressions Assess and adapt Demonstrate your knowledge 2. Explore their interest Questions questions questions What are they asking you – and why? Recap and tailor pitch 3. Address objections Barriers Handling objections Decision maker? 4. Call to Action The call to action Follow up De-brief

CEO, The Careers & Enterprise Company Summary Claudia Harris CEO, The Careers & Enterprise Company Tailor our approach to the stakeholder Preparation Listen Understand Needs both Implied and Explicit ‘Yes’ Seek an action from the meeting

Stakeholder scenarios Scenario 1 Alex, Deputy Head of Dowdenville Academy has signed up to be part of the Enterprise Adviser network after meeting their local Enterprise Coordinator at an Education Conference locally. The EA, Deputy Head, Careers Lead and EC have met once but now the EA has hit a brick wall and isn’t receiving any communication back from the Deputy Head or Careers Lead. This is a meeting between the EC and Deputy Head, to help progress the relationship. Scenario 2 The LEP Chair recently met the Chief Executive of CedeCo Plc at a recent LEP networking event and has brokered an introduction to CedeCo’s HR Manager; Robin. Robin, is not aware of the Enterprise Adviser Network and this is an exploratory meeting to see how both parties might work together.

Stakeholder scenarios Scenario 3 The Enterprise Adviser has fed back that the business contacts that he brokered for the school, to support a recent work inspiration session, shared some very negative feedback about how they were treated by the school. Chris, the Careers Lead is unaware and the Enterprise Coordinator has organised a face-to-face meeting to have a conversation and address the EA’s concerns. Scenario 4 Jo, Founder of NatuMine micro-business has meet the Enterprise Coordinator at a local FSB networking event and has expressed an interest in supporting the local school but is conscious of the amount of time the team can spare. This is an exploratory meeting to see how you may work together.

Practising your pitch In your groups: Pick one scenario and think about what you hope to get out of the meeting. Please consider: The needs of your stakeholder Objections to handle Questions you may ask Rapport building tactics (5 mins) You then have 10-15 minutes to have a discussion with your stakeholder. You will then receive feedback from your stakeholder (5 mins)

Stephen Isherwood, CEO Association of Graduate Recruiters