Pitching to Americans: 3 Strategies for Pitching in Casual Conversations

Do you need to do business with Americans?

If so, then you probably already know how to

pitch your business in a formal presentation.

But how do you do that naturally in a casual conversation?

Well, that's what you'll learn how to do today.

You ready?

Let's go.

Hi, I'm Christina, founder

of Business English with Christina, and I've helped dozens

of companies successfully pitch their products

at professional events in the USA and abroad.

And this video is the third and final part

in a very special series helping you

to deep dive into how to create your personalized pitch.

Okay, so let's get into today's topic

which is how do you naturally

and casually pitch your product, your service

or your company in a conversation?

Now, this is something that I've helped lots

of clients with in the past

because it's something that a lot of people struggle with.

Like, how do I pitch and not sound like, you know

an advertisement in the middle of a conversation?

So, you know, I mean, you know the situation

you move your business to the states

or you attend a networking event to maybe like

like the c e s or South by Southwest.

Suddenly you're having lots of casual conversations

that are actually opportunities to talk

about your business in a natural non spammy.

I don't know if we can say spammy

for conversations a non spammy way in a conversation.

Now, little cultural note, a lot of people

in the United States are really into small talk

or at least it's part of our cultural practice.

Not everybody loves it, but we do it.

And you might be surprised at how open people are to passing

on their business cards at social events.

I mean, I even know a guy, not personally I heard a story

about this guy, but anyway, he said, Hey, I even

bring my business cards to funerals because you never

know where the conversations are going to go.

And you might have an opportunity, Hey, that's his practice.

That's what he does.

But the, the moral of the story is that you just

never know who you will meet at what event.

And it might be a little extreme of like handing

off your business card at a funeral.

But you know, let's think of other unexpected places where

you could pitch your business.

First of all, any place where you are standing in line

if you're at a networking event, a seminar

a professional event, I mean, think of like the line

for registration, the coat check the line to grab a drink

standing in line in the supermarket, all of these places

bringing your business cards

with you because you never know who you'll meet

Now, now that you have your business cards

with you at all times, for example

I'm sure you weren't expecting to meet my cat in this video

but of course she's gonna come

and make her guest appearance anyway

so you've got your business cards with you.

The tricky part is finding a natural and casual way to bring

up your business and drop a quick casual

natural pitch into the conversation if it makes sense.

Now, once you know how

I promise it's not as hard as it sounds

it's a lot easier than keeping your cat out of your videos.

For example.

First, I mean, just start

off like you would any normal small talk conversation.

Say hello, introduce yourself, ask a few questions to

find some things that you have in common.

Eventually there's a good chance

that the conversation will turn to you know

the work that you both do.

But don't start pitching just yet.

As always, with small talk

you want to take your time a little bit.

Once you see that there is an opportunity to bring

up your business and more specifically your goals

for your business, do it this way.

Stay indirect

and don't specifically ask the other person

that you're speaking to if they could use your services

or if they know anyone who can help you right

at this moment in the conversation.

That's a little awkward.

But talk about your business goals

the direction that you want to go

into a project that you're working on

what your business is trying to accomplish right now.

If the person seems interested in what you're saying

then you can go on, talk about it further in detail

and then maybe even like hand them a business card.

Now, obviously, in every single conversation is not

going to be an opportunity to give away your business card

and that's why it's smart to practice small talk often

to expand your network and to

I would say get used to get comfortable

with talking to lots of different people

about what you do and what you're looking for

so that that day that you're with someone who is

like the right person, you're good at it

you feel comfortable doing it, and they see that confidence.

Let's look at an example

of a conversation between two business people.

Let's say they are standing

in line at the coat check at a conference.

Oh, what a great jacket.

It looks so warm and practical.

Yeah, thanks.

It's, it's great for winter storms and traveling.

Okay, great.

So now you have the opportunity to bring

up where you or your conversation partner is from

and this often brings the conversation later

to what kind of work you do.

Oh, do you come from someplace with really cold weather?

Yeah, I'm from Vermont actually.

It's cold, but we have a lot of great skiing.

All right.

From here you can continue finding those connections

by saying that, I don't know

you love skiing too, asking your conversation partner.

If they go on ski holidays, for example, talking

about a story from skiing or from other outdoor sports.

If you don't ski

anything that you can find to make a connection

and to help the conversation naturally move

towards the topic of work.

Oh, I love skiing

but I don't work anywhere near a ski resort.

I'm actually from Martinique.

Ah, yeah.

Then you've got to travel.

Definitely. What line of work are you in?

All right

so this is where you can start talking about your business.

You know, when you've got important information

that you need to protect in a company like your client's

personal information or something like that.

Well, my team

and I design systems to keep that data super safe.

Notice here that you don't have to get

into the specific terms and professional phrases

or jargon that you might use in business.

Like I'm the founder of a startup

or I work in cyber security.

You're talking about what you do.

Let's say in normal people words

the person that you're speaking to may not be

in your line of business at all, and that's okay.

Okay, yeah, no, I don't know anything about cybersecurity.

I let my business partner handle that.

Oh, really?

What kind of business are you

in? Oh, we specialize

in machines to help people manage their sleep apnea.

Actually. Do you have a card?

And of course, you know, if the conversation doesn't finish

with you giving your business card to someone

or even with you just talking about your business

you know that's still okay

because you've practiced your small talk skills

that was a low stakes or a no stakes conversation.

You've made a new contact

and next time you'll feel a little more confident talking

about what you do with people that you've never met before.

And that's how you build up your contacts

you build up your network, you build up your confidence.

And when you can do that

you never know what opportunities are gonna come your way.

Speaking of opportunities, here's one for you.

Did you know

that every month I offer a live free interactive workshop

on business topics and business communication skills

and American business culture?

Totally free if, but you have to be

on my newsletter list to get your invitation.

So if you are interested in attending some

of our future webinars workshops, totally free

but very valuable, go ahead

and sign up to my newsletter email list.

The link is down below this video, and of course

if you don't use it, you lose it.

So here's how you can use what you learned

in today's lesson.

When you think about talking about your business

in casual conversations, do you feel comfortable doing this

or do you feel like maybe you need a little more practice?

And it's okay if you do

but tell me about it in the comments.

And if you've got a question, hey

ask me and maybe I can help you.

And if this lesson was helpful already to you

I would love to know.

And there are three ways I almost lost a finger

there when I was counting three.

1, 2, 3, 3 ways that you can tell me.

Of course, give this lesson a thumbs up on YouTube

subscribe to my channel.

That definitely helps these lessons go

out to more people in the world, and that's why

I make them to help as many people as possible.

So help me help them share the love on YouTube.

Of course, you can go over to my blog

and you can get your ultimate guide

on pitching to Americans if you do business with Americans.

And you can watch this next lesson

which is English for Entrepreneurs, all

about feeling comfortable in networking events in English.

All right, thank you so much

for improving with business English with Christina

and I will see you next time.