How to use the AIDA schema to construct your pitch

‘AIDA is an acronym used in marketing and advertising that describes a common list of events that may occur when a consumer engages with an advertisement.

• A – attention: (awareness): attract the attention of the customer.
• I – interest: of the customer.
• D – desire: convince customers that they want and desire the product or service and that it will satisfy their needs.
• A – action: lead customers towards taking action and/or purchasing.

Using a system like this gives one a general understanding of how to target a market effectively. The above quote is from AIDA (Marketing)  Many of you have heard of, and some may use AIDA in marketing and in selling. While AIDA is commonly associated with the advertising industry in generating a response – it is also a powerful method for delivering a face to face pitch. Here’s an example of how I’ve used AIDA in pitching a workshop. Attention: ‘Consider this. What if you could have a voice that always seized attention? What if you could have a voice that kept attention – even after you had been speaking for some time? What if you could have a voice that made people want to act on your proposal? Interest: There is a process to help you get those things. You voice can be improved, and in the competitive marketplace, a voice that gains and maintains attention, can give you an edge in winning business. Desire: I have a one day workshop entitled Developing a voice that sells. The workshop is limited to just six participants. The workshop will kick-start your new ‘vocal career’. It will make your voice sound new to you – make it sound fresh again, and make it command attention. Action: The workshop will be conducted on x of y. See me after this presentation to be one of the six people to take advantage of this opportunity to sharpen your voice and boost your business development. How you speak and use your voice is one of the most important skills of your business development career. This workshop will help you maximise the potential of that skill.’ Your CALL to action/HOW to apply for this post: Reflect on the AIDA process and how you might adapt it to your business development actions. Trial your adaptation of AIDA, first in safe interactions/environments, and note the results. Check out this post on how poker playing can help your speaking