To catch the attention of prospects, advisors need to get rid of their elevator pitches and take a lesson from Hollywood, according to Rob Kochel, vice president, Invesco Consulting, who spoke Tuesday at an event in Markham, Ont. hosted by Invesco Canada Ltd.

“Everybody’s been beating the drum on elevator speeches since 1988,” said Kochel. However, elevator speeches don’t actually work because you never actually have three minutes to talk with people and people don’t want to hear about you.

Instead of an elevator pitch or value proposition Kochel recommends advisors craft a logline. “A logline is the short, compelling pitch that sells the movie,” said Koch. Originally, the logline was written on movie reels for archiving, he said, but is now used by advertisers, TV Guide or Netflix to describe the movie to potentially viewers.

Kochel offered these tips to craft an interesting logline for your business:

> Find the answers
Peak a prospect’s interest with a logline that answers four simple questions.

• Who specifically needs what you have to offer?
• What do they need and want?
• What are the obstacles in their way?
• How can you help them overcome their obstacles?

One example Kochel gave that answers all four questions is an advisor who helps retirees invest efficiently by eliminating overvalued and underperforming stocks in their portfolios.

> Keep it short
You won’t have much time to answer all of those questions so be succinct when speaking with prospects.

Loglines should be 15 words or less, said Kochel, any longer and you will lose your audience.

> Make it your own
Craft a logline that sounds like something you might actually say to someone.

“The problem with unique value propositions sometimes is that they don’t sound like you,” said Kochel. “[The logline] has to sound like you.”

For example, Kochel spotlighted an advisor who works in a rural area who said she helps clients by “pulling weeds from their portfolios.”

> Add a little secret sauce
To really grab a prospect’s attention the logline needs to be descriptive and a little provocative, said Kochel.

For instance, instead of simply saying you work with investors, say you work with “select investors” or “underserved investors.” Or, when describing what obstacles your clients face, you might say you help clients whose “portfolios are under attack” or people facing “financial storms.”