Develop An ‘Elevator Pitch’ And Tell The World About Your Business
September 26, 2009 by Reba
Filed under Blog, Hot Topics, Internet Basics
Over the years I’ve heard many business authorities talk about the benefit of preparing an ‘elevator pitch’ for your business. I never much cared to write one, much less deliver a ‘pitch’ in an elevator of all places, so I didn’t participate. For heaven’s sake, an elevator is not a place where you want to talk to other people, right? Aren’t we all supposed to fixate on the numbers as they change when moving from floor to floor?
All kidding aside, what I didn’t realize is that developing an ‘elevator pitch’ is not so much about where it’s delivered as much as it is about knowing what your business does and being able to tell others. It’s about taking your company’s main focus out of the obscure recesses of your head and putting it into words for the world to hear. Come to find out, doing this isn’t always an easy task.
When the ‘time’ presents itself, and it will present itself, having a memorized ‘elevator pitch’ for your business will help you communicate what your business does and you won’t have to worry about going off on a long-winded, disjointed, tangent. In fact, a well constructed ‘elevator pitch’ helps others quickly decide whether or not they want to know more about your business. And the fact that you know exactly what to say when that ‘time’ presents itself, gives you a distinctly higher possibility of having your audience want to know more.
One thing I learned while writing the ‘elevator pitch’ for this website is that summing up what your business does is not all you will gain. The process of writing the pitch actually helps you realize what the one most important thing is that you want your customer to know about your business.
What is an ‘elevator pitch’?
An ‘elevator pitch’ is a succinct summation of what your business does. It should be easy to understand and should take no longer to deliver than it takes to ride an elevator to the top of a short building. It should be delivered in such a way that it excites the listener and entices them to want to know more.
How do you write an ‘elevator pitch’?
- Do not use a cookie cutter template that is easy to find on the internet. Make your pitch unique and give it personality.
- An ‘elevator pitch’ is not a sales pitch. Do not allow it to sound cheezy.
- Your pitch must be easy to understand by anyone, even your grandmother. Do not use acronyms or industry jargon.
- The core of your ‘elevator pitch’ should convey benefits to your customer. This is where you should explain why your business is unique and better than your competitors.
- Ensure it is no longer than 30 seconds. This will drive you to focus on what’s most important about your business in the eyes of your customer.
- Lastly, memorize it, rehearse it, inject passion, confidence, and personality.
Delivering your ‘elevator pitch’.
- Practice it, and then practice it again, and then again and again. Out loud in a mirror. Determine how it will be different when delivering it to different audiences and practice it some more. Get to the point where it rolls off your tongue naturally.
- Get over any apprehension you may have about ‘tooting your own horn’. Delivering an ‘elevator pitch’ about YOUR company is all about telling how YOU will deliver.
- Speak at a pace that shows calm confidence. People can be put-off when you speed through a rehearsed speech. Make sure it sounds natural.
- Remember the first rule of sales – ABC – always be closing. Give your speech to everyone, don’t save it for only those you think are customers, you never know when a potential customer is sitting at your table or…standing in the elevator with you.
An effective ‘elevator pitch’ is designed to give its audience enough information that they will know what you’re talking about and then have enough interest to want to know more. It should not overwhelm, intimidate, or make the other person feel dumb. And it should not be so detailed or long that they tune out.
Here’s version 2 of my elevator pitch for Internet Marketing Boomer and I still think it needs work, actually, a lot of work:
“I help internet business owners find success online by explaining and teaching online marketing concepts through the articles I post on Internet Marketing Boomer. I do that by examining, reviewing, reporting and recommending internet marketing knowledge products as well as writing about how to set-up an internet business and website, how to drive traffic to that website, and examining the different options people have to make money online. Basically, with what I write, I help internet business owners find the information they need to succeed online.”
The tag line I’ve developed for my ‘elevator pitch’ is:
“Helping internet business owners find the information they need to succeed online.”
Keep it concise, to the point, and easy to understand. Deliver it with passion, confidence and personality while keeping it shorter than an elevator ride up a short building. Do all that and you will have an ‘elevator pitch’ that not only helped you pinpoint what your business does but will allow you get a lot of people interested as well.
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“a long-winded, disjointed, tangent” is sure-fire recipe for disaster in any business promotion exercise. A well-planned, well-constructed endeavor- an elevator pitch, as you term it, is the highly recommended alternative.
The elevator pitch idea is a brilliant way of presenting issues. No company can afford otherwise.
This concept of an elevator pitch is an innovative one. Truly, too much verbosity and desultory talk meandering away, leads nowhere.
Knowing your business like the back of your hand and being able to its nuances to others effectively is the first step to a profitable business.
A thorough knowledge of your own business is the primary first condition in ensuring the efficacy of a sale pitch.
Interesting indeed. I have never come across the elevator pitch idea before. but it certainly does seem interesting. I’ll just look around for more information. Thanks. Cheers
The elevator pitch has gained fame with entrepreneurs who need to quickly tell their story to prospective investors. “Give me your pitch” is a common phrase among angel investors and VCs. If you’ve used part of your other 8 hours to invent something or start a company, don’t be caught off-guard
“It should be easy to understand and should take no longer to deliver than it takes to ride an elevator to the top of a short building.” I’ve heard about killer sales pitches, but never the elevator pitch – but I like it
Your elevator pitch is more important than a business plan or executive summary. In fact, with a good introduction and elevator pitch, you don’t really need a business plan or executive summary.
I wouldnt go that far and say that with a good elevator pitch you don’t need a business plan. but there’s no doubt that the “elevator pitch” is one of the most important things a business could use.
I would… it’s really important
Without it you seriously couldnt succeed.
It’s very useful to develop sales arguments for different audiences and I have to admit that I still encounter widespread lack of understanding of Enterprise 2.0 among top management. The term may be “a little tired” in our circles, but C-level executives often don’t have the faintest clue what Enterprise 2.0 means.
I’ve been on the other side of the less-than-perfect pitch, too. At a conference, a young businesswoman approached me to introduce herself and her Web-building services. She was eager and confident, but after a few minutes of hearing about her competitive pricing, her creativity, and a few of her clients, i was quite impressed with her work..
thanks
“Helping internet business owners find the information they need to succeed online.”
Quote above motivating me to do great steps…. Thank you so much for posting this post…. Success for all of you here…
the elevator pitch and tell is very effective. My mom has tried that for her business before. Her business was organic body care.. Now, she has transferred to making furniture.
will allow you get a lot of people interested as well >> This is our GOAL, make people feel satisfy, isnt it?
internet business owners should try elevator pitch for Internet Marketing Boomer
people satisfy is our passion, people should interested with this technique
It’s a great idea, an elevator pitch! Though I have to admit: I’m running a small business myself and I’m way too down-to-earth to sell myself like that.
This is really well-done! A nice primer for anyone doing a business pitch. Very good article on how to craft a strong pitch.
i like this site.. have a lot of information…. these type of sites always magnetize me to post comment…i like business that why it very helpful for me thanx alot
I believe the name was actually coined from the idea that we sometimes meet the important people in our lives in elevators. The odd situation we encounter in most elevators is that nobody speaks to or looks at anyone else, and yet we have a captive audience for that short period of time. Very few people are ready to interact in case someone does speak. The idea of an “elevator speech” is to have a prepared presentation that grabs attention and says a lot in a few words. What are you going to be saying? By telling your core message, you will be marketing yourself and/or your business, but in a way that rather than putting people off will make them want to know more about you and your business.
i like this site.. have a lot of information…. these type of sites always magnetize me to post comment…i like business that why it very helpful for me thanx alot
I just finished a new summary description (marketing types call it elevator pitch) for our product initiative code-named Genesis and also took a few new screenshots. Let me know how I could improve the description to make it easy to understand for people without previous knowledge about Genesis.
On a more serious note, a key question that often came up for me was how does someone go about selecting a debt collection service when they need it? In the case of our story all three of the business owners we interviewed were located in one small town, they grew up together as kids, their parents know each other and they all went to the same high school and college together (it sounds impossibly idyllic, no?). So, when it comes to the delicate issues of how to handle problem customers these guys were all starting on the same page and understood what’s at stake and approached each account on an individual basis.