You’re at a business function, neighborhood party or industry conference. It’s unavoidable—someone is bound to ask you about what you do. Do you have a snappy, memorable comeback prepared? Would your co-workers describe the company in the same way? It’s not surprising that in organizations small and large, the way employees describe the business varies widely.
What is an elevator pitch? I love how Christine Lagorio sums it up in the Inc. Magazine article “How to Master Your Elevator Pitch”. She writes an elevator pitch is “What exactly do you do, and why should I care?” Sure your elevator pitch should be simple, engaging and short, but it has to leave the audience wanting to know more. So how do you create an engaging elevator pitch?
Keep it short.
More than anything, your elevator pitch needs to be short. Your listeners will form a first impression about you in 10 seconds or less, so it’s important that you gain their attention in the first 10 seconds and continue to wow them for no more than one minute.
Describe who you are.
Within the first 10 seconds, you want to let your listeners know exactly who you are and what you do. Refrain from using industry jargon, as this may confuse and deter your listeners. Let them know who you are and what services you provide in a short and punchy way.
Describe the benefits you can bring.
Now that you’ve grabbed their attention, it’s time to build an emotional bond with your listeners by describing the benefits that you can bring to the table. Tell them what problems your business can solve, and share impressive statistics as long as you can verify them. This is the time to let your listeners know what your business can do for them and why it matters to them.
Share why you’re unique.
Once you’ve lured them in with your emotional bond, it’s time to brag about what makes your company unique. This is time to let your listeners know why they should choose your company over your competitors.
Since you know the ins and outs of your business, this is where you may start to go on and on, but it’s important to remember to keep it brief. Choose two key points that you can share about what makes your company unique, talk about one big achievement, and tell them exactly how you’re different than other companies that may offer similar products or services.
Share your goal.
Sharing your goal is imperative to closing the deal. Use this time to be direct and let your listeners know exactly what it is that you want from them. The more direct you are, the more they’ll be willing to let you know if they’re interested or not.
Having an engaging elevator pitch is essential to your business. By using these tips, you’ll be able to grab your prospects’ attention and hopefully earn some new business. If you’re having trouble creating an engaging elevator pitch on your own, use the HBS Elevator Pitch Builder tool to help you.
YOUR TURN:
Do you have any additional elevator pitch tips? Please share them in the comments section below.
Kathy Steele
Co-founder of Desert Rose Design | Chief Creative
With nearly 20 years of experience in marketing, Kathy Steele leads a firm dedicated to the creation of smart, integrated strategies that drive revenue, create brand awareness and solve business problems.
Kathy has delivered presentations, panel discussions and workshops on the subjects of branding, social media and consumer engagement. She enjoys sharing her take on topics like being an entrepreneur, social media, branding and emerging media.
Connect with Kathy on Twitter @kathysteele or LinkedIn
Good post. You provide very good suggestions.
I have found two things precede and elevator speech that are very important.
I break an elevator speech into three parts:
'1) Introduction -- very important that this gets the person to ask you "What do you do?"
2) A short "Twitter" response -- see if the person is interested in anything perticular
3) Go into an elevator speech once you have captured the person's attention but limit it to 1 minute, if possible.
The first two sounds obvious but I have found people can't even do these two well.
@JayO Jay, thanks for sharing the tips. You're definitely right, very few people can do their pitch well. Practice is the key to success.
Solid and concise tips, Kathy. One additional thought is that occasionally I'll insert an audience-focused (implicit) question between step 2 and 3, something like the following: "It must be tough to keep track of all the technology driven changes in your field today.' Generally, people like to talk about themselves and to feel empathized with. It does lengthen the pitch-time, but it can create some wonderful openings for steps 3,4 and 5.
Panteli Tritchew
@PanteliT I agree. It's best when the conversation has an opportunity to be organic. Learning about the other person is critical to finding the most meaningful way to describe how you can solve a problem for them.
Fantastic tips Kathy! I think that sharing your goals is important because the person that you are meeting may not be a person who will be able to use your service but he knows someone that does.
@bobbiklein Thanks Bobbi! I totally agree. You never know where your next big opportunity could come from.
Elevator pitch tips? I've got a few...but yours are great! LOL Love this article, and it's so important to keep it brief. The HBS model is a little limiting, I think - but a lot of folks are familiar with that site. I believe it's key to create a little more modern conversation, not necessarily a sales pitch - but that's me. Attention spans are short, and that's why it's key to approach the conversation in a way that is concise - and persuasive! I've got a lot of examples of how to deliver a world-class elevator pitch right here: http://www.youtube.com/westfallonline
@westfallonline Chris - you are definitely the expert on this topic. We find that our client programs are much more successful when the entire company is on the same page. The elevator pitch is part of a messaging strategy we feel is critical to reinforce the corporate brand story. Everyone in an organization needs to have their pitch ready. Thanks for sharing your examples!