Elevator Pitch, Your First Step to Success

 

An Elevator Pitch is a 30-60 second, well-crafted speech designed to sell a product, a service, or yourself.  

Well known business author Seth Godin says, "The purpose of an elevator pitch is to describe a situation or solution so compelling that the person you're with wants to hear more even after the elevator ride is over."

With the growth of technology, social media, and instant information, it has become more difficult to connect with other professionals and build new relationships.  By preparing an elevator pitch you put yourself at the ready to build those relationships when the opportunities arise.  

 

 

A good elevator pitch consists of 5 parts:

1.  Introduction

Before jumping in, you need to introduce yourself.  Who you are, perhaps including your role with the company. Remember to keep personal information about yourself to a minimum at this point as you have not earned the prospect's interest or attention yet.

2.  What You Do

Have a clear and simple understanding of what your company does.  Know the company's mission and goals for the product or service.  Briefly introduce this.

3.  What's The Value / What Makes You Different

What does your company do exceptionally well that sets itself, product or service apart from others.  1-2 sentence statement about the value of the product or service to your clients.

4.  Grab Their Attention

Now is your chance to pull the prospect in with an exciting story about a client, company founders or offer a fascinating fact or statistic about the service or product.

5.  What's Next

At this point you're going to have piqued interest and you can show them an example via the app on your phone and setup a time to walk through presentation pro.

Write down your pitch word-for-word.  Start with the 5 part formula, and then tweak it so that it flows naturally.  Keep it short!  The tendency is to ramble ... which guarantees that people will stop listening.  

After writing it out, read your elevator pitch over and over, like an actor preparing their lines.  

Remember to work in adjustments according to the potential client you are speaking to.  When it flows off your tongue, you'll sound confident and conversational.

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