Written by Kimberly:
In the business world, you may have to interact with potential customers and investors in your company’s goods or services in order to successfully sell your product. An interaction that serves as an introduction to you and the business you represent is the elevator pitch.
An elevator pitch is a quick statement that you, a representative of a business, share with potential customers in order to make a strong, effective impression of your product on them in a short span of time. This duration should take 20 to 120 seconds, which is as long as an elevator ride from the first floor to the top floor of a building.
Elevator pitches are important because they serve as an introduction to you and whatever you’re proposing. It can be used to inform or convince your audience to act on something.
An elevator pitch can be about anything, from sales-related topics to job interview pitches. Oftentimes, elevator pitches are used in the context of entrepreneurships and new business ideas. Usually, you cannot have media, such as flashcards and electronic devices, with you while presenting.
An elevator pitch should include:
What your business makes/does
What customers you serve
How you plan to make money
What makes your business stand out compared to others offering similar services?
Why your company will succeed.
Your ultimate goals for your business.
You must be consistent: have one message and one story.
What Makes a Strong Elevator Pitch?
An effective elevator pitch gets people interested enough to want to know more about your product. If someone requests a follow-up meeting to discuss the topic of your pitch, it has succeeded! Make sure not to overwhelm the listener with too much information, since you only have a minute or even thirty seconds to impress your audience. Thus, you must deliver a clear and concise message. It is important to know your audience and their specific wants and needs.
Starting with something catchy, such as a rhetorical question, picture, (short) story, or any exciting information can gain interest from your audience. Describe what makes your idea unique by stating goals, solutions, and the vision that points out the benefits for customers.
Overall, a strong elevator pitch should be concise, clear, compelling, credible, conceptual, concrete, customized, consistent, and conversational. These components are known as the 9 C's:
Concise: contains as few words as possible, but no fewer.
Clear: concepts should be understood by everyone, including elders and children.
Compelling: explains why you are qualified to see the problem & build your solution.
Conceptual: stays at a fairly high level and does not go into much unnecessary detail.
Concrete: specific and tangible.
Customized: addresses the specific interests and concerns of the audience.
Consistent: conveys the same basic message.
Conversational: rather than being to sell something, the goal of an elevator pitch is to just begin a conversation or have dialogue with the audience.
Starting Your Elevator Pitch
To start your idea, what people are you looking for, and what skills should they have to make your product stand out? Every business startup needs a developer, artist, marketer, system administrator, and legal advisor.
Managing Your Pitch Time:
Introduction (include your name and company) - 15 seconds
Problem you want to address - 45 seconds
Your Vision - 45 seconds
Requirement(s) for a solution - 15 seconds
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