How to Create an Effective Elevator Pitch
Ever find yourself having a hard time explaining to others what your company does? Maybe your business is a bit tech-savvy and difficult to describe, or you’re so ingrained in the details, it’s hard to convey to others in a few short sentences. Regardless, there’s bound to be a time (or two hundred) when you might need to pitch your product/service, or even just explain to someone what you do for work. In this instance, having a preplanned pitch is a great go-to for jumpstarting sales conversations, AKA your elevator pitch.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about an elevator speech including:
- What is an elevator pitch?
- When to use an elevator speech
- How many seconds should an elevator pitch be
- How to write an elevator pitch
- Elevator pitch examples
- Elevator pitch best practices
What is an elevator pitch and when to use one?
First things first – what is an elevator pitch? An elevator pitch, or elevator speech, is a short description that explains what your company does – typically in a persuasive manner. The goal of this pitch is to convey your business objections clearly, while also sparking some curiosity and interest.
Now, when would you use an elevator pitch? Most frequently, sales reps and teams use an elevator speech to pitch their product and services. Consider your pitch your go-to way of explaining what your company does, and how it helps others.
Here are some common instances of when you may need to use an elevator speech:
- Prospecting & cold outreach – phone, in-person, video, email
- Recruiting and hiring
- Enticing an investor
- Networking events
- Day-to-day conversations with friends, family, strangers, etc.
While we’ll mainly be focusing on an elevator statement in reference to pitching your company, product, or service – it’s important to note that an elevator pitch can also be used to pitch an idea, project, or even yourself. Anytime you need to persuade someone in a clear and concise manner – cue the elevator statement!
How to Write an Elevator Pitch
Learning how to create an elevator pitch may feel like a daunting task, but it’s actually easier than you might think when broken down into a few simple steps.
Our best advice is to break your elevator speech down into 5 key components. You’ll want to address your company, what you offer, who you help, the common challenge/pain point, and how you help solve it. More specifically, follow this elevator speech structure when crafting your message:
Elevator Pitch Template:
- Your Company Name
- Product / Service
- Target Market
- Problem / Opportunity
- How You Help
Reminder: It’s best to keep it simple in order to get the key information across in a clear, concise, and efficient manner. This is not the time to go on about features, pricing, and extras, instead, just focus on the essentials. A successful elevator pitch will elicit a future conversation where you can go into more details, but before you get there, you’ve got to start with something clear and compelling.
Elevator Statement Examples
If referencing some elevator statement examples helps, here’s what we would consider our elevator statement if we were speaking to someone in a sales department:
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Elevator Pitch Best Practices
Keep it short
Wondering how many seconds should an elevator pitch be? Keep it brief – preferably under 30 seconds. Remember, this is the time to only include the essentials, everything else can wait for future conversations. Keeping your 30 second elevator speech short ensures your audience is fully engaged.
Focus on clarity
Avoid using unnecessary and overcomplicated language in your elevator speech. This can cause confusion, or even worse, give off the impression of talking down to someone. Your best bet is to use simple and straightforward language that isn’t overly wordy.
Be natural
Your elevator pitch should act as a guideline, rather than a script. It doesn’t need to be recited word-for-word and instead should act as a prompt to start a dialogue. You want your pitch to feel natural and conversational, rather than rigid and rehearsed. Likewise, consider your pitch as a guideline rather than a script allows you to adapt it for different audiences and situations, depending on who you’re speaking to and the end goal.
Show passion
When you’re talking about something you’re truly passionate about, a natural energy and enthusiasm is reflected in your tone, body language, and message. Not only is this passion recognizable – it’s contagious. If you’re not excited about your product, why should your recipient be? Speaking passionately will exude confidence, elicit curiosity, and is more likely to persuade your audience.
Use video
Want to perfect your elevator speech? Practice and refine your pitch by incorporating video into your sales prospecting strategy. Videos need to be quick and punchy to capture the attention of your audience and to be effective – much like an elevator pitch. The more videos you create and send, the more comfortable you’ll be with your pitch on the phone and in person.
Start Mastering Your Elevator Speech
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And here’s your cue – start drafting and practicing now in order to master the perfect pitch that gets responses!
