How to prepare and deliver an effective Elevator Pitch.
You may think an elevator pitch is only suitable for entrepreneurs or your sales team, but from CEO to employee, everyone should have one. Why? Because your CEOS are your organization's thought leaders, and employees can be your best ambassadors. Having an elevator pitch available will make it easy for everyone on your team to share your story effectively.
What is an elevator pitch, and why is it important?
An elevator pitch is a brief and persuasive speech or presentation that describes a product, service, idea, or person in a concise and compelling manner. It is typically delivered during an elevator ride, hence the name "elevator pitch."
The goal of an elevator pitch is to capture the listener's attention and interest, communicating essential information in a memorable and impactful way. It's a valuable tool for entrepreneurs, job seekers, and anyone who needs to convey their message quickly and effectively.
How to write an elevator pitch.
Here are the components of a successful pitch.
Introduce yourself (name & role)
State the problem your company/business solves.
Who will benefit the most from your solution?
How does your company, business, product, or service solve the problem (your offering)
Where can the person you are talking with find out more information, connect with you, purchase from you, or book a follow-up (call to action)
Don't limit yourself to just one elevator pitch. Instead, have multiple. Use the various pitches depending on where you are, whom you speak with, and what action you want your audience to take.
For instance, investors, new talent, or potential customers will all need a slightly different pitch. You will still introduce yourself, but the part of your story you will tell and call to action will depend on the situation and interests of your audience.
If you are an employee, your elevator pitch may be to tell your company's story and send them a link to your website to learn more. You may also direct them to a specific person or group of people where they can get more information.
Here are some tips on how to prepare and deliver an elevator pitch that gets the desired results.
Being prepared will help you deliver a successful elevator pitch. You will be able to identify someone interested in your solution, have the confidence to share your brand's story, communicate your message in an inspiring and convincing way, discover the opportunities to connect with the right people, and finally, make it easy for them to take action.
Do your homework
Research the event, who is there and what the event is about. If you can see who is attending and there is a specific person you want to meet, do some homework before the event. Gather insights on that person to help you understand what information they may want to hear about. LinkedIn is an excellent place to start.
Write your Pitch, including variations.
Have at least one Pitch available and write it down. Practising it ahead of time can also be helpful. Also, consider creating multiple variations of your Pitch for different people. Rarely is an event just filled with one type of audience. For example, a business event may have clients, investors and talent attending.
Prepare marketing materials, even a special promotion if relevant
Work with your marketing team to ensure you have the materials needed for your event.
For in-person events, make sure you have business cards. If you are attending a targeted event, such as a specific industry or interest group, you may also want to prepare specific marketing content. For example, you could write a relevant e-book, a sale, or even a contest.
Adjust your pitch to include a call-to-action to the promotion. Make it easy for them to find it. For in-person events, you may want to provide them with a printed handout with further instructions and possibly a link or QR code to get the information. If it is a virtual event, have the link handy to drop it into the chat. If you want to track the results, you can create a bit.ly trackable link or UTM. You can learn more and create your UTM links here: Google - UTM link builder.
Deliver your Pitch
Find out first whom you are speaking to so you know what Pitch to offer.
Speak slowly & clearly
Make eye contact
Smile!
Believe in yourself - it will come out in your tone & delivery.
Don't 'read' your Pitch, but follow the script - have it memorised.
Leave time for them to respond & listen, really listen.
Take your offline, online - beyond the Pitch.
For in-person events, open your LinkedIn app so you can share your QR code if the opportunity arises. If you are in a virtual session, have a copy of your Pitch and all the links needed available. The essential link is your website or blog. If you want them to connect with you directly, you may want to share your LinkedIn profile link, scheduling link and email.
Follow up & track your results.
When someone reaches out, make sure to follow up. Review the results from your event and build on that. Take note of how many people were at the event, the types of attendees, how many people you spoke with, what pitches you delivered, and your responses. As an employee, follow up with your team when you return from an event or provide a pitch to an individual. As an entrepreneur or employee, if the event was part of a marketing campaign, follow up with the marketing team to give them feedback.
Remember, it takes a while to develop your elevator pitch. Put it out there and see what works, reiterating as needed.
Want to test out your elevator pitch? Join one of our GRWE events.
GRWE - Get Ready with Entrepreneurs - is a group of like-minded entrepreneurs interested in sharing ideas and best practices. We meet weekly to discuss various digital marketing, social media, and entrepreneurship topics. It provides a chance to learn, support each other, and network. These are free for anyone to join. Also, through the GRWE member portal, there are a variety of resources, including recorded sessions, templates, blogs, a member directory and more!
