What is an elevator pitch?

An elevator pitch sounds a little silly but is a really useful tool.

An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that it can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride ( for example 30 seconds or 100 - 150 words). Wikipedia

Do you have something short and succinct ready and prepared for when you are networking or phoning a client? Are you satisfied with it? If you are not quite clear what you are really about or what your business does for others how can people understand what your business does?

For some businesses it is easy, I sell mid century furniture and am the only retailer in the North West, is pretty clear. The client knows not to ask you for a Victorian Chaise Longue.

For others it can be confusing especially when starting out and not entirely sure of the concept. So people do get in a muddle and leave the person they are talking to a little confused. This is particularly hard at a networking meeting where the purpose is to make contacts which are useful or inspiring.

In developing an elevator pitch consider some of the following:

1. What do you most want the listener to remember about you? Are you the cheapest, best, certified, approved? Do you have an award? Are you the newest or the only one on the market? Consider any of the above and more. 


2. How can you add value to your listener? Think about why someone would buy your product, your key results or the impact of your services. What will be their return on any investment they make with you or your product? Don't stretch the truth here or make vast claims, you want to be credible. 


3. Your unique selling point. How are you different from others in the market? What do you give which is better or has a unique benefit to your listener? Are you different to any other product or service and in what way? Think about the conceptual aspect of what you are saying and concentrate on bringing that to life. 


4. What is it you want from your listener? Are you there to sell? What are your immediate goals? What is the time frame for the conversation? Your listener should understand what it is you want and how to take the conversation forward. Remember this is the start fo the conversation.


Finally practice your pitch out loud and make sure it is refined where needed. Time it and get feedback from friends, family or a mentor. Make sure that people understand it and that you are clear. Write it down and analyse it, consider any repetition and the word count, look for jargon and make sure you are really clear.

Here is an example:

SalesLogix is a software company and has developed a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that is both easier to use and more powerful than existing solutions like Act and Siebel.

Existing CRM solutions fall into one of two categories. On the one hand, you have Contact managers like Act that salespeople love but that do not allow people to share information across a large organization. On the other hand you have high-end CRM systems like Siebel that scale to support the needs of hundreds or thousands of users but that salespeople refuse to use. The result is that too many organizations are unable to...

Coordinate their sales and customer service teams 

Obtain a holistic picture of the customer 

Maximize the revenue gained from each customer

In contrast, SalesLogix delivers the best of both worlds...

The affordability and ease of use of a contact manager The scalability, database synchronization, and reporting capabilities of a high-end CRM system

The SalesLogix team has over 75 years of combined experience in the industry and is led by Pat Sullivan, the co-founder and former CEO of Contact Software International, the original developer of Act.

SalesLogix is seeking $5 million to finance the continued development and marketing of SalesLogix 1.0, which is scheduled to be released in April 1997.

This could be subbed down into one sentence for certain occasions:

SalesLogix is a software company and has developed a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that is both easier to use and more powerful than existing solutions like Act and Siebel. 

Then to a tagline:

SalesLogix is the first true CRM solution that's as easy to use as Act. 


Many thanks to Chris O'Leary and his great book Elevator Pitch Essentials.