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.

National Stress Awareness Day

Tomorrow is National Stress Awareness day and it seems a good time to reflect on what causes people in business stress.

Obviously starting a business is stressful, indeed being an entrepreneur is stressful but we often put a really brave face on things because we are aware that success is important.

There are times though in any business where changing economic factors, downsizing or even growth need to be addressed and these can all cause stress. It is stressful to manage the expectations of employees and staff can create numerous problems not least for those who have never managed a team before.

Business mentoring and coaching can be the key to having someone support you through some of these challenges. Having someone who can unlock your potential and work through problems in a confidential setting makes every problem in business a little less stressful.

Tackling work related stress is essential for both your own well being and that of friends and family and in order to ensure the performance of your business.

Think about some key factors which may be causing you stress and how to factor in some support or make a small change to decrease the stress in your workplace.

Here are two frequent examples which come up in mentoring our businesses at CBPartners.

Overwork - Consider your hours and whether they are reasonable or even necessary. Have you had a holiday this year? This may be a chance to review your time management and prioritisation of work, it may mean cutting out unnecessary tasks or delegating appropriately. Keeping a time diary for a week can often be helpful in seeing where we waste time unnecessarily during a day. Looking at our colleagues, direct reports or partners in business with fresh eyes can also help us see where they could help and do something which we have always done making the workload a little lighter. Ask yourself what will happen if overwork contributes to you becoming ill and start to think of ways to prevent this happening.

Poor performance - Improve recruitment and selection processes in order to make sure staff are well matched to their jobs and that performance is good from the start. Manage poor performance and look at the reasons why people may not be doing as well as you had hoped. Ensure they have the right resources and skills to get the job done and identify any further training needed. Encourage employees to discuss issues with you and give you ideas for improvement. Review performance regularly and keep staff informed about the direction of the business and any changes. Make sure you have good disciplinary policies and procedures and follow them, dont take short cuts. Consistent behaviour in managers is really important.

Some companies tackle stress head on and some wait until it is too late and there is a rise in sickness and absence. This will cost the business money. A stress audit can be very enlightening if you think there is little around and can be done through informal chats in groups or with individuals to find out if there are any concerns about stress.

For sole traders and small businesses stress can be internalised due to isolation and so getting to meetings with others in similar situations is really helpful. There are a number of free forums run by CBPartners where networking and meeting others goes hand in hand with a masterclass or information for business.

Please contact us on 01254 505050 if you would like any mentoring or coaching in these areas or wish to come to one of our forums for employers or our HR forum.