When to Use an Elevator Pitch
Some people think that this kind of thing is only useful for salespeople who need to pitch their products and services. But you can also use them in other situations.
For example, you can use one to introduce your organization to potential clients or customers. You could use them in your organization to sell a new idea to your CEO.
Creating an Elevator Pitch
1. Identify Your Goal
Start by thinking about the objective of your pitch.
For instance, do you want to tell potential clients about your organization? Do you have a great new product idea that you want to pitch to an executive? Or do you want a simple and engaging speech to explain what you do for a living?
2. Explain What You Do
Start your pitch by describing what your organization does. Focus on the problems that you solve and how you help people. If you can, add information or a statistic that shows the value in what you do.
Ask yourself this question as you start writing: what do you want your audience to remember most about you?
3. Communicate Your USP
Identify what makes you, your organization, or your idea, unique.
To highlight what makes your company unique, you could say, "We use a novel approach because unlike most other developers, we visit each organization to find out exactly what people need. Although this takes a bit more time, it means that on average, 95 percent of our clients are happy with the first beta version of their app."
4. Engage With a Question
After you communicate your USP, you need to engage your audience. To do this, prepare open-ended questions (questions that can't be answered with a "yes" or "no" answer) to involve them in the conversation.
You might ask "So, how does your organization handle the training of new people? How does your business meet the printing demand it currently has?"
5. Put It All Together
When you've completed each section of your pitch, put it all together.
Then, read it aloud and use a stopwatch to time how long it takes. It should be no longer than 60 seconds. Otherwise, you risk losing the person's interest, or monopolizing the conversation.
Then, try to cut out anything doesn't absolutely need to be there. Remember, your pitch needs to be snappy and compelling, so the shorter it is, the better!
Example:
Here's how your pitch could come together:
"My company develops mobile applications that businesses use to train their staff remotely. This means that senior managers can spend time on other important tasks. Unlike other similar companies, we visit each organization to find out exactly what people need. This means that, on average, 95 percent of our clients are happy with the first version of their app. So, how does your organization handle the training of new people?"
6. Practice
Like anything else, practice makes perfect.
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