An elevator pitch is a brief (think 30 – 60 seconds!) way of introducing yourself, getting across a key point or two, and making a connection with someone. It’s called an elevator pitch because it takes roughly the amount of time you’d spend riding an elevator with someone. If you happen to bump into someone you’ve been dying to meet in an elevator, how will you introduce yourself, get your point across, and ask to stay connected—all before that person gets off the elevator?
Here are the steps to work on while you are writing out your pitch. Think of it as building yourself a decadent banana split. There are several steps, all super necessary to the end product. YUM!
First things first. Like I said last time, you are an amazing business owner or employee who is unique in your own way. So, in our analogy you are the glass dish that everything depends on. You are the support system, you hold it all together, and you’ll be there all the way through the pitch and beyond.
Second, take out a pen and paper and think about yourself. Write out your best ONE line that describes you. Who are you? What makes you unique compared to other people? Try to focus on a catchy, creative tagline that makes others want to know more. It can be who you are, an interesting fact or statistic about your career or a conversation starter that you’ve practiced. This is our banana halves we are adding to our foundation dish.
Ex. I help 9th graders discover the magic of books. Or I’m a psychologist-turned-author.
The goal of this banana sentence is to immediately create question-asking opportunities for your listener.
Third, we are going to expand on our first sentence you wrote. What is your mission statement? What problems do you solve? How do you stand out from your competitors—any unique selling points? It can be as long or as short as you need. These are our scoops of ice cream that are nestled in our glass dish, building on the foundation of our banana.
Fourth, we are going to decorate up our expanded section or our ice cream, with a question directed at your listener or a call to action- basically telling your listener what you want them to do next. An Elevator Pitch is usually done within a conversation, so you may want to ask a question of the listener to get to know them better or you could hand them a business card. You are drizzling on the sauce of empathy and topping it with the gentle spray of cream ---- giving the listener a concrete way to contact you so you can connect again.
Last but not least, we want to put that cherry on top of our Elevator Pitch. This is your line that is the WOW moment—something that people will remember when they reflect on their day. Practice your pitch on family and friends—a few hours later ask them what the most memorable line was to them, and you’ll have your cherry.