Step 2 to Build a Better Business – Create Your Elevator Pitch

Posted on Jun 18th, 2009 in 30 Steps to Build a Better Business, marketing and branding | 2 comments

When you work for yourself, you don’t have the huge marketing budget that a larger more established company has. Most of the time your advertising and marketing is accomplished through the in-person interactions and conversations you have while you’re out and about. Your response to the question, “So, what do you do?” is your chance to leave a lasting impression, to initiate a more in-depth conversation, and to establish some sort of rapport with the person asking. In some respects, it’s the very first sale you make to a prospective client or referral.

A good elevator pitch should accomplish all of this, plus it should be easy for you to remember and to say on the spur of the moment. If you don’t already have an elevator pitch, now’s the time to create one.

Make Some Notes.

First, take a few moments to think about your business and what benefit it provides. Try to think of the benefit as if you were a customer of your business, not its owner. Once you’ve given that some thought, jot down some phrases that would complete one of the following sentences.

“You’d be interested in talking to me because I can… (enter reason here)”

“You’d be interested in my business (or product) because it can…(enter reason here)”

Dumb It Down.

Next, review the phrases you’ve created. Are there a lot of flowery words in there? Any jargon or industry-specific terms that would make the average person glaze over or scratch their head in confusion? Get rid of them. Use basic, simple language that anyone can understand.

Trim It Up.

Now that you’ve taken the big words out, make sure that your statement isn’t excessively long. Ideally your elevator pitch should be one sentence. If you’ve got several sentences or a paragraph, cut it out. Literally. The intent of your elevator pitch is to get someone to ask you a follow-up question or to engage in additional conversation. That’s when you’ll have the chance to give more details and information.

Add Some Allure.

You definitely want your elevator pitch to be fact-based, but that doesn’t mean it has to be just a statement of the facts. One of my clients was in the business of designing and installing custom closets. When asked what he did, he would say, “I design and install custom closets”. Certainly nothing wrong with that. It provides the facts about the business, right? But if you were riding in an elevator with someone and you overheard that, you ‘d probably think, “Oh, that’s nice,” and might be hard pressed to remember the encounter. We tweaked his pitch just a little and came up with, “I help people improve their lives by getting rid of their clutter.” It still gets to the essence of what he does, but there’s an allure to the statement that’s more likely to prompt a favorable memory or response.

Remember, the purpose of the elevator pitch is not to close a deal or make a sale for your product or service on the spot. The purpose is to sell the idea of your business and why it’s something that the listener would be interested in hearing more about.

If you have a partner or employees, they should memorize your company’s elevator pitch too. You can brainstorm on a different, but related elevator pitch for each person or use the same elevator pitch for everyone.

Related Posts

1. Step 10 to Build a Better Business – Find a Few Good Friends
2. Step 8 to Build a Better Business – Go on a Blind Date… With Your Ideal Customer
3. Step 20 to Build a Better Business – Talk With Your Customers
4. Step 29 to Build a Better Business – Get Some Free Press

Sage Small Business Solutions provides inexpensive infrastructure solutions for small and microbusinesses. If you're interested in improving your small business, or implementing techniques discussed in this article, find out how Sage can help.

2 Responses

1. Nick says:

   January 10, 2010 at 2:40 pm

   This is where I have been screwing up lately, even though I know how important it is.

   The reason for that is I wasn’t 100% clear on what I actually did…as dumb as that might sound a lot of people don’t…I’m no exception. I’m improving that though.

   By the way, it was awesome meeting you at WordCamp.
2. kisha solomon says:

   January 21, 2010 at 11:42 am

   Hey Nick – it was great meeting you too. I struggled with the same. But the more I talked to people and tried out different approaches, the more clarity and comfort I got.

   Thanks for the comment!
   k

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