create an Elevator Pitch

Turn Conversations into Sales Opportunities

Create a confident introduction for any situation

Your Elevator Pitch turns conversations into sales opportunities. It gives you an introduction for any situation, and includes informaton about you, what you can do for the listener, and a call to action to move forward should there be a flicker of interest from the listener.

The pitch will give you a confident introduction for any situation, fomal, casual, business or social. Anywhere you speak to people: networking events, exhibitions, conferences, meetings.

Whenever you are asked: What do you do for a living? - You will have the perfect answer, prepared and practiced and ready to use.

The sales training on this page will help you create the perfect Elevator Pitch...

What is an Elevator Pitch

The elevator pitch originated in the USA as a quick and effective way of communicating the important parts of an introductory business message.

It’s called an elevator pitch because the communication technique could be used in a very short space of time, such as an elevator ride.

It's a short, memorable description of what you do and what you can do for the listener. The objective of the pitch is to motivate the listener to take an action, usually to agree to a meeting, give their contact details, or another action at the very start of the sales process.

The Elevator Pitch is not a sales pitch, it's an introduction...

CONTENT OF YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH

Who you are

If you haven't already given your name, do it at the start of your introdcution.

Your position in the business, or title, may support your introduction by showing you as an expert, a stakeholder in providing a successful outcome, or a person with knowledge. If so, include it in the introduction.

You are not selling your product at this stage, you are trying to get their attention and interest, so get to a benefit line quickly.

A quick introduction of who you are then move to the benefits you can offer...

The benefit for the listener

How will the listener benefit from taking the call to action in your Elevator Pitch.

This is the hook, the attention grabber, this is where, in one or two lines, you explain what you can do for customers and how they can benefit.

Focus on the outcome, what the customer gets, how their life or their business is improved. Include a practical, tangeable benefit or highlight the emotional results they will feel.

This is not the place to go into detail or give multiple examples of what you can do. When we create your Elevator Introduction Pitch later you will choose the short presentation of what you do and what they can potentially gain. The explanation of what you do should only be enough to indicate how you provide the benefits.

The key focus of what you do, is the benefit the listener can gain...

The call to action

The Elevator Pitch call to action is where you gain agreement the listener will take the step towards gaining the benefits you have presented in the previous stage.

You have introduced you, and given the briefest of descriptions of what you do, and you have presented a hint of what they could gain. In your call to action should be a very clear action for the listener to take and a question to gain agreement to the action.

Avoid vague actions that are left in the control of the listener, for example: Here's my card, if you're interested give me a call to arrange a meeting. The listener will have forgotten you within 5 minutes and you will not get the call.

Wherever possible, the action should be in your control. You get their number and call them, you send information by email and follow up, you arrange a meeting for an initial conversation. Whatver it is, you should be the one taking the action.

Many people have a great pitch with an introduction and engaging benefits. But a weak call to action means the prospect never enters the pipeline.

Let's create your Elevator Pitch in 3 easy steps...

Create Your Elevator Pitch

Step 1 - Introduce you

Select the information you want to include: Your name, obviously.

Does your position or title give the listener any valuable information or support your pitch? If so, include it.

Add any other, brief detail but only if their is a reason to do so.

Put the selected information together in short lines. Write it down and remove any redundant words, Reduce it to its bare minimum. Look at any superlatives and decide if they are necessary. Rearrange the words until it sounds the way you want it and the message gets straight to the point.

Step 2 - The benefits

Write a list of potential benefits for use in your pitch.

Select the one that will grab the listener's attention and give them a motivating reason to take the call to action.

Then add a brief line that explains what you do to provide the benefit. Don't be tempted to cram in more features and information on what you do. The listener isn't interested. They want to know what they may gain and the line on what you do is only there to support the claim you can provide the benefit.

I suggest you present the benefit first and then what you do to supply it. The benefit is what they are interested in, present it first.

Step 3 - Call to action

Tag a question on to the lines above that clearly gives what the next step is and gains agreement from the listener to take it.

There is no need to make it a big question demanding a decision. You are simple saying:

I am...  and introducing yourself.

I give people this solution, benefit, or feeling by doing this...

We can meet or discuss, I can send you information, or a sample, or maybe a trial.

Shall we arrange that?

The last line could be a request for a number, a date for a meeting or call, their email address, an invitation to your showroom or whatever the next step in your sales process is.

Improve Your Elevator Pitch

Practice your pitch, get comfortable with it, and make it work for you.

Consider what you generally do for customers. Do you provide solutions to problems, fulifil needs, or help people achieve their desires? Build this into the benefits section of the pitch.

Work on your call to action, make it a natural step forward with no pressure. Maybe a way to learn more with no commitment, or a demonstration.

How long should your introduction pitch be?

Too long and you lose the listener's interest. Too short or quick and you haven't grabbed the interest.

So how long should an Elevator Pitch be?

30 seconds is a good guide, maybe 45 if the service or product is complicated.

Match needs to benefits and features