Imagine you’re at a conference, when your dream client joins you in the elevator. She asks what you do, and you dash off a one-sentence explanation. She lights up and says, “That’s exactly the help I’m looking for! I have a million-dollar budget, and I’m ready to start hiring for the project. So how can your company help me?”
Do you have an impressive elevator pitch ready? Would your response sparkle with uniqueness? Would you glow with confidence while reciting it?
If not, that’s understandable – and you’re not alone. It isn’t easy to take the time necessary to tumble the rough stone of an elevator pitch into a polished gem worthy of admiration…a pitch so stellar it practically guarantees you’ll arrange that first meeting before the elevator doors open.
Here are some suggestions for polishing your pitch into that perfect little attention grabber:
- Explain what you do – describe what your organization does, what it’s really good at doing, and consider adding information or a statistic that proves the value in what you do
- Share what makes your company special – what is your unique selling proposition?
- Engage with a question – for example, “How does your organization go about training new employees?”
- Keep it to 20 seconds – to avoid losing your potential client’s interest
- Polish, polish, polish – just when you think you’ve got the perfect pitch, let it rest a few days, then return to it prepared to edit and tighten further
- Practice – the perfect pitch is only as good as the delivery, so practice until you’re completely comfortable with your pace, tone and overall presentation
For examples of bad elevator pitches, click here to learn what not to do.
For samples of good elevator pitches, click here to see what people did right.