In a nutshell, an elevator pitch is a complete overview of your business. As the name implies, it needs to be delivered in the time in which it takes to complete your average elevator ride. It's both one of the most straightforward and most powerful marketing tools for small business owners.
When delivering an elevator pitch, your goal is to be short and to the point to entice your prospect into wanting more information about your business. The length of your elevator pitch may vary, depending on your business. However, typically you'd want to be able to deliver your elevator pitch naturally without rushing in 40 seconds, or less.
Writing Your Elevator Pitch.
An effective elevator pitch is more than just sharing information about what you do. Instead, your goal should be to convert them to a lead so that they want to learn more about your business. That being said, instead of saying, "I'm a digital marketer", you might want to consider saying, "I help businesses get more done with their marketing efforts, in less time, to earn more profits". Most small business owners who heard that would likely want to know how they could make more profit by doing less.
Let's explore a six-step process to help you craft your first elevator pitch:
Who are you? Jot down one sentence about yourself. For instance, you may want to introduce yourself as a consultant to small business owners.
What do you do or offer? Refer back to your mission statement and product/service listing as a guide, and write a sentence or two about the daily operations of your business. If your offering is geared towards time-saving methods, briefly state how your strategies are implemented.
What problem do you solve? You need to identify the value which your business offers customers or clients. Ensure that you don't only list your features, instead, rather translate them into benefits.
How are you different? This is where your USP or unique selling proposition can be used as a guide to write about what sets you apart from other businesses who are in your sector. Maybe you've had relevant experiences and had to overcome them, or perhaps you have a unique strategy.
Ask a question. Generally, elevator pitches are delivered in face-to-face scenarios, i.e. at elevator or networking events, which means you'll need to be social and engaging when conversing with your prospect. An excellent method of involving your lead is by asking a question which directly relates to your lead and your business. Using the digital marketer question, you could ask, "Which aspect of digital marketing do you find the most laborious?
Include a CTA (Call To Action). Once you've completed your pitch, you should give the lead something to do by using a call to action, for example, taking your business card. Briefly let your target audience know the process for following up and obtaining more information, and provide the means for further contact or scheduling meetings.
Compiling your elevator pitch.
Once you've completed the process of answering the six questions listed above, use your answers to create a 30 second or 80 to 90-word pitch. Ensure that you include transitions and be sure to edit your pitch until it flows conversationally, capturing the most essential information. For example, your pitch might read as such:
"Hi, I'm Michael James, a digital marketer who helps busy small business owners get more done, in less time, to earn more profits. What business activity do you dislike doing the most?"
Or
"Hi, I'm Michael James, I'm an accountant who helps people hold onto more of their hard-earned cash. Last year I helped my customers save over six-figures. Here's my card which lists the top tax deductions which most people fail to take advantage of."
The examples listed above are shorter than most, but they effectively highlight your goal, which is to define what you do and how you can bring value to your lead.
Tips for writing compelling elevator pitches.
There is a secret to an effective elevator pitch which taps into the psychology of sales and marketing. Let's explore some things to keep in mind:
Knowing your audience.
We advise getting your prospect to talk first so that you can learn something about them and any pain points they might have so that you can tailor your pitch to suit their needs. For instance, if Michael James discovered that a small business owner was struggling with digital marketing, he could say: "Hi, I'm Michael James, a digital marketer for small businesses, I help people with their digital marketing strategies. My clients give me a rundown of where they're struggling, and I assist them with the best tactics, saving them time and money."
Less is more.
There's a prevalent theme in wanting to say as much as possible about your business and offering. However, when you start delivering monologues, you risk boring or annoying your prospect. Ensure that you're pithy, and hook your lead with information which will organically lead them to question about your business. Once again, this is why describing your benefits is more effective than listing your features.
Lead with a hook.
Simply put, a hook refers to an enticing statement which grabs your prospects attention. It can take the form of a question, such as, "You know how so many business owners waste precious time and money due to wearing too many hats? I'm a digital marketer who can take those hats so that business owners can focus on what they do best, making money."
Create opportunities for follow-ups.
All marketing efforts should provide you with the means of following up. That can take the form of a call to action, whereby your prospect is asked to take the next step, for instance, "Here's my card with my website, where you can find my free guide to starting your marketing efforts."
You could even improve your chances of a follow up by obtaining your lead's information, "Can I have your card? I'll email you my free guide to saving time on marketing."
Practice makes perfect.
It's vitally important to not just write and read your elevator pitch; instead, we advise saying it loud and practising it. Your pitch has to sound natural when you deliver it; otherwise, you'll come across as just another salesman. When opportunities come knocking, you want your pitch to flow as it's a natural part of the conversation. If you're unable to flow through your pitch, go back to the writing pad and rewrite it until flows off the tip of your tongue.
Much like a business card, an elevator pitch is a quick, easy method in introducing your business to the people you meet. However, it's more than just answering the question of "What do you do?", your goal is to use your pitch to generate interest in your business and turn leads into prospects.