Elevator pitches – what are they and how do they work?
Elevator pitches are a short, simple and direct speech which are often used to provide brief details about yourself, your company, background and experience. They are used regularly in business networking meetings by attendees to describe their organisation through a quick and concise introduction. Elevator pitches are a way for business owners and professionals to market themselves effectively in a short amount of time, and can help sell products or services.
Elevator pitches – what are they and how do they work?
Good elevator pitches will demonstrate your expertise, experience and capabilities. By effectively communicating key details about yourself at a business networking group will leave a strong impression on the audience, which can lead to referrals, new customers, suppliers and profitable partnerships.
What is an elevator pitch?
Elevator pitches are supposed to last as long as a conversation which may occur in an elevator, where time is typically short, and is often no longer than 2 minutes in length. Imagine you are in an elevator with someone important and you have just a short elevator ride to grab their attention by pitching your idea, company, product, service, or yourself. The key to a successful elevator pitch is to deliver the speech in a genuine, fluid, and simple manner.
Are elevator pitches helpful for business networking?
When elevator pitches are done right and delivered in a compelling way, they can be highly effective at marketing your business to other potential clients, suppliers and partners at business networking meetings and events. If you can explain your business and the benefits succinctly you will leave a positive impression on your audience to explore further discussions. Elevator pitches provide the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and give the chance to display what makes you different, special or what sets you apart. You may highlight your experience, accomplishments, or an example of a successful project which can help to establish credibility and trust when business networking.
Elevator pitch meaning and structure
Elevator pitches must pique interest in the listener and preparing your pitch in advance can help you grab attention:-
Identify your goal – what is your objective? Do you want to tell people about your business, what you do, a great new product or service you have to offer, or do you wish to mention your background.
Think about your audience - who are you addressing?
Make a quick and brief introduction about what you do
Identify what makes your business unique – communicate your unique selling point (USP)
Include details about what issues/problems you can solve
Make people curious to generate a follow up response – be relatable
Remember that how you choose to communicate is as important as the words you say – body language conveys an impression to your audience
Practice, change and adapt your pitch to keep it fresh, natural and up to date
How long should an elevator pitch be?
Typically, an elevator pitch lasts between 30 seconds to 2 minutes and is delivered in a short and direct manner. As time is short, the person pitching must focus on grabbing the attention of the listener and so should condense the most important points into easily digestible sentences using simple language.
We hope this article on what are elevator pitches and how do they work was helpful. Find out more about that networking group and our members. Alternatively please feel free to get in contact to talk more.