Elevator Pitch: What It Is, Examples, And 4 Steps To Prepare It

Elevator Pitch

All businesses or business ideas can be synthesized in an elevator pitch. This technique is an excellent exercise for entrepreneurs looking for funding and for established companies that want to clarify their values and goals.

Although it seems simple at first glance, building an effective elevator pitch has its tricks. Here we tell you the keys to creating your elevator speech step by step, and we give you a lot of examples to inspire you. What floor are you going to?

What Is The Elevator Pitch?

The elevator pitch or elevator speech is a brief presentation that introduces a company or a project in an impressive, agile, and fast way. The ideal length is between 30 and 60 seconds, so conciseness, clarity, and brevity are essential.

The main goal of an elevator pitch is to generate interest in a project or idea. It is usually considered a tool to attract the attention of a potential investor or client and get them to contact us to organize a meeting in which we can explain the project in greater depth.

However, the elevator pitch isn’t just for startups. Before drawing up your next marketing plan, it can be exciting to get your team together to create your elevator pitch. This will help you clarify the essential points of your company and plan your marketing actions around them.

There are many curiosities about the origin of the concept of “elevator pitch.” This term began to be heard in the early 1980s when there was a boom in investments and high-risk projects. It was said that the duration of the speech was limited to the time it took for Warren Buffet to go up the elevator from the ground floor to his office because that was the time entrepreneurs had to convince him to invest in their projects. It is also said that Steve Jobs himself fired a couple of people for not being interesting during a 30-second elevator conversation.

The 4 Essential Steps In Creating An Effective Elevator Pitch

Define your target audience: Every business idea is aimed at a specific target, and knowing how to define it correctly is key to success.

To prepare your elevator speech, the first is to define your brand’s ideal buyer person or client, detailing their characteristics, interests, demographic data. It is even recommended to name them, choose an image representing them, and describe what they are like—day by day and what challenges it faces.

Of course, all these data do not fit in your elevator speech. But to focus it correctly, select the information and strike the right tone, it is essential to know who you are addressing at all times.

In the same way, you also have to know who your speech is aimed at: talking to clients is not the same as talking to potential partners or investors.

1. Identify The Problem

The ideas that work best solve a problem or satisfy a need of the company’s target audience. Therefore, after knowing who you target, you must identify what they need.

At this point, it is necessary to do an in-depth investigation of your audience. A good starting point can be to locate communities on the internet and social networks of people from your target audience and analyze their conversations. If possible, you can also complement this work with personal interviews to investigate specific cases in greater depth.

This research will help you better focus your idea and provide you with quotes and data that you can incorporate into your elevator pitch.

2. Build Your Solution

We have reached the central part of the elevator pitch: your value proposition.

You already have a solution that fits the needs of your target audience now; you have to be able to convey it in a way that makes its value clear to both investors and potential customers.

The challenge here is to concisely express what you bring to the table and what sets you apart from other similar solutions. It is essential that you focus on the benefits for your potential customers and not on the product’s technical characteristics.

3. Compose Your Message

You already have at your disposal all the information you need to prepare your elevator pitch. You have to condense it into a speech of less than a minute that summarizes all the critical points and arouses the interest of your audience.

In the examples section of this article, we give you some predefined formulas that you can use to get inspired. To get you started, here are some ideas about the different elements your message should contain:

Break the ice. The first sentence is essential to capture attention so that you can start with an impressive number or a question addressed to your interlocutor.

Introduce yourself by briefly explaining who you are and what your company does.

Describe the problem you will solve with your products or services and why it is crucial.

Explain what your solution contributes.

Reference the economic viability and potential benefits of your business.

close with a call to action that invites the caller to contact you for more information.

Once you’re satisfied with your elevator pitch, remember: practice makes perfect! Practice it out loud to make sure it’s no longer than 60 seconds and that you’re conveying what you want to convey. A good elevator pitch has to convey passion and enthusiasm, so give it your all!

8 Compelling Elevator Pitch Examples

Brief and to the point: “Work always ends up in chaos, no matter what industry you’re in or how good you are. But with good project management software, you can improve productivity and communication. I haven’t missed a deadline in years. If you’re interested in how this can help your team, give me a call, and I’ll tell you more.”

Based on a stat: “Did you know that although we have more tools to work remotely than ever, 60% of the working day of workers is spent coordinating work, 26% in highly qualified tasks and 14% in strategy? Without a doubt, teams need help to manage their projects better. Implementing project management tools helps you spend less time coordinating work and more time on the tasks that matter.”

Storytelling: “Last year, one of our best clients had to switch to 100% telecommuting overnight due to the COVID crisis. With our help, they met all of their expected delivery dates, saved 10% on time spent on coordination tasks, and refocused on fundamental aspects to increase profits, such as strategic planning.

Statistics + final question: “Each week, more than a quarter of deadlines (26% to be exact) have to be pushed back due to task prioritization issues. But with the right project management software, that number can be much lower.” So the question is: can your business afford not to use a project management tool?

Emotional: “It may seem like project management software is just another tool. But in reality, it helps people connect with other team members. And not only that, but it helps create teams that enjoy working together on new projects. And the result is a more productive but, above all, happier company”.

For events of networking: “Nice to meet you. I’m Ana from Easy Management. We’ve been helping teams worldwide improve productivity and collaboration for three years. If you ever need help managing projects in your company, please contact me, and I think we can help you. Here’s my card.”

Based on questions: “Do you ever feel like you spend more time organizing work than you do working? I’ve talked to a lot of people with the same thing. I, too, spent many hours a day trying to organize and prioritize important tasks. But you know what? Ever since I started using a project management tool, I’ve been much more efficient. Have you ever tried anything like that?”

With empathy: “Nice to finally meet you. How’s your company going? I heard you’ve been having communication issues. My team and I were having the same thing, and it was very frustrating. Now we’ve brought project management software to our routine, and teamwork and communication are much better. I hope you find a solution that works for your team.”

Also Read: Sales Pitch: What It Is And How To Create Your Team’s Pitch