An elevator pitch is a brief overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The pitch is so called because it can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (say, thirty seconds).
When I was first asked to write an elevator pitch, the first thing that came to my mind was,
Why is an elevator pitch so important? I’m bootstrapping my business – I don’t need any funding so why should I even care about an elevator pitch?
Well, I later came to find out that the process of formulating an elevator pitch brings to light many basic things that an entrepreneur must consider about their business. Even if you’re not looking for funding, an elevator pitch can help you figure out what’s at the core of your business.
There are numerous ways to formulate an elevator pitch; one thorough and useful method is K. Stone’s How to Craft a Killer Elevator Pitch That Will Land You Big Business. Yet as I mentioned before, many methods exist so search for one that makes the most sense to you. I found the following tips to be useful when I wrote my 30 second elevator pitch:
First, avoid the cookie cutter – “insert your name here” templates that you’ll find littered all over the net. You want your pitch to stand out and be unique, so give it life and personality by allowing your pitch to paint a picture or tell a story.
If possible, use a tag line yet avoid sounding cheesy – your elevator pitch isn’t a sales pitch.
Stick to hard facts and numbers! Avoid assumption or BS’ing; you’ve got to instill integrity in your message.
Make the pitch easy to understand; avoid acronyms or any jargon that your intended audience won’t comprehend.
Focus on the opportunity/problem you’ve encountered and why your solution is the most unique in providing value and benefit to the customer. *This part will comprise the bulk of your elevator pitch, so be sure and spend some time figuring out