If there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself, it’s that I don’t have the biggest attention span, and neither do most people nowadays. This is where the elevator pitch comes in. So what exactly is an Elevator Pitch? To put it simply, it’s an informal presentation that should last no longer than 30 seconds. In those 30 seconds or less, the goal is to describe what you do or sell, in order to earn a follow-up conversation with your audience. These are the 5 basic steps towards the perfect elevator pitch.
- Identify your reason for presenting: Are you trying to catch the eye of a certain company or client? Or do you simply want the world to know who you are and what you can do to better their lives? No matter what the reason, make sure you figure out what your overall goal is for presenting before you give the actual pitch.
- Know your target audience: It’s best to do some research about who you’ll be presenting to before giving your pitch. You don’t want to make the mistake of trying to sell a potato peeler to a company that specializes in potato peelers. This sounds silly I know, but these mistakes happen every day in marketing. Most of the time these mistakes are made due to a lack of research about the presenter’s target audience. So always make sure to do your homework people!
- Open with the main problem: The main goal for most entrepreneurs is to make life easier in some way. Whatever you’re planning to pitch, make sure you first figure out and address the problem that you believe you have the solution to. Open your pitch with the issue at hand, and try to make it as relatable as possible for the audience. This is your attention grabber and will be crucial for the rest of your presentation.
- Provide a solution: So now you’ve given the audience a reason to listen, an issue that has not yet been resolved. At this point of the pitch you’re going to want to provide a solution to the problem, and this is where your idea or product comes into play. Make sure that you give a detailed yet brief description about what you are trying to sell. By the end of this step, you’ll want to have proven to the audience that your product or idea can truly solve their problem.
- Acknowledge your competitors: Most of the time you won’t be the only one who has found a solution to an issue. Make sure that you go into the pitch already knowing who your competitors are and why your product or idea is better. Describe the competition and what their solution entails, to the audience. Then it’s time to show them why your product or idea is better. Is it cheaper? Is it sustainable? Does it work more effectively and efficiently? These are all things to consider before giving the actual pitch.
There you have it, the 5 steps towards the perfect elevator pitch. I know this may seem like a lot of information to jam into 30 seconds or less, but once you figure out why you’re presenting, your solution, and why your product is better, everything will fall into place easier than you think. The elevator pitch is a sure-fire way to get your main idea across with the full attention of an audience.
