Six Ways To Perfect Your Elevator Pitch

I work in a large multi-tenant midtown Manhattan office building and have had the pleasure of listening in on many “elevator pitches.” Granted, most elevator pitches don’t actually happen in an elevator. Often you only have the length of time it takes a potential client to walk down the hall to their office or an investor to drink a glass of wine. There is a lot of pressure to get your message across in a clear, concise and unique manner in a short period of time.

Establishing your personal brand in your elevator pitch is as important as it is in an online profile or your resume. The point of the pitch is to pique the interest of your potential client or new acquaintance just enough so that they will want to continue the conversation. The desired result is the opportunity to go to the next step – a follow up phone call, meeting, interview or referral.

Here are 6 ways to make sure your pitch gets a noticed:

Know your objective: Are you looking for a new job? Do you have a new product or service to inform others about? Did your company win a new client or prestigious award? What story do you want to tell? If you know your objective it will help you craft the right message.

Know your audience: Tailor your pitch to your specific audience. That means you will need multiple versions of your pitch that you can mix and match depending on who you are talking to and what your objective is. If you are pitching to a potential investor, focus on how you plan to make money. If you are pitching to a potential employer, explain how you do your job better than anyone else. A potential customer, what problem can you solve for them.

Be passionate and creative: Make your pitch personal and show your excitement and passion for what you do. Grab the person’s attention with your creativity.

Speak in grade school english: Your audience may not know the technical aspects or acronyms of your industry. You may lose your audience if you speak in abstracts, consultant speak or techno babble.

Listen: Conversations are two way streets. People love to talk about themselves so ask questions that engage your audience and then be quiet and listen. You will gain valuable information and ideas and expand your contacts.

Finish the pitch: Your goal is to get a business card and permission to follow up with a phone call.