Sometimes it is hard to get a project going. One of those projects might be a marketing or advertising campaign. When you are stuck figuring out what to say, go to the concept of the elevator pitch to help jumpstart your marketing piece. Your copy will be easier to create and your sales will increase.
Elevator speeches should grab attention in less than a minute. What can you possibly say in such a short time that will make customers want to hear more? An “Elevator Pitch” is a concise, carefully planned, and well-practiced description about your company that your grandmother would be able to understand in the time it takes to ride up an elevator.
Define your product or service
Start your pitch with a “hook.”: a statement or question that piques their interest to want to hear more in less than a minute. Then explain what is unique about what you do your product, project or service in 4-5 important points. Highlight the keywords and group similar points together. Don’t use any industry terms that a person outside of your field wouldn’t understand. Use action verbs (such as create, implement, design) rather than passive verbs. “I own a bakery downtown” isn’t as intriguing as “I’m a specialty pastry chef who creates multi-tiered, fondant cakes with fruit and cream fillings that makes your wedding special and unique.”
Be exciting
A superior elevator pitch increases your heart rate. It has passion and speaks to what excites you about your business, with integrity. You should be able to convey natural excitement in your statement.
Simple
Don’t be all things to all people. Clarify yourself and your market in one minute. At the end of your pitch, ask for something. A call to action is key for marketing collateral, a website, a social tool or a presentation. Do you want their business card, to schedule a full presentation, to ask for a referral?
Write
Use the guidelines above to start writing. Edit your elevator pitch until it is as brief as possible, but still conveys your message. Say it out loud, re-write it, and then re-write it again. An idea may look great on paper, but if you stumble over your words and concepts in real life, it won’t be effective.
Practice, Practice, Practice
The first few times you read your elevator pitch out loud may be uncomfortable, but it gets easier when it is memorized. The pitch can become second nature. Like a press release, a website, a social campaign or really any marketing initiative, the whole idea behind a great elevator pitch is to intrigue someone. You want the other person to want more.
It’s an ice-breaker and a marketing idea — all rolled into one.
Have you given an elevator pitch that has become the basis of a marketing campaign or plan? We would love to hear from you on “what works” today.
