A good elevator pitch is not just for an elevator discussion. Use it in every networking situation and business conference introduction. The elevator pitch should be the first few paragraphs of your business plan, your executive summary, your investor presentation, and the first page of your web site. A different message everywhere is no message. From: Great Startups Can Hook an Investor in 60 Seconds by Martin Zwilling
Nailing down a short pitch for why someone should invest in your business will come in handy at some point, even if you never actually end up in an elevator with the venture capitalist of your dreams. The goal as described by Trussel of the company Glympse,”In 10-15 seconds, I’ve demoed the product, illustrated our key values…and had the person interact with our product on their personal phone,” he says. “And, they now have a permanent, visual reminder in their inbox or text queue for reference.” From How to Nail Your Elevator Pitch by Sarah Kessler
How do I prepare to give a killer elevator pitch?
Pitching an idea isn’t a skill you can perfect on your own. For one thing, you must get comfortable having an audience. That’s why a group effort like an incubator is so valuable: it provides the opportunity to mess up in front of friends, work out jitters, learn to hold a mic, and generally become an effective conduit for relaying your idea. The other half of this task is constructing a compact description of the opportunity and market. The goal is to be specifically memorable. Since investments are rarely an individual decision, the usual best outcome for a pitch is for it to be accurately repeated by your listeners. By The Elevator Pitch by Cristine Tsai
Step by step process
Do you know who you are and what you do? Can you eloquently explain that to a stranger in one minute or less? Use these 5 steps to perfect your elevator pitch from The 5-Step Elevator Pitch That Turns Strangers into Clients by Julie Brawden Davis
1. Introduce yourself. Start the elevator pitch with a brief, easy-to-absorb sentence that includes your name, your company name and the service you provide. For instance, “I’m Mary Smith; my company is Executive Express, and we offer courier service.”
2. Identify the problem you solve for your customers. “What is the problem the potential client may have that your service can solve?” Bahar Hewertson asks. “What’s in it for the listener has to resonate. Why should the person care what you do? Focus on the listener and the value of your proposition for him or her.”
3. Announce your promise of a solution. What product or service will you provide the client? “Be clear on the results the person can expect, but avoid selling,” Bahar Hewertson says.
4. Offer proof you can deliver and plan for next steps. How have you delivered on your promises prior to this? What have you accomplished, and what have people said about your work? “Offer proof with one or two killer facts—and they must be facts—and an anecdote that crystallizes everything you just said as real,” Scherer says. Finish your pitch by offering a plan of action for delivering on your promise. Make it as personal as possible to fit whomever you’re talking to and his or her business.
5. Know when to stop and listen. If at any point in your pitch you find that the listener is tuning out, stop talking
Once you and your team have your Elevator Pitch ready to go, it will be like being ready for baseball’s opening day! So enjoy the process and the rewards to come. Links to Elevator Pitch videos:
Task 4: The Elevator Pitch by Nathan Gold
How to Perfect an Elevator Pitch by HowCast (excellent, understandable video)
Elevator Pitches Case Studies: 5 Examples to Learn from by Jacques Coetzee:
9 Videos to Help Perfect Your Investor Pitch by Mark Carstens
Training session for Elevator Pitch: How to Supercharge your pitch in 1 hour by Marco Montemagno
StartupRunner Working list for Elevator Pitch for Startups
1. ++Creating the Perfect Elevator Pitch by Kerrie MacPherson
2. The Perfect Elevator Pitch: In 20 Seconds or Less, Tell Me What by Craig Malloy, founder and CEO of Bloomfire
3. ++The 4 Laws To A Perfect Elevator Pitch And How to Create One by Neil Patel Co-founder of KISSmetrics (Provides a more detail walk through plan)
4. ++The Elevator Pitch by Cristine Tsai
5.++ Task 4: The Elevator Pitch by Nathan Gold
6. Elevator pitch: Define Compose, Practice and Polish! By Startup Nation
7. +How to Supercharge your pitch in 1 hour by Marco Montemagno
8. ++How to Perfect an Elevator Pitch by HowCast (excellent, understandable video)
9. ++Great Startups Can Hook an Investor in 60 Seconds by Martin Zwilling
10. ++Elevator Pitches Case Studies: 5 Examples to Learn from by Jacques Coetzee:
11. +Elevator Pitch Only Needs to Accomplish One Thing by Gordon Daugherty of Shockwave Innovations
12. ++The Art of the Elevator Pitch –A tutorial for Startup Weekends by Andreas Roetti (Excellent slide show)
13. Elevator Pitch Training and Competition
14. ++The 5-Step Elevator Pitch That Turns Strangers into Clients by Julie Brawden Davis
15. ++How to Nail Your Elevator Pitch by Sarah Kessler
16. ++9 Videos to Help Perfect Your Investor Pitch by Mark Carstens]]>