5 tips to build a compelling elevator pitch
A good elevator pitch can open doors, can create opportunities and build rapport which can ultimately lead to new business or professional growth.
Imagine you're at an event or gathering and somebody comes over and asks you "what do you do?". What would you answer? Whether you're a designer, an intern or a CEO, being able to easily explain what you do in a way that people will remember is a skill many people struggle with.
Start building!
Follow these 4 easy steps to structure you're elevator pitch today and start testing it!
- Do research
- Define your focus
- Identify an audience
- Build the pitch!
- Test, adjust and repeat
Do research
Take the time to understand where you stand in the market.
- What core business problems do you solve?
- Who are your competitors? How do they solve the same problems?
- What are others similar to you doing?
- Are there any relevant statistics or trends?
- How would you search for yourself on google?
Define your focus
It's important to set yourself apart from the crowd, and for this it is crucial to have a clear focus.
- What makes you unique and different?
- What are you good at? What's your expertise?
- What's your superpower?
- What makes you different and better than the competition?
Identify an audience
Niche down, the market is big enough for everyone but we need to make sure you know who you are talking to.
- Who is your ideal customer?
- What industry do they work in?
- What are their main career or business goals and challenges?
- What are their interests and hobbies? What causes do they support?
- Why should they care about you and your offering?
Build the pitch!
Start before your ready, the best approach i have found for this is to avoid perfection but rather go for experimentation and see what works best.
- Highlight the problem you solve.
- Fram how you solve this problem differently.
- Write it down and read it out loud to see if it sounds natural.
- Follow up with a questions like "Want to know more?"
Use the following structure to help build yours:
I help [audience] with [typical problem] so that [specific result].
Unlike my competitors, I [explain what makes you unique briefly].
Test, adjust and repeat
Nobody gets their elevator pitch right the first time, put it out into the wild and test it in real life scenarios.
- Identify what parts of your pitch worked and what parts sounded weird or quirky, and adjust those.
- If you're testing with a relative or friend, see if they can explain back to you what you do and what parts of your pitch they remember.
- Test multiple versions and double down on what works.
Bonus tip!
It's sometimes useful to have a metaphor or analogy to spice up your pitch and make it more memorable.
Here are some examples:
- "I design B2B website that are as intuitive as your iPhone!"
- "We are the Tesla of home office furniture and are setting new design and tech standards for the new way of work"
Thank you for reading!
Don't know where to start? Need help from an expert? 👉🏻 Send me a message!
