6 Steps for Writing a Powerful Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch or elevator speech is a short overview of your business, products, or services, and typically is used in business settings such as face-to-face networking. An elevator pitch can be one of the simplest yet most powerful tools for a small business owner.

An elevator pitch is short and, as the name implies, delivered in the time it takes to complete your average elevator ride. The length can vary, but you typically want to be able to present your elevator pitch comfortably without rushing in less than two minutes, ideally in less than one minute. Your goal length should be 150-250 words.

Follow a six-step process to create an effective and powerful pitch.

1. Who You Are: Write one sentence about yourself. For example, you might introduce yourself as a consultant to small business owners.
2. What You Do: Use your mission statement and product/service listing as a guide, and write a sentence or two about what you do every day in your business. If your emphasis is on time-saving techniques, state briefly how your strategies work.
3. Your Ideal Clients: Use your target audience description as a guide and write a sentence or two about who your ideal clients are. For example, you might value clients who emphasize team-building, so you should describe how and why clients might have those needs.
4. How You Are Different: Use your unique selling proposition (USP) as a guide and write about what sets you apart from every other business owner who does what you do. Perhaps you’ve had relevant experiences and overcome them yourself or you have an uncommon strategy.
5. What Happens Next: Briefly let your audience know what they can do to follow up and hear more. Provide a means for further contact or for scheduling a meeting.
6. An Attention-Getting Hook: Get the attention of your audience. For example, state in one or two sentences how your strategy can translate directly into profits.

Putting It Together
Once you’ve come up with something for each of the six steps, combine the statements, starting with the sixth step. Add transitions and edit your pitch until it flows conversationally and captures the most important information. For example, it might read something like this:

Have you ever felt held back by lack of time and wished you could clone yourself so you could get everything done, when you want to get it done, the way you want it done?

Well, I work with busy and driven small business owners who struggle to accomplish everything they want to accomplish. The clients I work with generally understand the value of a team and are ready to learn how to delegate, but find it challenging to let go of their quest for perfection, find quality team members and commit to creating a team that can thrive, even without them being hands-on.

I consult these time-challenged business owners on how to build teams, delegate effectively and ultimately become more productive and profitable. I’m in a unique position to help my clients because I’ve faced the same struggle of not having enough time and feeling held back from true success. I have figured out a formula that can help just about any entrepreneur build a team and delegate effectively, giving them the time they need to grow their businesses, explore new endeavors and take time off, knowing their businesses will continue to prosper in their absence.

I’d love to schedule a time to talk more about some of your delegation and team challenges, and explore how we may be able to work together.

An effective elevator pitch can help you introduce yourself and break the ice in networking situations. You also can use your elevator pitch to clarify your target audience and business goals for your own use and become more confident and self-assured in business settings.