Executive Diary – create an elevator pitch
Elevator pitch is a quick overview of what a company does. It has to be simple, easy to understand, and short. As the elevator ride is almost 30 seconds, the pitch is encouraged to be said within that duration.
Tl; dr;
Preparing an elevator pitch and memorize it is necessary when you are a business owner. It prevents you from getting caught off guard when people ask what do you do. A good elevator pitch consists of 3 parts:
- “Do you know…”: state the problem that you’re solving.
- “What we do…”: state your service or product.
- “So that…”: state what happens if the problem is resolved.
Why do we need an elevator pitch?
Do you know, when I started working full time for my company, Digital Envision, people often asked what I do. And I did not have an answer that I feel comfortable with. I felt like if I said I was a director of Digital Envision, I would be bragging. If I said I was working for Digital Envision as a developer, I would be downplaying my position. And I believe that I’m not the only one.
In an effort to tackle the problem, I started to look for a solution, and someone suggested to write and memorize an elevator pitch. At first, I was skeptical because it sounded so salesy. I mean, there’s literally the word “pitch” in the name. But after looking at the examples, and the methods people use to create them, I now see elevator pitch no different than an introduction between people. And it is exactly that.
The “Formula”
What I did, was reading a lot of articles about how to create an elevator pitch. And one of them sticks to me as the most logical and easy to remember. It only has 3 steps:
- Establish the problem, starting with “Do you know …”. Just 1-2 short sentences stating exactly what is the problem that you are solving.
- Present what does your service/product do. You can start with “What we do is …”. Again, 1-2 short sentences give a summary of what your services or products do.
- Suggest the result if the problem is resolved. You can start with “So that …”, talk about how the clients be better off with the problems no longer available.
Let me give you some examples. I am blessed with managing 2 different business models. So I have prepared 2 elevator pitches and depending on the situation, I will bring one out or the other. I am still working on combining them together though.
Elevator pitch for Digital Envision
Do you know that there are so many innovations being created in Australia? Lots of those innovations require developments of websites and mobile applications. What we do is using our digital development skills and expertise to realize these novel ideas. So that our clients can realize their ideas and dominate the market in a timely manner.
Elevator pitch for VA For Everyone
Do you know that companies are having a bad time finding talents inside Australia? There is a massive shortage of labour in this environment. What we do is give our clients access to the enormous talent pools overseas, while keeping the headache of managing offshore staff away. So that our clients can meet their progress development goal and bring products to the market in a timely manner.
How does it help me?
I did it so that I don’t need to think about the answer anymore. It becomes a very smooth talk once I memorize the “script” and put more tone into it. Being prepared gives you confidence when going into networking events, and avoid rambling on about your business. Also I want to systemize things and this fits perfectly into my system.
One thing to note is that this pitch is alive and constantly changing as the business develops. I would suggest to revisit the pitch every 6 months to make updates as needed.
Summary
Elevator pitch frees us as business owners from getting nervous about conversing with other people. It also helps us listen to other people better as we don’t have to think as much. And I believe conversation is all about listening and understanding what our counterpart is passionate about.
“Good luck is a residue of preparation.” ― Jack Youngblood
By Tuan Nguyen
No Responses