How to Write an Elevator Pitch

A great elevator pitch’s only goal is to generate interest in a prospective buyer and turn a 30-second meeting into a 15 minutes sales call. This can literally be in an elevator (as originally designed) or a chance encounter at a coffee shop. Perfecting your elevator pitch is the key to closing those meetings into sales calls.

In 30 seconds your pitch should express 5 key pieces of information.

• Name of yourself
• Name of business
• What you do/What results you create
• 3 Typical benefits of working with you
• End with a thought-provoking question

How we are going to do this is by first breaking your elevator pitch down formulaically. Once you fully understand the steps I will show you my secret formula for crafting that killer elevator pitch and give you an example.

Your name

Your name creates the first impression of your elevator pitch. We make judgments on how a situation will be resolved solely on a name. If you don’t believe me, call tech support for your credit card company. Chances are you will encounter someone from India with a heavy hard to understand accent with a fake name like Jonathan.

This is a bit culturally insensitive, I know, but this is the real world and I want to speak plainly with you.

I am not saying you should or should not change your name to win in business, that is insanity. It is just abundantly clear we judge others based on their name alone.

Pro tip: starting with your name in an elevator pitch also helps you set up the pitch with the right tone of voice. We all know our names and can say them proudly. Being firm, confident, and enthusiastic during your pitch will 100% affect the success or failure of your pitch. Start with your name, and be confident through the end of your 30-second pitch.

Your business name

Naming your business is almost one of the most important aspects of building your brand. It is the most recognizable feature of your business. One of the major keys to building a great business brand name is having something that is easy to say. If you can’t say your business name, what makes you think your prospective client will know how to say it?

Spend some time spitballing names, and trying them out.

What you do/What results you create

Here is where you get your prospect interested in what you have to offer. Your prospect doesn’t care what you do; they are only interested in what you can do for them. What results have you generated, what gives you credibility?

This is where you get to show off why you are awesome.

• What sort of testimonials or results have you generated?
• Do you save time, money or resources for your clients?
• Have you made them money?
• Are there any press mentions about you, your brand, or your business?

You only have 30 seconds and this is your one and only chance, don’t be humble.

Three benefits of working with you

Why do your clients come to you? What do they typically get as a benefit for working with you? Listing three benefits gives you an extra advantage. You have three opportunities to sell why you valuable.

This also helps you start to qualify if this prospect is right for you. If you solve their pain, they will let you know they are interested in learning more. If they are not the right fit, they will also let you know.

The best result is the prospect says “hey let’s talk further”, The second best result is “thanks, I am not interested.” At least you don’t have to waste your time anymore :).

End your pitch all with a thought-provoking question

Ending your pitch with a thought-provoking is a very cool psychological trick. When you ask a question, it engages the listener’s brain and the human brain always wants to answer questions. It gives us a sense of completion or resolution. This cool trick, mentally makes the listener think about your elevator pitch.

Now that you know the formulaic approach to an elevator pitch, let’s bring it all together.

Here is an example of powerful elevators pitch.

Hi, I am Austin Iuliano of d.science. I am a social media consultant that has helped my clients generate over $2,000,000 in revenue.

Typically the clients I work with have a hard time breaking through the noise of social media, they don’t know how to grow their followings and attract the right community, and can’t seem to make the right content that goes viral. Do you know anyone who has these challenges?

The breakdown goes like this.

Austin Iuliano of d.science is my name and the business name, easy enough.

I am a social media consultant that has helped my clients generate over $2,000,000 in revenue. What I do, and what results I have accomplished.

Typically the clients I work with have a hard time s breaking through the noise of social media, they don’t know how to grow their followings and attract the right community, and can’t seem to make the right content that goes viral.

Do you know anyone who has these challenges? These are three benefits of working with me and also very tangible and emotional benefits. Most people I encounter have one of these three things they need help with.

Do you know anyone who has these challenges? Thought provoking question. Asking this question has the listener either think “Hey I need that” or “I know someone who could use that…”

And that is how it is done! BOOM!

Bring all these components together in your elevator pitch and you will be making more sales in no time. In 30 seconds you can get prospects interested in your offer and open for a meeting in no time.

The Follow Up

Let’s not kid ourselves here, there are more accounts then I can count where I have used this pitch and had people on the spot say “oh I need help with xyz.” That 30-second elevator pitch just turned into a 2-15 minute sales call. Are you ready for it, and do you know what you need to do?

As a quick breakdown, all sales calls I am trying to do X things.

• Qualify the prospects interest level. Lots of people are interested, not a ton are ready to buy right now
• Determine if the person has a budget that can afford my services.
• Figure out if I am interested in the persons business and brand.
• Figure out if I can actually help them, or if they will turn into a problem client.

If all the criteria line up, a quick 30-second elevator pitch can turn into a 15-minute chat at a coffee shop that turns into $$$. Practicing and perfecting an elevator pitch is, therefore, a revenue generating exercise. Practice your elevator pitch, and leave it in the comments.

Just make sure you have these five components

• Name of yourself
• Name of business
• What you do/What results you create
• 3 Typical benefits of working with you
• End with a thought-provoking question