How to Make Your 60-Second Pitch Better With Just 3 Simple Tweaks
Do you have an elevator pitch for your business? Can you succinctly describe what you do, who you help and why someone should choose to work with or buy from you in less than a minute? (No pressure!) That’s your elevator pitch – so-called because the idea is that you can deliver it in the time it takes for an elevator journey.
The problem is, it can be really difficult to condense everything you want to get across about your business into just 60 short seconds.
In this article, I’ll show you three simple strategies to make sure your introductory pitch hits the mark every time. But first, let’s talk about why you need an elevator pitch in the first place.
Why you need an elevator pitch for your business
Also known as your 60-second pitch, your networking pitch, or your business introduction, this is your chance to make a powerful first impression and let your audience know exactly what you’re about.
Let’s say you’re at a networking event, with the chance to present your business to the attendees. Maybe you’re in a breakout room at a Zoom workshop, where everyone takes turns to introduce themselves and their business. Or perhaps in the course of a day-to-day conversation, someone simply asks, “so what do you do?”
When you answer, are you coming across as clear, concise, memorable and professional? Or do you seem unsure, uncertain, and a little bit scattered?
What impression are you creating when you deliver that pitch?
The foundation of your business messaging
When you take the time to craft a clear and memorable elevator pitch, that clarity will translate into all your business messaging. Whether it’s on your website, in your social media posts, as a guest on a podcast or radio show - whenever you’re communicating about your business, there’ll be no mistaking your key message.
Related Reading: For more ideas on how to use your elevator pitch in your business messaging, have a look at this post with 5 Fresh Ways to Use Your Elevator Pitch You May Not Have Thought Of.
So you can see why it’s crucial to spend time thinking through and creating a pitch that articulates the essence of your business. But it can be quite overwhelming and often frustrating to work out what to say in your introduction, so your words have the impact you need.
Let’s talk about the tweaks you can make to polish your elevator pitch into something worthy of your business.
Keep your pitch concise
Nothing will derail your elevator pitch more quickly than trying to cram in absolutely every detail about what you do. It’s just not possible to outline every service you offer, every product you have and all the ways you can help people in your pitch - and you shouldn’t try to.
A pitch with too much information stuffed into it causes confusion, exactly the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve. The person listening can feel bombarded and overwhelmed. They may smile politely while listening but end up walking away without really knowing what you do at the end of it.
Think about the essential points you want to get across and treat your pitch as an introduction and invitation to know more about your business rather than the whole story.
2. Be clear in your pitch
If you’re presenting your business at a networking event, what’s your main goal? It’s possible that the person you’re speaking to is somebody who needs your services. But the more likely scenario is that they won’t be your ideal client (or perhaps not immediately), but they might refer you to someone in their wider network who is.
For that to happen, they need to be crystal clear on what your service or product is and how it can help people. If your 60-second pitch leaves them with only a vague idea of your business, they won’t be interested enough to ask those crucial questions to find out more, so they can refer you to somebody else. And the chances are, they won’t remember you once they’ve left the event.
The starting point to finding clarity for your pitch is to have a solid understanding of:
Who you help
How you help them
What results they can expect after working with you
When you’re clear on those essential elements, then you can start building them into a powerful elevator pitch.
Related Reading: Why Your Elevator Pitch Might Be Falling Flat (And How to Fix It)
3. Don’t make assumptions
I attended a networking event once where a business owner stood up to deliver their pitch and opened by saying, "Well, you all know who I am and what I do." Then, they started to speak about who they’d worked with that week and what they’d been doing.
I wasn’t a regular member; I was just a visitor to the group. And after their elevator pitch, I still had no idea who they were or what they did. I figured out their industry based on some of the details of what they were saying, but I didn't know their name or their business name.
Never assume that people already know you or your business. Every time you have the opportunity to present your business, do it on the basis that no one in the room has ever met you or heard of you before. It’s especially important to introduce yourself and say the name of your business clearly. When you’re finished, repeat your name and your business name - and make sure not to mumble because you’re so relieved the pitch is over and can’t wait to sit down!
Quick Tip - If your business name is unusual, or something about it might cause confusion when looking it up, consider spelling it out as part of your pitch, so your listeners have the information they need immediately.
Need help with creating your elevator pitch?
Conveying the essence of your business in a 60-second pitch is not easy. But if you can apply these three key principles to your business introduction, you’ll have a solid starting point for an impactful elevator pitch that compels your listener to want to know more about working with you.
And, if you feel you need more help with crafting your pitch, download my free guide - 3 Essential Ingredients of a Powerful Pitch. It’ll show you how to use my proven framework to put together a pitch that really “lands” with your audience, so you can be confident you’re getting the message across every time you introduce your business.
