Update: By way of example, check out the 2009 Elevator Pitch Champions. They are highly effective examples and the judges comments may help you in crafting your own pitch.
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I find it fascinating talking to sales & marketing executives about their company’s messaging and positioning. The reason I find it fascinating is that they are quite often able to articulate for me a great value proposition that paints a picture of what they bring to the table.
The problem is that when I ask them to translate that value proposition into an elevator pitch that can be used over the phone by their sales organization, they struggle. And if they struggle, can you imagine the struggle their sales people have?
These are the days of short attention spans. We need to be able to craft an elevator pitch that is an “actionable sound bite”.
Are you ready to take the “elevator pitch test”? There are 4 questions and each is worth 1 point.
Don’t read any further until you have written down your elevator pitch. Take the time to really craft the message that you deliver to your prospects on a consistent basis.
Okay, ready?
- Are the first words you wrote: "We are the leading provider of..."?
If so, you get 0 points. - Did you use more than 25 words?
If so, you get 0 points. - Do you think your pitch aroused curiosity?
In other words, would the prospect be intrigued enough to say “Tell me more”.
If not, you get 0 points. - Now, call a friend who is not in technology and run it by them.
Just give them the pitch and then ask them if they know what your company does.
If not, you get 0 points.
So, how many points did you get? If you scored less than 4, at least you know what areas to work on right?
Most companies try to make their pitch too complicated. It seems the higher the price tag the more complicated the pitch. But, our prospects are inundated with messaging all day every day. Sometimes simpler is better...you know the KISS principle ("Keep It Simple Stupid")!
Oh and BTW, here is our elevator pitch:
We help technology companies build, evolve or validate inside sales strategies.
If you have a great elevator pitch you would like to share, feel free to post it as a comment!
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