Hot or Not for Elevator Pitches

Posted on by

I came across Your Elevator Pitch and immediately spent way too much time checking it out. It reminded me of how much time was wasted on Hot or Not when I was in first year of university.

It also reenforced two other things: how important a clearly communicated elevator pitch is; and, how so many are poorly communicated (if at all).

We were recently asked at work what our elevator pitch was and, well, we weren’t exactly sure of it. We’ve been so busy with what we’ve considered more important tasks that we haven’t done a crucial first step. Shame on us.

A clear elevator pitch not only helps you communicate exactly what it is the company does, but it also provides, and forces, focus. With a clearly defined elevator pitch everyone knows the direction the ship is sailing and there isn’t any uncertainty.

Spend some time thinking about your company’s elevator pitch. I bet you’ll find that it isn’t clear enough. Put the ‘more important’ tasks aside for a little bit and focus on the elevator pitch. It will focus you going forward and you’ll be better prepared to tackle the ‘important’ tasks.

  • Ritz

    Hey Fraser, did you read Aaron’s Story on the Our Pitch page? Pretty amazing how good people can be at what they do, and not have a clue how to communicate it. Since that happened we started keeping an eye out for companies that communicated thier purpose well, and found that hardly any did. Hopefully Your Elevator Pitch can help people like that out.

  • http://wurkit.com Ritz

    Hey Fraser, did you read Aaron’s Story on the Our Pitch page? Pretty amazing how good people can be at what they do, and not have a clue how to communicate it.

    Since that happened we started keeping an eye out for companies that communicated thier purpose well, and found that hardly any did. Hopefully Your Elevator Pitch can help people like that out.

  • Fraser

    I did read Aaron’s Story and I can completely relate to it. You guys have clearly done a lot of thinking about pitches and have probably seen a number of them through the site. Do you feel that there is a standard format that companies should follow when developing their pitch? Is there a set length (30 seconds?) that should be adhered to? In your opinion are there certain questions that must be answered in the pitch? You mention these questions on your site “who you are, what you’re trying to do, and why you do it better”. Are these relevant for every situation? I like this question: “why should I care?”. “I” being whoever is reading or listening to the pitch. It’s my opinion that if you answer “why should I care” clearly and as efficiently as possible then your pitch is on the right track. Best of luck with everything you have going on. Fraser

  • Fraser

    I did read Aaron’s Story and I can completely relate to it.

    You guys have clearly done a lot of thinking about pitches and have probably seen a number of them through the site.

    Do you feel that there is a standard format that companies should follow when developing their pitch? Is there a set length (30 seconds?) that should be adhered to? In your opinion are there certain questions that must be answered in the pitch? You mention these questions on your site “who you are, what you’re trying to do, and why you do it better”. Are these relevant for every situation?

    I like this question: “why should I care?”. “I” being whoever is reading or listening to the pitch. It’s my opinion that if you answer “why should I care” clearly and as efficiently as possible then your pitch is on the right track.

    Best of luck with everything you have going on.

    Fraser

  • Pingback: What’s Your Personal Elevator Pitch? at Disruptive Thoughts

  • Ritz

    We’re big fans of the “Fail Fast / Fix Faster” scenario where you spend less time thinking and more time trying (within reason). Basically, just doing anything is great start. The set up on Your Elevator Pitch is where most of it should begin. Pitch, Market, and Model is letting people know why you think you’re a good company, who you want to be working with, and giving yourself relevance as a real business. If you can do that in a minute, you’re better off than 90% of your competition… But why stop there? Get it down to 30 Seconds! The “who you are?”, “what you’re trying to do?”, and “why should I care?” should ALWAYS be answered. The “why you do it better?” is very important, but sometimes can be demonstrated with what you say and how you present yourself (not a fancy suit – excitement and intelligence).

  • http://wurkit.com Ritz

    We’re big fans of the “Fail Fast / Fix Faster” scenario where you spend less time thinking and more time trying (within reason). Basically, just doing anything is great start.

    The set up on Your Elevator Pitch is where most of it should begin. Pitch, Market, and Model is letting people know why you think you’re a good company, who you want to be working with, and giving yourself relevance as a real business.

    If you can do that in a minute, you’re better off than 90% of your competition… But why stop there? Get it down to 30 Seconds!

    The “who you are?”, “what you’re trying to do?”, and “why should I care?” should ALWAYS be answered. The “why you do it better?” is very important, but sometimes can be demonstrated with what you say and how you present yourself (not a fancy suit – excitement and intelligence).

  • Laura Allen

    At the risk of sounding self-serving, I’d be delighted to help you come up with an elevator pitch that you can deliver in just 15 Seconds. In my experience, the trick is to hook the listener’s attention in the first 15 seconds and then they might talk to you for 15 minutes, if they are engaged in what you are doing. I’m happy to help, no payment necessary, just tell your friends if you like the service. Best, Laura

  • http://www.15SecondPitch.com Laura Allen

    At the risk of sounding self-serving, I’d be delighted to help you come up with an elevator pitch that you can deliver in just 15 Seconds. In my experience, the trick is to hook the listener’s attention in the first 15 seconds and then they might talk to you for 15 minutes, if they are engaged in what you are doing. I’m happy to help, no payment necessary, just tell your friends if you like the service. Best, Laura