When I started coaching entrepreneurs I found that while all spent time obsessing about the design of their business cards, very few gave thought to their elevator pitch. In my experience, to explain the context and value of your business in an elevator ride’s time, is far and away more useful in winning customers and investors.

You will need your elevator pitch for investors, bankers, customers, prospects, cocktail parties and elevators. It needs to be short and engaging.  The objective to this short engaging story is to pique interest and stimulate curiosity about your business.  It is not to tell every single detail. To drive the point home: “assume a short building,” says Bill Joos of Garage.com, “ruthlessly cut away the unnecessary details.”

Today I’ll break down for you the four components of an effective and memorable elevator pitch. I’ll use an example of how I would sell the need for an elevator pitch, with an elevator pitch:

You have a business card; you must have an elevator pitch too!

Many elevator pitches are too long, generic, and unmemorable.  A great elevator pitch will make your audience: 1) understand 2) be interested and 3) want more.  Your audience will see you as organized and articulate. Our approach creates a pitch half the length of the 56 second average by 1) providing context 2) giving meaning 3) making it matter and 4) showing your difference.

Let’s break down this pitch for a pitch into the four parts.

1. Provide Context: Context will help your audience hone in on what you are about to describe.

For example, “You have a business card; you must have an elevator pitch too!”

Here I show how an elevator pitch fits into the context of how you represent your business.

Watch out for too much detail.  You can provide the detail later or after the pitch if more time is available.

2. Give Meaning: It’s all about what needs you address or what problem you solve. Define the problem in one of three ways.

• How it increases quality of life.
• How it makes a wrong right.
• How it prevents the end of something good.

For example: “Many elevator pitches are, too long, generic, and unmemorable.  A great elevator pitch will make your audience 1) understand 2) be interested and 3) want more”.

3. Make it Matter: This is the so what question. What benefits does your audience or target customer receive?

For example: “Your audience will see you as organized and articulate”.

Another way to think about this point is to ask the following question. What will have changed for the better? In our oversimplified example, you will be regarded as organized. However, without a good pitch you may appear scattered.

4. Show You’re Different: Can only you and not the other guy tell your story?  How unique is your story?

For example: “Our approach creates a pitch half the length of the 56 second average by 1) providing context 2) giving meaning 3) making it matter and 4) showing your difference”.

In this example, I am “selling” my elevator pitch methodology and seeking to make it unique and better than your other options.

How long should your elevator pitch be?

Your target word budget is 80 words in total. Plan on being able to speak 2 to 3 words a second. Ideally tell the story in 30 seconds. Time yourself.

Try reading mine aloud and time it.

You have a business card; you must have an elevator pitch too!

Many elevator pitches are too long, generic, and unmemorable.  A great elevator pitch will make your audience: 1) understand 2) be interested and 3) want more.  Your audience will see you as organized and articulate. Our approach creates a pitch half the length of the 56-second average by 1) providing context 2) giving meaning 3) making it matter and 4) showing your difference.

About 30 seconds, right?  That was 79 words. Okay, now you give it a try for your business.

[1] http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/careers/pitch/

[2] This concept comes from Guy Kawasaki, see it for yourself by searching youtube “the art of the start”.

[3] http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/careers/pitch/