To Pitch or Not to Pitch
Some healthy debate came when a couple of BRN members said they preferred not to give elevator pitches because they either sound canned or it didn't fit their personality. A guest brought up the point that they were told that their elevator pitch should be no more than 30 seconds. Another person weighed in that we should all have 10-12 elevator pitches that we can pull out depending on the audience and situation. Those are all valid points.
But what happens when you find yourself in a networking meeting where you are given the opportunity or asked, "take a couple of minutes to tell us about your business"? Do you stop at the 30-second mark? Do you only offer a 10-second tag line and yield the rest of your time? Should you offer an elevator pitch that is not well-rehearsed and sounds canned?
Practice Makes Perfect
We took time in our meeting to address six questions that an elevator pitch must address:
- What is your product or service?
- Who is your market?
- What is your revenue model?
- Who is behind the company?“
- Who is your competition?
- What is your competitive advantage?
Homework
The homework this week is to refine our elevator pitches and post them here for others to review and critique. Even if you didn't attend the meeting, please feel free to participate in this exercise.
Happy pitching!
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great meeting this week. It wasn't as advanced as one might think it should be, but to develope a "elevator pitch" and open it up for other peers to share thier comments on was invaluable. It was nice and refreshing. Back to the basics, they're called that for a reason right?? Gave me good insight not only on how I see my business, but how others may as well. Thanks
ReplyDeleteRobby, nice revision. Gives me a better insight to what you do.
ReplyDeleteJavid, it's great to hear that members are learning. Even as a marketing professional with 25 years experience, my elevator pitch sucked! I can help everyone else work on theirs, but I neglected refining my own. Isn't that the ol' "cobbler's kids" story?
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