Guest Post - How to do a thirty-second elevator pitch

Generating an effective elevator pitch is very straightforward if you remember some simple rules.

The first thing to remember is the metaphor is that you’re in an elevator, or as we would call it in the UK, a lift). You have to be short and to the point; you probably have no more than 30 seconds.

A good elevator pitch has the three ‘P’s:

PAIN
What is the pain or problem that you plan to solve?

PREMISE
What exactly do you do? What is your product or service?

You should be very literal; not just ‘we aim to transform people’s lives’ – you should say something like ‘we provide excellent coaching and training courses’.

PROOF
This is the hardest one. What proof do you have to back up your Premise?
You quote a happy customer case study, or explain your personal credentials and background

So the Elevator Pitch for SpinVox would be:

PAIN
It’s a problem when you get too many voice-mails, which are difficult to prioritise

PREMISE
SpinVox convert voice mails to text, and send it to your mobile and e-mail

PROOF
SpinVox are the world’s leading supplier of this service with millions of users.

And the Elevator Pitch for the Beermat site would be:

PAIN
Starting a business can be intimidating, so entrepreneurs need top-quality advice

PREMISE
www.beermat.biz is an excellent on-line resource for entrepreneurs

PROOF
It is based on ‘The Beermat Entrepreneur’, one of the most popular books on entrepreneurship, with sales of over 75,000 in the UK alone.

I look forward to reading your elevator pitches – please call me and lave a Spinvox message on 07802 483834.

Written by Mike Southon