The entrepreneurs nervously walk out to present to the panel of sharks, (i.e. investors.) They excitedly share their product or business idea in the hope of persuading one or more sharks to invest in their dream.
Given just a few minutes to make their case, successful contestants leave with the financing and mentorship they seek. The less persuasive presenters leave empty handed.
Also called a lift speech or elevator speech, your elevator pitch is like a talking business card for your brand, only better. In one minute or less, a good elevator speech is your chance to tell a prospective customer how your brand will improve their life.
The truth is, you are walking into your own shark tank every time you interact with potential customers, whether you’re in a planned business setting or at a swim-up bar while vacationing in Cancun.
The next time a shark crosses your path, will you be ready?
To learn how to write your own elevator speech for your business or brand, check out this short video with Dovetail President and Chief Creative Officer, Scott Leisler. Uncover the 6 elements that make up the perfect formula to capture more opportunities.
How to Write an Elevator Speech for Your Business
Transcription Below:
Hey guys, it is Scott here with Dovetail, and today I thought I would walk you through the six steps involving creating the most effective and persuasive elevator pitch for your business, for your brand. Now, I am a Shark Tank fan. It is something my family enjoys to watch together. So we record on Friday night and then we watch it on Saturday morning before we really begin our day. And the part that we all like the most is the first 30 to 60 seconds. Now, this is when the entrepreneurs enter the stage and they have a chance to articulate their story, their value, and the benefits that they offer their customers. Sometimes these pitches resonate and sometimes they are total flops, and I don’t want your story to be a flop. I want to give you all the different tips, tricks, and ammo that we’ve learned so that you can create your own. So by the end of the video, hopefully you will have that and you’ll be able to begin your own and share it with your team so that you are in a better chance to have more successful opportunities as you move forward. So if you’re ready, I’m ready. Let’s get into it and I’m going to start sharing.
Step 1: Identify Your Target Audience
All right, so getting into the first step, you’re going to want to identify immediately who you help. And the reason why you want to identify who you help is because the person that you’re talking to is going to be running a scenario in their head as to whether or not they should be paying attention. If they resonate with who you help, then they’re more likely to listen to what you’re going to say next. And as you’re doing this, you’re going to be very specific as to who you help. So if you are in manufacturing, you’re going to want to say, we help manufacturers that produce X, Y, and Z. Do X, Y, and Z better. If you are in payments processing, you’re going to want to do the same thing. We help merchants in hospitality process their payments even faster than the competition by doing X, Y, and Z. So step one, identify who you help. All right?
Step 2: Describe the Problem You Solve, Emotionally
Step two, you’re going to want to describe the problem and the reason why you’re going to want to do this is because it’s your first chance to make that emotional connection with the person that you are speaking with. Emotional connections really impact decision making, and you want them to see themselves in the types of problems that you’re describing and also make that connection that you are the solution to those problems. So step two, describe the problem.
Step 3: Explain How You Solve the Problem
All right, step three. Now this is where you get to define the solution to the problem that you use. You just described this is really what you’re good at. This is where you get to say how you will help them, what you do. One word of caution, just keep it short. You got to be succinct and selected because again, this is a 30 to 60 second elevator pitch.
Step 4: Describe the Action Plan to Solve the Problem
All right, so step four, this is the action plan that you are going to put in place to deliver on the help that you just described. So you’re not going to have time to unveil every detail at this particular moment because it is short, but you’re going to want to leave them with the idea that you do know what to do next. You are an expert in your category, in your field, and you are here to help and give them the confidence that they need to move forward.
Step 5: Explain the Importance of the Plan
All right, so getting into step five, you’re going to want to tell them why your action plan is important. And the reason why it is important is because it’s been designed to help avoid any missteps or risk that’s unnecessary in their process. So you got to remember that when people are talking to you, they’re always running the formula through their head. Is this person going to help me or are they going to hurt me? It all kind of ties back to what we learned in school, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs with that need for safety. So this scenario is always there. So if you can, you’re going to tell them how you avoid any risks or danger that might be in the way of their success by your process.
Step 6: Tell them What Success Looks Like
All right, step six. The last step. We made it all the way through, guys. So here you going to want to describe what success looks like, what the positive outcome that whoever you are speaking with could anticipate, should they choose to learn more about what you are offering them. And the reason why this is important is because it ties your whole elevator pitch together from start to finish. You’ve started off with who you help, what the problem is, how you help solve that problem. Then we’ve got into the action plan for that problem and why it’s important because you are avoiding missteps or risk, which is great. Nobody likes risks or missteps, especially if your career is potentially in the line and what they can expect from working with you, which is a successful outcome of some kind that’s relevant to your business. So that’s it. Those are the steps on how to write a more persuasive and effective elevator pitch. If you’d like this video, hit the button and please come back and check in soon.