The Elevator Pitch – Who You Are and What You do?
One of the quickest ways to set yourself apart from the competition is to have a compelling elevator pitch. In the first few moments of encountering someone new, whether at a networking function, happy hour, charity event or in an actual elevator, people like to quickly get to the bottom of who you are and what you do. Most people have a hard time at explaining what they’re all about, let alone making it sound interesting. Creating an elevator pitch of who you are and what you do will set up your future conversation to leave your new found contact wanting to know more and learn about your value.
Top Four ways to craft your unique value into an elevator pitch:
1. Make it Time bound
30 seconds or less explaining what you do. If it takes you 5-10 minutes to explain yourself, you’ll lose your audience quickly. Being concise and succinct with an intriguing approach will make people want to know more and ask questions right away.
2. Write it out: 2-4 sentences
Practice writing a few versions and avoid trying to make it sound like you memorized it from your resume. Free write at first to create a natural flow describing what makes you… You!
3. Use Keywords
Positioning your VALUE and be picky about your words…action verbs highly recommended. Check out a few words below to use that are impactful:AdvisedEvaluateFacilitateOrganizeHeadDirectAnalyzeIdentifyResearchAssessForecastCreateDevelopDriveLeadDesignCustomizeHelpAssistGenerateIncorporateExecuteApproveArrangeSpearheadTransformPresentPerformShapeSolve
4. Using your title is lazy…
Be more creative in what you actually DO versus what your “title” is. The “doing” is your value… in what ways are you bringing value to your company, clients or coworkers on a day to day basis? Do you drive top line revenue to the business? Do you excel in creating efficiencies in operations? If you have a hard understanding your VALUE, spend time figuring out how you impact the customer. Every business has clients/customers and that’s what drives all companies to succeed. So what is your role to make sure the customer is happy, and the business is profitable?
5. Voice record or Practice with a friend
And get comfortable saying it. This is a great way to “fake it till you make it”. If you’re new in your role, not quite confident in what you do, or in the process of rebranding yourself, trying it out will give you insight as to how you want to pitch yourself.
Here’s my elevator pitch for example:
“I am new blogger, travel warrior, sales strategist and an unshakable optimist dedicated to helping others transform to the person they want to be.”
Commit to yourself that the next event you attend where there’s an opportunity to meet new people, you’ll have a pitch ready to share and quickly engage folks. Who knows, they could turn out to be your next client, business partner, investor or hire!
