Ditch the Elevator Pitch (And What to Do Instead)

Ditch the Elevator Pitch (And What to Do Instead)

It must have been around the mid-nineties when I first heard the expression “elevator pitch.” I was an estate agent at the time, working in rural Oxfordshire, devouring books on sales, communication and personal development. And the concept made sense. Having a neat 60-second summary ready for whenever anyone asked “so what do you do?”

If you’re not familiar with the idea, it goes something like this. You walk into an elevator and find it’s just you and Richard Branson. You’re going up to the fourth floor, so you have literally 60 seconds, the opportunity of a lifetime, to tell Richard everything about what you do. So he is impressed enough to hire you, or at least write you a massive cheque. Maybe even invite you to Necker for the weekend.

I have two broad problems with the concept.

Firstly, I’m English. It’s called a lift.

And secondly, if you really were to suddenly launch into a full explanation of your business and why Richard should buy from you, is he more likely to book those flights or push the Emergency button? I reckon I know the answer.

Why the elevator pitch gets networking wrong

Fast forward thirty years and I’ve now written books about business networking, attended well over 1,500 networking events, and spent more than two decades helping business owners get better results from the rooms they walk into. And I do not train people to have an elevator pitch.

Here’s why. Every big opportunity starts with a little conversation. Your 40 or 60 second introduction at a networking event is the start of that conversation, not the whole of it. The single biggest mistake I see people make, and it’s one that can be corrected quite quickly, is treating the 60 seconds as if it needs to contain everything. Their whole business. Every service they offer. The special deal they’re running this month. A brief history of how they got started.

The audience’s eyes glaze over. The opportunity is lost.

The word “pitch” is part of the problem. It implies that everyone else in the room is there to buy. They are not. They are there to sell, just like you. Nobody walks into a networking event thinking “I really hope someone pitches at me today.” What actually works is giving people just enough to make them curious. Enough to want to find out more. Enough to think “I should have a proper conversation with that person.”

That is a very different mindset from pitching.

What a great 60 seconds actually does

Think of your introduction not as a sales tool but as an opening line. Its job is not to close anything. Its job is to open a door.

The best 60-second introductions I have ever heard do three things. They make it immediately clear who the speaker helps and what problem they solve. They say something that makes at least one person in the room think “that’s me” or “I know someone like that.” And they leave people wanting to know more rather than feeling like they already know everything.

That last point is where most people go wrong. If you tell me everything in 60 seconds, there is no reason for me to come and find you afterwards.

Five things that will make your introduction work harder

Prepare it properly. This is a piece of marketing. Do you write your other marketing on the back of a napkin thirty seconds before it goes out? Treat your introduction with the same care. Write it, rehearse it, and update it regularly.

Think about what the room is buying, not what you are selling. There is a subtle but important difference. What problems are the people in that room trying to solve? Frame what you do in terms of that, not in terms of your own services list.

Speak in benefits, not features. “I am a bookkeeper” is a feature. “I help business owners stop losing sleep over their numbers” is a benefit. One of those makes me want to talk to you. The other one doesn’t.

Have a clear call to action. Tell people what you want them to do next. Speak to you afterwards. Visit your website. Think of someone they might introduce you to. Give them a direction.

Know how you are going to follow up. Your introduction is the start of the conversation. The follow-up is where the opportunity actually lives. Have a plan for that before you even walk into the room.

The real point

The elevator pitch was designed for a world where you had one brief moment and no second chance. Business networking is not that world. At a networking event you have the whole meeting, the coffee before it starts, the conversations after it finishes, the one-to-ones that follow, the social media connections, and all the follow-up conversations that come after that.

You do not need to say everything in 60 seconds. You need to say the right thing in 60 seconds, and then let the relationship do the rest of the work.

Don’t just tell. Intrigue. Don’t just sell. Start a conversation.

If you want help crafting a 60-second introduction that actually gets results, or you’re looking for a business networking keynote speaker for your next event or conference, I’d love to talk. That’s always where it starts.

Stefan Thomas is a keynote speaker, corporate trainer, and author of Business Networking for Dummies.