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Elevator Pitch: The Ultimate Guide for Business Owners

elevator pitchHow many times are you asked, ‘What do you do?” Do you stumble over your words? Do you struggle with what to say in a concise manner? Having an elevator pitch is a must with any business whether you are a business owner, direct sales consultant, or professional. An elevator pitch is a short, concise conversation detailing how your business will help it’s target market. It was coined an “elevator pitch” due to being able to deliver the pitch in an elevator. A typical elevator pitch is 30 seconds; however, there are situations that arise that call for 7 second pitches and 90 second pitches. It’s imperative to have several pitches ready for various situations.

Where to use your Elevator Pitch!

Elevator pitches are used in so many situations.

1. Business networking events (sit-down formal & happy hour social) Most of the time you are given 30 seconds to deliver your pitch during a sit-down formal networking event, but have your 90 second pitch ready just in case you are allowed to talk longer.  Ninety seconds is meant to provide more concise information.  If you are going off on “tangents” during your pitch, then it will not be effective.

2. Conferences. Have all three pitches ready (7 second, 30 second, and 90 second). Whether you are a vendor or attending a conference, the 7 second pitch and 30 second elevator pitches will be the ones you use the most.

3. When “out and about”. You might find yourself using an elevator pitch at the grocery store, the mall, a children’s event, a sporting event, concert, morning walk, reunion, etc. This starts out as a 7 second pitch and could lead to your 90 second pitch based on their interest.

4. Social Media. Every social media channel has a section to include your elevator pitch

Ask these questions before writing your Elevator Pitch

1. Who is your target market? (Hint: Anyone that has skin is not an answer. Or anyone that has hair is not an answer. That is way too broad.) Narrow your target down to a specific niche.

2. What are you trying to market? Your business, a service within your business, a new book, a new/existing product, new/existing service, etc? Maybe you have a new product, promotion, or service that you are focusing on this month. Be specific. What are the advantages of your product/service? What can you provide? Statistics give your elevator pitch an extra depth of information that potential customers crave because it’s concrete information.

3. Where are you marketing your product – in a particular city, state, country? Online? Worldwide? When some of your audience doesn’t live in a particular city, for example, they can refer your services.

4. How does this product/service help your target market? How will this product service make your target market feel?

5. Statistics provide an extra depth of information within your elevator pitch that can turn your “potential” customer into a customer.

Are you struggling with writing your own elevator pitch?
Click HERE for details detailing our elevator pitch services.

Preparation & Delivery

Once you write your elevator pitch, it’s imperative to work on the delivery. I have heard fantastic pitches that were executed beautifully as well as pitches that were written well but were delivered poorly.  Imagine being at a networking event and one of the pitches given was filled with “um, uh, like”. Then imagine the person says something like, “I’m really nervous” or “this is my first time doing this kind of thing”. I’ve heard it all. And it doesn’t make me want to jump out of my seat and see how their business could help me nor does it make me want to see how I can help them through referrals. In fact, I wouldn’t want to schedule a sit-down based on their lack of confidence and preparation, would you?

Similarly, lack of preparation infers that you are not serious about your business. Fumbling over words gives potential customers the assumption that you lack confidence, don’t know your product/service, and don’t take your business seriously. That’s awful, isn’t it? Because if you are like most business owners, you have spent thousands of hours and thousands of dollars creating your service/product. The last thing you want to do is undervalue or misrepresent your business with a not-so-stellar elevator pitch!


microphone for elevator pitch

Follow these steps for an impeccable delivery:

1. Practice, practice, practice. Your elevator pitch should roll off your tongue without thinking. Personally, my favorite place to practice this is in the car! I will say it over and over and over until I don’t have to think about it anymore. I spend so much time in the car that this just makes sense.

2. Stand in front of a mirror or video-tape yourself to practice more. This provides body language feedback. Watch yourself before you practice your speech then watch yourself after you have it memorized. Notice how your body language changes!

3. Practice in front of your biggest critics or hire a professional to give you feedback. It is better to get feedback on your pitch before standing in front of potential customers!

4. Lastly, smile and enjoy yourself. People want to work with confident, friendly people. It takes 5 seconds to make a great first impression – start with your elevator pitch and blow their mind!

Above all, business owners have so many decisions to make that it can be overwhelming to decide what to spend money on first!  I have worked with incredibly smart business owners that had their product or service ready, their website SEO ready, their office space ready, their home office immaculate, but they needed to fine-tune their elevator pitch to create need, desire, and/or want from their target market.  Click HERE to see our pitch service that could potentially change your business.

Are you struggling with your elevator pitch?  Contact XMstyle for more information.

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First Impression: 5 Style Tips for Business Owners


Style Blazer jacket impressionAs a business owner, you are always “on call”.  It doesn’t matter if you are a small business owner, direct seller, professional – doctor, teacher, lawyer, accountant, engineer, etc – you are representing your business and your personal brand.  Part of that personal brand is the FIRST IMPRESSION that you make on your potential customer/client.  Overall, your first impression consists of appearance, behavior, and communication.

Embarrassing Moment!

I’ll never forget my first embarrassing moment with first impressions.  I was working at a fortune 100 company in California fresh out of college.  We earned one day a month where we could “dress down” but dressing down years ago was not wearing a suit (so I came to learn)!  I showed up at work in dress pants, a blouse and flats thinking I was pretty dressed up.  I happened to be in the elevator with some managers / executives within the company when one woman looked right at me and asked, “Is this your dress down day?”  It was NOT.  I probably turned BEAT RED.  I loved this job and didn’t want to lose it over my attire.  I’ll never forget the conversation. She stated, “This is not part of our regular day dress code.”  I responded, “I thought my outfit was professional.”.  She finishes, “Flats are not professional.   You need a jacket.”  End of discussion.  Elevator opened, thankfully.  While I was embarrassed and annoyed at this woman’s comments, she helped me rethink the way I dressed.  That conversation would never happen again.

Dress Codes are different, First Impressions are the same.

first impression1.  Know your environment.  As a business owner, if your “esthetic” or “business philosophy” is to wear a t-shirt and shorts every day because you want to be comfortable, then that is your right.  You make the rules in your environment.  However, when you are trying to attract new customers / clients, you need to know your audience.
     Example: Let’s say you own an IT business and are trying to get a contract for a local attorney’s office.  Showing up in shorts and a t-shirt is not going to fly.  You want to dress for THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
     Example:  Let’s say you are a direct seller and trying to attract more customers when you are out and about.  Just yesterday, a friend told me about a direct seller offering to try her products.  Later that week, my friend says to me, “why would I ever purchase clothing or accessories from her when she looks frumpy and disheveled every time I see her?”.   Please don’t take this the wrong way.  These are the facts.  It’s human nature.  We create a first impression of someone within 7 seconds.  When you are polished and put together, you give your potential customer the impression that you are confident, knowledgeable, and trustworthy.  Why would you buy any kind of product/service from someone that was disheveled?  My thought process would lead me to believe that they are not going to continue with customer service, know their products, etc.  While this may be far from the truth, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE FIRST IMPRESSION.
2.  Wear a Jacket  Adding a jacket to your outfit gives the impression that you are trustworthy.  Is it any surprise that men have been wearing jackets in the business world for years?   In today’s world, wearing a jacket with jeans, boots, and a blouse can be an amazing outfit.  A long necklace or statement necklace complement the outfit; just CLICK HERE to get more necklace details!
3. Shoes!  Please wear comfortable shoes.  Three years ago, I went to a conference where the speaker was confident, smart, and sharp.  However, she bragged about her name-brand shoes ($500/pair) yet she couldn’t walk in them and told us that!!  I love fancy shoes but if you cannot walk in them, don’t buy them.  Style should not hurt no matter what you learned as a little girl.  Do you walk or take the metro/subway to work?  If so, wear flats!  Based on your foot, find the brand that is most comfortable for you such as Tieks, Me Too, or Coach.  In today’s world, wearing a pair of cute sneakers with your dress on your commute to/from work is totally acceptable.  I would recommended taking a pair of heels or dress shoes to change into at work.  Don’t get stuck in an elevator with a human resources Captain like I did!  Remember, a powerful first impression requires thought and includes appearance, branding, and communication.
4.  Dress for the desired transaction amount.  When meeting someone the first time, in half a second, contact is eye-to-body.  Hence, they notice your clothes before your face.   Many business owners cringe when they hear this because they don’t want to stray from their personality.
A few years ago, I had a young, intelligent client that insisted on wearing jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt when meeting potential clients.  She hired me because she was getting a lot of business appointments, but wasn’t closing any sales.  She was selling a service ranging from $3000 – $15,000 (per month).  While that may not seem like a lot of money to some people, for others it’s their entire life’s savings.  These potential customers needed the whole package from this business owner.  They needed her to convey trust and professionalism.  She wasn’t conveying either.  Why would they trust her with their money and time when she is showing up disheveled, unprofessional, and appearing like she doesn’t care.
This young business owner was sharp and knew her business inside out; however, she gave the impression to her customers that she wasn’t serious about her business.  Of course, she was passionate about her business, creative, intelligent, and had a warm personality.   With all of those fantastic traits, she couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t closing sales.  Once she changed her attire to match her transaction amount, she closed sales.
Trustworthy, Confident, & Knowledgeable
As a business owner, you want your potential customer to take one look at you and know you are trustworthy, confident, and knowledgeable! If you struggle with what to wear when meeting new customers, check out the Style Uniform!
There is a way to show your personality through your wardrobe.  If you struggle with this, please contact me HERE.