Have you thought about how you would sell yourself professionally if you only had 30 seconds? It doesn’t seem like a long time, yet you can communicate a huge amount of information in 30 seconds! But how can you confidently define and articulate your purpose and your value proposition, through developing a succinct and engaging elevator pitch?
The term elevator pitch comes from a scenario of a coincidental meeting with someone the lift, someone you want to impress. If you use this 30 second journey to interest and engage the other person, then the conversation may continue afterwards and could lead to a meeting or potential business opportunity.
Elevator pitches are used to define your value proposition. They get across your unique selling point quickly and effectively. They are much more than a quick line about you, they create focus on individuality and force you to consider what makes you special, what makes you stand out from the crowd. No two pitches are ever the same because they are bespoke selling tools, as individual as the person delivering them.
You might think that such a pitch is only relevant to salespeople or entrepreneurs, someone with an agenda or something to sell quickly, but actually elevator pitches are important for any professional person. Good elevator pitches are persuasive and spark interest. They engage your audience and make a memorable exchange for the person on the other end. And because they are not too long, they are rarely interrupted, offering you a fantastic opportunity to sell yourself freely and not in response to a direct question.
Strong pitches become part of your personal branding, part of knowing your strengths and how to sell them. There are many contexts in which it is helpful to organize your thoughts in this way so that all your strengths and selling points come out fluently rather than a jumble of words that. In interview situations particularly, having a pre-prepared pitch can help overcome nerves and will enable you to present as confident and professional, as well as helping the interviewer understand quickly what you are all about.
There are a couple of hurdles to using elevator pitches, these are some tips you can use when creating one of your own:
- Practice makes perfect. To avoid sounding overly rehearsed or awkward, it is important to practice your elevator pitch. As human beings, it is not always natural to sell ourselves in an open manner, it can feel as though you are bragging – but having a clear introduction and focus on your strengths is so important to catch the attention of someone that you want to impress.
- Knowing what to say. This is a real challenge and one for which few people are usually prepared. It’s generally easier to create a pitch for a product or a business because the USP aspect will have already been established. When you are talking about yourself, however, it’s a different ball game. Your USP is something which may have changed – and will continue to change – over the years. Take time to consider your own strengths and personal values and focus on how to articulate these in a way related to the purpose of your pitch.
If you have never thought of developing your own elevator pitch, give it a try, you never know what doors it could open for you both professionally and personally!
