How to create a riveting elevator pitch for networking events
Have you ever attended a Business Networking Meeting in which everyone else is asked to deliver an Elevator Pitch to the rest of the group?
As your turn to speak comes around, you get more and more anxious, thoughts swirling around in your mind, not knowing exactly what you’re going to say.
Yes, we’ve all been there and done that!
Business networking events are a golden opportunity for small business owners to meet and to get to know one another, and to potentially refer business to one another.
That’s why you owe it to yourself and your business to invest some time and energy in crafting a powerful and compelling elevator pitch of which you are proud, and that gets results.
Here are some tips to get your creative juices flowing!
Make it short and sweet
Your elevator pitch needs to be just the right length – don’t cram so much information into it that everyone’s heads are spinning, when they hear it.
Your pitch needs to be roughly between 30 seconds and 2 minutes. This represents the approximate time you would travel between the floors on an elevator. Which is how the term elevator pitch started in the first place!
Remember that the aim of the Elevator Pitch is to pique your audience’s interest and to act as a teaser.
You want the people who are interested in you and your business to approach you or make contact with you afterwards, and to learn more about you and how you help others.
Create an emotional connection
We don’t do business with ideas.
Rather, we do business with people – in particular people we know, like and trust.
Aim to create an emotional connection with your audience.
You could reveal something interesting about yourself or say something humorous to break the ice.
This could even be a great talking point for others when they approach or contact you after the networking event.
Check out the following video from Martha Hansen on some best practices on how to craft your next elevator pitch for networking purposes.
Martha Hansen's tips on Elevator Pitches
Start it with a bang!
People decide quite quickly if they will pay attention to you.
Start your elevator pitch in a way that hooks your audience in from the get-go.
For example, at a Networking meeting, you could ask a thought-provoking question that the audience could answer in their heads or with a show of hands.
Dr Ivan Misner, from Business Networking International (BNI), says that your elevator pitch should pass the “eyebrow test”.
In other words, as you launch into your speech, you want your audiences eyebrows to be raised, with curiosity and interest, rather than your listeners eyebrows scrunching down, in which case, you’ve confused them!
The position of your audience’s eyebrows is like a litmus test, indicating that you may need to rework your elevator pitch, to make it more intriguing.
Check out this tip from Dr Misner, and some of his other great tips on:
Dr Ivan Misner's elevator pitch tips for networking events
For some ways to create immediate interest, when starting any speech or presentation, please refer to blog post:
How to start your speech with a bang!
Focus on the Benefits
As a business owner, talk about the benefits your product or service offers, rather than its features.
As the saying goes, you need to “sell the sizzle, not the steak”.
People are tuned into radio station WIIFM. So the more you can convey how they will benefit, the more intrigued they will be.
The following blog post discusses the importance of you addressing your audience’s benefits:
The importance of talking audience benefits
For example, if you are a life insurance broker, rather than talking about the different policies you sell (one of the features), you could discuss how you provide peace of mind and economic security to a family, in the event of someone dying or being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. (the benefits of your service).
Watch your language!
Write simple, jargon-free language for the spoken word, rather than the written word.
After you have written your pitch, read it aloud and make sure it sounds natural and conversational. It needs to be so clear and simple, that a ten year old would understand it!
Keep editing your pitch till it is tight and reads well.
If you’re not 100% sure, ask friends/family for their suggestions and feedback.
If you’re different, flaunt it!
If your business is unique in any way, tell everyone how you are different and how this benefits your clients.
This is termed your USP – Unique Selling Proposition.
Your USP is a specific benefit that makes your business stand out when compared to other businesses in your market
In a world of sameness, if you can convey how you are different, and how that benefits your clients, you will stand out from the pack.
For some interesting examples of USP’s, check out:
https://www.shopify.com.au/blog/unique-selling-proposition
End with a Call To Action
Just like a great movie has a memorable ending, your elevator pitch should also end in style.
Tell the group what you would like them to do next!
You may want them to:
Speak with you after the networking session?
Arrange to chat on the phone or meet over coffee?
Connect on Linkedin?
Refer business to you?
Or something not on this list?
In Closing
When crafting your elevator pitch for a networking event, try to put yourself in the shoes of the audience.
Aim to make your elevator pitch interesting, intriguing and a great stepping stone to them wanting to meet you, speak with you and to forge a long-term relationship with you.
© 2022 Susan Weser. All rights reserved.
Susan Weser is the Founder of Speaking2Win, a boutique public speaking and presentation skills consultancy, based in Melbourne, Australia. Susan’s mission is to demystify public speaking and presenting. She loves to fast-track her clients’ public speaking success, empowering them with the skills and confidence to excel in all their public speaking endeavours.
