Have you ever froze at a networking event when someone asked what you do? Or maybe there were a few too many “ums” in your pitch? Or, most critically, did you see eyes starting to glaze as you babbled on?
I think the 30-second elevator pitch at a networking event is too long given everyone’s reduced attention span.
Babara Lopez, the Elevator Pitch Coach, just gave me a great tip on creating a great and quick elevator pitch.
Start with, “Well, you know some businesses have [insert the problem you solve]?”
Pause for acknowledgement.
Continue, “Well, what I do is [insert your solution]”
If you’ve done your pitch well and the recipient is interested, then a reply of, “So, how do you do that?” means you’ve done well.
Here’s the Inquisix pitch.
“Well, you know some companies are looking to expand their business through referrals?”
“Well, we connect those company owners and salesreps to reputable professionals to give and get referrals confidentially.”
All About Referral Selling 
Thanks for the mention, Michael! I had to chuckle and nod knowingly at “eyes glaze over”. When I first started my business five and a half years ago I only did video commercials…and whenever I said the word “video”, I’d immediately see eyes glaze over! I could tell they were thinking “sounds expensive!”, “too much work”, “I don’t want to be on video”, etc. Instead, I started using a pain point or problem they might be experiencing and that helped them understand that value of video immediately. It’s simply the power of having a focused introduction!
Great “meeting” you today!
Great post. I recently came across this elevator pitch builder through a colleague and it’s a great tool.
http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/careers/pitch/
Have a few of your colleagues try it and see how similar or different your pitches are.
Stephanie