How to Write an Elevator Speech
When I was 24 years old I went to the very first business seminar I’d ever gone to. I’ll never forget the moment the guy taught us about an elevator speech (or pitch, as it’s often called). It made SO much sense to me and I recalled having many people in my life give me their elevator pitch, but never having my own.
For those who haven’t been to a business seminar like that one, let me give you a quick recap of what an elevator speech is.
Let’s pretend you’re in an elevator and someone asks what you do. You have less than 30 seconds to share your life’s work before the doors open and they depart forever. What do you say?
I can see you now with your mouth wide open, trying to find the words.
Let’s do this together so you can make it right when your next customer shows up asking what you do.
I like to split it up into two parts. The first is explaining the pain point that people have and the second is what I do to solve that problem.
There are some key phrases here and the rest you fill in. Here’s phrase #1:
Well you know how...?
This could be anything.
- Well you know how so many people suffer with sleep issues because of stress?
- Well you know how so many families are looking for a more natural lifestyle?
- Well you know how sometimes your kids drive you so crazy that you consider putting yourself in a time out?
So what I do is I ...
Now you follow it up with how you fix that problem you just talked about.
- So what I do is I teach others how to manage stress with essential oils.
- So what I do is I show families how easy and cost effective it is to replace toxins with essential oils.
- So what I do is I get chocolate and hide in the bathroom.
Well, maybe not that last one. But you get the idea.
At the end I like to leave them with an invitation to my class.
If I invited you to an upcoming class, would you be interested in attending?
Sold.
Here’s a full blown elevator speech I’ve used in the past for when I’ve spoken to mothers.
Well you know how so many moms are sick of their children always being sick and want more natural ways to care for their children and family? So what I do is I empower mothers, like yourself, by teaching them the benefits and uses of essential oils to keep their family healthy and supported. If I invited you to an upcoming class, would you be interested in attending?
I think that was 14 seconds.
Feel free to use that exactly as it is or tweak it to your own liking. It’s yours for the taking!
To help you develop your elevator speech even more, I made a fun printable for you!
