I know this month we’re focusing on branding, so it’s easy for people to forget that creating an elevator pitch is basic step one. You must communicate who you are and what you do, to others. Now, I’m going to present to you today a very simple framework so you can always nail a good elevator pitch regardless of who you are speaking to or how much time you have to speak to them.
And we’re going to do it while using three simple steps. With this 60 second elevator pitch approach, all you have to do is follow these steps. Then you can make sure that you’re leaving a tremendous impression on the people that you interact with and opening the door to new opportunities in business relationships.
3 Steps to Creating an Elevator Pitch: the PSA method!
STEP #1: P
So, the first step is P. I call this the “pitch like a PSA” method because of these letters, so bear with me. P is to take people to the Problem space. When you readily identify that you understand the Problems of your potential client you immediately build trust and credibility. And these are two things that are critical in order for an eventual sale to happen.
Now, sometimes you might be thinking, “Marie, I’m not really selling anything,” but that’s not true. If you’re in business, then you’re definitely always selling a product, an idea, or a service. And if you’re a service provider, oftentimes the service that you’re selling is you. Immediately you want to build credibility and trust. So that people feel compelled to work with you on a deeper level outside of this quick interaction you might have in an elevator.
Let’s take it to the Problem space. I’ll do my elevator pitch examples for you now so that you can see how this might work.
“I had worked for four years in the hardest, most stressful job of my entire life, and at the end of that stretch, I found myself sitting down in front of a brand new manager who looked me directly in the eye and told me, ‘I don’t even know what you do here.'”
Now that was definitely less than 20 seconds, but right away I’m taking you to the Problem space. Because I’m a leadership and executive coach who focuses on women and minorities magnifying their voices in business, I’m immediately identifying that I understand that problem of working so hard, and giving it your all, and not being seen or heard in the work environment. So, right away, I’m opening the door to build rapport with potential clients who might say, “yes, I identify with that.” I know exactly what she’s talking about, I know that feeling. And that emotional draw keeps them hooked and wanting to listen to the next part of the pitch.
STEP #2: S
Now, that takes us to the S in the pitch. The S is the Solution. This is where I offer myself as a viable Solution for the Problem that I’ve just described, and that my potential client is already starting to identify with. So, my next 20 seconds of creating an elevator pitch is presenting myself as the Solution and it usually sounds something like this:
“When I left that job, and decided to start my own business, I knew a lot of things. I knew that it was going to be hard. I knew that being a black woman in business was going to be hard. And I knew more than anything that I was ready for that change. And as an executive leadership coach who focuses on women and minorities who are looking to magnify their voice in business spaces, that’s exactly what I bring to my clients each and every day I work with them.”
Okay. So notice, right away, I’ve taken us from the Problem space and identified one, two or three ways that I tackle that Problem, right? So, helping to let people know, “yeah, you felt this way and what I offer is value one, value two, value three,”. Magnifying your voice, working specifically with women and minorities, and focusing on the business space. And again, I am positioning myself as someone who can relate to the very Problem my potential client has.
STEP #3: A
And then finally, the last step is some type of call to Action. To invite people to take a next step with you to see what other possibilities there may be. Now, your next step, or your Action, could be a small ask or it could be something big. It just depends on where you are in the situation and how much rapport you’ve built with a person you’re talking to.
My next step or my next 20 seconds for this Action piece usually sounds something like this,
“I would love to invite you to explore what coaching could provide for you. Would you be open to talking a bit more? You could schedule a 90 minute free consultation with me just by going to this link. Here, do you have your phone? We can schedule it right now.”
And just like that, I’ve invited people to take the next step with me. Helping to commit them to Action to explore what synergies might be there, and what possibilities there could be for us to share business and resources in the future.
Now, sometimes that’s a big step. If you’re rushed for time and people are moving very quickly, you might not be able to get in a full Action step. But by having some type of Action, like “let’s exchange cards,” “do you mind if I grab your email?” “What’s your phone number?” “I’ll text you right quick so we can talk more about it.” Any of those things are viable action steps that people can take immediately to make sure you stay connected and can go deeper into what the relationship could entail.
So those are the three steps to creating an elevator pitch like a PSA:
Problem, Solution, and Action.
I have a challenge for you:
And, now for the challenge, if you can do a 60 second elevator pitch, I challenge you to work that down to a 30 second elevator pitch. Can you do it in half as much time? And even better if you can get it down to three sentences. So that anytime someone direct-messages you on social media, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and asks, “Hey, what is it you do?” You can spit out almost instantaneously,
“I help magnify women in business spaces so that they can do more and be more for their communities.”
That’s mine.
So I challenge you to take the PSA challenge:
- do your 60 second practice
- then get it down to 30 seconds
- and then three sentences.
Here are a few elevator pitch examples to inspire you. And when you’re done creating an elevator pitch, go ahead and drop that into the comments so I can shout you out.
Grab the Freebie!
Make sure to grab the freebie to work through the PSA steps even more intentionally:
High-Tides-Pitch-Better-Than-a-PSA-Worksheet.pdf (2116 downloads )
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