How to Make a Compelling Elevator Pitch? Structure, Mistakes, and Recommendations

Whether you`re looking for partners or intended to raise funds, an elevator pitch is a must for any entrepreneur. Its aim is to make the listeners do what you want, so to manage it, you have to acquire the art of persuasion.

Today we`ll walk you through the core elements of the elevator pitch, while disclosing the pitfalls to mind and tips to reach perfection.

What Is the Elevator Pitch?

This is a one-minute presentation of the project aimed to attract investors, partners, or clients. It follows from the name that this is a very short description of an idea that can convey the key message. By default, there is no place for extra details or numerous achievements you might be tempted to boast about. When pitching, you have to keep it right to the point to make the audience like your idea, not get bored.

Structure of the Elevator Pitch

The classic elevator pitch lasts for up to 1 minute. Of course, its structure may vary but, traditionally, it includes the following components:

Introduction

Start with a simple description of your project stressing the key points. Mention what problem it is committed to solving and how relevant the idea is. Provide facts and sound arguments like takeaways of your research or regional statistics. The first sentence may be the following: "We are setting up a hybrid store of super fast drones, this segment is soaring by 30% every year."

Monetization

Here you should briefly outline the business model, addressing the key question of how you will generate profit. Is it a subscription fee, commission, or franchises? Provide a clear picture of the monetization model to convince investors. These should be understandable figures like $10,000 per month or €200,000 per year. Here you can also cover such aspects as distribution channels and customer acquisition cost.

Strategy

This point is particularly important when pitching to an investor. Here you need to talk about plans for a certain period of time. For example, manufacture 500 drones next year or occupy a 10% market share in two years. The main thing is to give an understanding of where the startup is going and what its ambitions are.

Team

To confirm that you have enough expertise and experience to solve the stated problem, you need to elaborate on your team. Depending on your startup`s field, these may be marketing specialists, IT developers, UX designers, or product managers.

Goals

In the case of the network, you should mention what your startup needs now, whether these are partners from intersectional areas or modern equipment. It is important for investors to understand how much funds is required and for what purposes.

Preparation Stage

Making a PowerPoint presentation or hiding behind a camera is much easier than public speaking. Making elevator pitch face to face is a real challenge you should get ready for beforehand. Take the following steps to successfully prepare for the pitch:

Make a draft

To create a convincing speech, you should put it on paper first. By keeping things visual, it`s easier to build a reasonable structure and highlight the key points to draw attention to. Besides, you`ll be able to review your pitch, add something, or, oppositely, remove. This way you can gradually refine the speech and feel more confident, as a result

Get rid of unnecessary information

Don`t beat around the bush. Remember that your pitch should be as concise as possible to make a great impression and keep investors involved. Human attention span is really short so make sure you remove extra facts and complicated structures. It`s better to set the subject in advance so you centre the rest of the text around it.

Provide catchy information first

The rule of great orators say that the beginning of a speech is half of success. If you manage to spark the audience`s interest from the very start, you have every chance to persuade them to do whatever you want. To create a memorable beginning, say a catchy quote, surprising fact, or rhetorical question.

Rehearse & Get feedback

Of course, you can make rehearsals on your own, in front of the mirror, to see good it is. However, it is more efficient to present your pitch to someone who will be able to identify your weak points, unclear expressions and/or poorly formulated fragments of the speech until it becomes immaculate.

Record yourself

After all, you should like your pitch yourself. Otherwise, what`s the point to present the speech you don`t find appealing? To see how well you`re doing, you can make a video and pitch your idea. This way you`ll find out the strengths and weaknesses to achieve better results.

Stick to the time limit

Inherently, an elevator pitch cannot last longer than 1 minute. But many founders get too concerned about the content and forget about the time frame they have to follow. So ensure your speech both sounds compelling and meets the time requirements.

Mistakes When Pitching

Once you`re aware of the structure and things to prepare, it`s time to get familiar with the common errors aspiring founders make. Here`s the list of must-avoid mistakes that can impede your from successful pitching.

Too long or fast speech

Some feel very nervous when presenting and lose track of time as a result. They may speak either too fast or slow which affects the overall performance even though the content is great. Stick to an optimal pace making short pauses and highlighting the key points. Find the golden mean: don’t either rush or drag time. Your pitch shouldn’t tire the audience but excite it. 

Poor structure 

First, introduce yourself and your idea. You should tell investors not only about your merits and work experience, but also goals and plans for the future. There is no sense to simply speak about your abilities. It’s better to demonstrate how they can be helpful in practice. 

When it comes to the product, speak about its qualities, advantages, and profit. Pay attention to the latter, as your public should understand how they personally could benefit from your idea. 

Complicated speech 

You should avoid using complicated long sentences and sophisticated words. Make your speech as clear and simple as possible. It should flow well and be understandable for any public. It’s hard to listen to a long monotonous pitch full of unknown terms. 

Keep the text simple and informative. Set a timer and read it out. As soon as you meet the time requirements, your speech sounds natural and yet persuasive, your elevator pitch can go public. 

No practical evidence

Empty promises don`t make any sense. What does is real facts and numbers. To make your pitch more compelling, conduct a thorough market research. You should demonstrate you are aware of the segment your idea will be presented in. Tell investors why the market needs your startup and how it can be helpful for customers.

Lack of practice

As we`ve mentioned earlier, practice makes perfect. Without rehearsing your pitch, you`re likely to sound unassured and fail to persuade the audience. So don`t hesitate to practice your speech for yourself, friends, or colleagues.

Tips for Successful Pitching

To make your pitch smooth, we`ve also prepared a list of recommendation to follow.

Show social proof

These are tools that help convince the customer of the quality and potential demand of your product. Simply put, they reflect the attitude of others towards your products. 

Social proof is the currency of trust. And the more trust you have, the more likely it is that investors will get into the idea. As an example, you can tell a story about how your product solved someone`s problem and made their life better.

Share a heartfelt story 

Honesty is the best policy. So, instead of bragging about your achievements, you can prepare a story that reflects your personality and competence. Tell investors how you identified the problem, explain why existing solutions are ineffective, and give an example from personal experience. 

Provide answers to key questions 

As a rule, investors are interested in similar issues. What is the market size? What is the competitive advantage? Why is this problem important to you? Prepare yourself so that you easily answer all the questions. Eventually, the audience will be sure that your startup will survive in the long term. 

Be flexible

Although you can prepare something in advance, you can`t be ready for everything. Even though there is a question or reaction you were not expecting, you shouldn`t be confused, or at least show it. Adaptability is one of the key qualities for entrepreneurs and investors can challenge it to see how well you can cope with unexpected scenarios. Be ready to play it by ear to make the right impression.

Elevator Pitch Techniques

Finally, you need to grasp some techniques on awesome pitching. Simply sticking to the structure and following time limits might not be enough, you should have something to stand out from others.

Enticing question 

Ask a question that will attract the attention of the audience. It should address something that is very familiar to them.

Example: 

"Has your boss asked you to finish the report quickly before the end of the day? The founders of my company constantly faced this problem while working in the marketing department. So they created a tool that combines all the data in one place and generates unique reports in 30 seconds."

Increased trust 

Share facts from personal experience. Show that the problem affects you personally and explain how your startup can solve it. 

Example: 

"As the manager of our company, I talk to hundreds of marketers every month. 99% of them hate making reports: it's boring, long, and slow. This is where our product will help. It will collect all the data to create the report you need. "

Unexpected ending 

The task is to lead the audience to an independent answer to the question where your product will be the solution to the problem. 

Example: 

"You want to know how many potential customers your advertising campaign will be able to turn into buyers. How long will it take to compile such a report? If you had our product, you would already know the solution. Our tool generates reports in seconds."

Shocking statistics 

Provide statistics that will surprise the audience. These should be insights that will make people rethink the attitude to the problem and the role of your product in it. 

Example: 

"Marketing specialists will need 9,000 minutes from their working year in order to assemble all the projects in one place. How much money would you save if you removed this item from the scope of responsibilities? Our product is ready to take on this responsibility. "

Conclusion

Ultimately, pitching is about overcoming our fears. We always worry about what others may think and take criticism closely to heart. But by trying public speaking, you have a great chance to become better both personally and professionally. Whether your pitch succeed or fail, it's still a valuable experience. Even if you forgot all the words or mispronounced the company`s name, you overcame yourself and it's laudable!