In the age of social media, it may be about time that we reassessed the elevator pitch, or even ditched it all together, so here are 6 alternatives that you can use instead.
The elevator pitch is a staple of networking master-classes and sales seminars. It originates from an era when senior managers and key influencers lived on the top floor in the c-suite. If you wanted to catch their ear, you only had only a few moments from when that elevator door closed, to when it opened again on the next floor in which to impress and deliver your message. But this was in an age before social media and email, when you were unlikely to have even met those people up on the c-suite, let alone been able to communicate with them.
The elevator pitch then evolved in the world of face-to-face networking to be your verbal business card when introducing yourself to the room and in this context it has some continuing relevance. It has to be fast, punchy, and concise, but also delivered in a confident and word-perfect fashion and maybe it's about time we reassessed it and evolved it into something that fits more with today's world and the many ways in which we communicate and receive information.
6 Alternatives to the Elevator Pitch
There are six alternatives identified by best-selling business writer, Dan Pink, in his excellent book about sales and selling, entitled, To Sell is Human. It's not to say that the elevator pitch is dead, instead you need to have greater variety to the way in which you deliver your message, so here's the 6 to consider:
#1: The Pixar Pitch
This is my personal favourite. Pixar is the successful animation studies in California, formed by George Lucas and turned around by Steve Jobs, which has gone on to make billions of dollars with successful animated films, such as Toy Story, WALL-Eand Up. The success of their animated movies was analyzed by a former Pixar story artist, Emma Coats, who developed a six-sentence structure that harnesses the power of storytelling in a concise and focused way:
Once upon a time ___________. Every day______________. One day____________. Because of that____________. Because of that_________. Until finally______.
This structure provides the framework for your Pixar pitch. So, using Windsor Training as an example:
Once upon a time companies struggled to get quality training from their training providers. Every day HR managers were inundated with calls and emails from trainers offering the same old thing. One day Windsor Training decided it was about time that training became more about what the client needed. Because of that training programmes were developed that blended delivery methods to suit the client and the specific needs of the learner, together with ongoing support. Because of that companies started to see a measurable improvement in the performance of their teams and the development of their people. Until finally businesses couldn't quite remember how they ever managed before Windsor Training came on the scene.
#2: The One-Word Pitch
Not as dumb as it sounds and bear in mind the many ways that we communicate a message to its intended recipients nowadays. If you think that it is not possible to be able to pitch your meaning in a solitary word, then I defy you to be told the word "search" and not think of Google, or "priceless" and not think of Mastercard. What one word do you feel embraces your brand and your values? For Windsor Training, I'd go with the word 'developed': embracing the tangible improvements in the team and the methods by which the training is delivered.
#3: The Twitter Pitch
The Twitter pitch is restricted to 140 characters or less - the length of a tweet. It encourages you to focus and summarize what you do, without too much extraneous babble. Research suggests that we rate more highly tweets that pose a question, so for example:
Would you like training that targeted your needs and delivered a return on investment through the development of your people?
#4: The Subject-Line Pitch
Email is still a ubiquitous part of our lives and the subject-line pitch needs to engage with our audience and encourage them into conversation. Subject-line pitches can either be intriguing, useful, but they also need to be specific. For example, if I was sending you an email about this post, I might entitle it, "6 Powerful Ways to Help You Update the Elevator Pitch".
#5: The Rhyming Pitch
Research suggest that we sub-consciously place greater reliance on statements that rhyme - aiding memory and understanding. In the trial of OJ Simpson, the defence lawyer, Johnnie L. Cochran, famously advised the jury, when considering the evidence of the gloves worn by the murderer, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit." The glove didn't fit and Simpson was acquitted. Haribo, the German confectionery company, has a slogan that rhymes in several languages: "Kids and grown-ups love it so - the happy world of Haribo."
#6: The Question Pitch
If I make a statement, such as, "training will deliver an improvement in the performance of your team," you can receive this information, but not feel the need to respond or acknowledge it in any particular way. A question, however, forces the listener to respond, whether openly or internally, but this also requires a greater degree of receptiveness to the content of the message. For example, "How can Windsor Training help enhance the development of your team today?"
The end of the elevator pitch?
Maybe not. The elevator pitch continues to have a place, largely because it has become a generic term to cover a range of different types of statement. But this article has hopefully opened your eyes to a range of alternatives and it might be worth thinking about how you might develop some of these for your own business.
Have you developed a pitch, based upon the alternatives above? Why don't you pitch them to us in the comments below?
Will Trevor is the Founder and Training Consultant at Windsor Training. Please click 'Follow' if you would like to hear more from Will in the future. Feel free to also connect via his Linkedin page, or via Twitter and Facebook or email: will.trevor@windsortraining.net
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