More often than not, elevator pitches tend to challenge small business owners and budding entrepreneurs. This usually happens because a business—even at the idea stage—has numerous sides to it, making it difficult for these entrepreneurs to properly prioritise the information that needs to be in the pitch.
An elevator pitch is a short overview of a business, product or services, which if done rightly, can be a very powerful asset for a small business owner.
Typically, an elevator pitch ranges from 150-250 words and it contain key details that will help the reader understand your business swiftly.
These details are written below:
1. START WITH A CAPTIVATING HOOK
Begin your pitch with a sentence that grabs the attention of the reader. This can come in the form of a question or statistics that is specific to your sector.
For example, “Did you know that Africa has the highest youth population in the world?”
Statements like this keep the reader eager for what comes next.
2. CLEARLY DEFINE WHO YOU ARE
In one short sentence, introduce yourself giving a broad overview of what you do.
For example, “My name is Akim James and I’m the founder and CEO of AgroBuildex Limited.”
3. DESCRIBE WHAT YOU/YOUR BUSINESS DOES AND THE PROBLEMS YOU WANT TO SOLVE
Write one or two sentences explaining what your business does on a daily basis. If you have a mission statement for your business, you can use information from it as a guide.
Also, write a sentence stating the problem(s) that you have identified that your business is geared towards solving.
For example, “AgroBuildex is a company that rents agricultural equipment and machinery to agricultural businesses at a subsidised rate. I was inspired to start this business when I realised that most medium-scale and small-scale farmers lack the resources to pay for the equipment they need to produce efficiently.”
4. INDICATE YOUR TARGET MARKET
In a sentence or two, identify and describe your niche audience and the benefits they stand to gain from using your product or service.
5. WRITE DOWN WHAT IS UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT ABOUT YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS
Every business should have attributes that set them apart from others in their sectors. Write those qualities in a sentence or two.
6. WRITE DOWN YOUR NEXT STEPS
An elevator pitch is not complete without a call to action for both the reader and the writer. You need to clearly state what you want from your audience as a result of your pitch.
Remember that a brilliant elevator pitch can give your business a major boost and act as an icebreaker at networking events.
So, craft it well!
