The 3 Version Elevator Pitch For Your Online Business

Michele 3139 Views, , ,
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Depending on whom you ask there is going to be a different views or techniques on how to develop your elevator pitch. I’ve narrowed it down to what I consider to be the three versions and three different target audiences; prospective leads, joint venture partners and venture capitalists (or angel investors).

Let’s first discuss what an elevator pitch is and is not

An elevator pitch is a message you want to convey to another; what your company is about, what you have to offer and the overall outlook of the business. It is a short synopsis giving others a clear and concise view of your business.

It is NOT a sales pitch but rather more a conversation. Once you’ve created it, it should roll off your tongue like melted butter on a hot breakfast muffin.

So why is an elevator important and why do you need one?

Your elevator pitch is your opportunity to make a good first impression and show someone that you are the right fit for their needs or a safe and reliable bet as an investment. It is a useful tool that can be used to help you market your business effectively and powerfully.

After much research done for my own elevator pitch, I’ve broken down into three versions: The One Liner, The 60 Second Marathon Pitch and The Power Pitch. (By the way, these titles are totally made up… just thought it would be fun to name them :).

The One Liner:

This is just as the title describes; pitching your company in one sentence. For example, let’s take NewBizBlogger. My One Liner elevator pitch goes something like:

NewBizBlogger provides online business tips and training to

internet entrepreneurs looking to start their own online business.

Straight, to the point, clear and concise …

The One Liner is great to use in everyday conversations with prospects or in your ‘About Me’ page. It leaves the person with a quick and clear understanding about what you do.

The 60 Second Marathon Pitch:

This pitch affords you a bit more creativity and allows you to get into further details about your business. It is designed to be spoken in the length of time you take an elevator ride. Here you can expand on your one liner to include more information about you and your team, your target market, your revenue outlook, your competitive advantage and a request.

Let’s use IBlogZone.com for this example.

Note: This is NOT IBlogZone’s elevator pitch! I have taken creative liberties based on what I know about IBlogZone and what is stated on his site and am using this solely as an example (although Francisco is more than welcome to use it however he wishes :).

iblog-elevator-pitch

As you can see more details about the company has been added; what it offers, who it targets, its background experience, the competitive advantage and ending it with a request for more information.

This pitch is great to include on your site, such as your ‘About Me’, ‘Services’ or ‘Sales’ page. You may even want to include it in your email marketing if you want to pitch a prospect on your product or service.

The Power Pitch:

This is going to be the meat and potatoes of your elevator pitch. This pitch will be especially useful if you are looking to acquire a venture capitalist or angel investor. It can last anywhere from 10-15 minutes long with videos, visual presentations and reports.

This is when you can go full out with your company presentation. Here you can get into more details about your companies background, your market, product or service benefits, accolades, credibility, how you plan to make money which in turn will make money for THEM, and so forth.

There you have it, my three versions of the elevator pitch. Keep in mind that the elevator pitch is a work in progress. It’s going to change as your business continues to evolve. My pitch today is not the same it was six months ago and still continues to change as my business grows as I take on new business ventures.

Care to share your One Liner elevator pitch?

Michele

Michele Welch works with entrepreneurs and small business owners to get the edge in business and life, develop their passion, and create a results driven marketing roadmap! One way I do this is to share with them how to use streamlined and effective online strategies to market their business online. Where I thrive at is in breaking down techie concepts into bite-sized nuggets where others can understand and easily implement what they've learned. Michele is also the creator of The Edge Code™ - Living Your Life & Business by Design! Please feel free to connect with her on Twitter& Facebook.

17 thoughts on “The 3 Version Elevator Pitch For Your Online Business”

  • Well Michele. I’m flattered with that “elevator pitch” you have made for my online business. Hope you don’t mind if I use it sometime, although I might have to wait a little until I truly become a “recognized leader” in the industry. That would be a bang, LOL.

    Then again, I might just leave it the way it is, kinda like what it says 🙂

    Seriously, thanks for providing this insight. I normally confuse “sales pitch” with that of “elevator pitch” and I am of the opinion that it is a powerful technique for everyone to develop and implement.

    • You’re more than welcome Francisco!! Really glad you liked it!

      You can add you own flare to it =) but for the most part I think it sums up where you are right now perfectly.

      Yeah, I can see how it can get a bit confusing between an elevator pitch and a sales pitch. The way I distinguish them is that the elevator pitch revolves more around you, your company and the overall outlook. Whereas a sales pitch focus more around a particular product and service in specific details.

      P.S. As for “recognized leader”, I don’t think you get to those numbers without being an industry leader …just my two cents. 😉

      Thanks again for the opportunity to write for you. I’m really enjoying it. 🙂

  • Hi michelle,
    I agree that you have to be able to tell people what the goal of your business is in a sentence or two. Then you can lay it out in detail after you capture interest.

    • Hi Richard,

      Yup, you got it! Just have to make sure that sentence or two is compelling enough to leave them wanting for more. =)

      Thanks for the comment and would love to hear your elevator pitch once you create one. 😉

  • Hey Michele,

    At first I wasn’t really sure what I am going to read, since the “elevator pitch” term was something new to me. Either way the article turned out to be a great read. All of the three versions have their advantages and disadvantages and it using them depends solely on the situation one’s in. Sometimes a single well structured sentence does the job well enough, but other times you need to dive more deeply for people to get a good idea of your business.

  • Hi Daniel,

    Well I’m glad you enjoyed it…thanks for the compliment! You may already have an elevator pitch and don’t even realize it. 😉

    I really just boils down to getting clear on your business and being able to communicate it in a compelling manner to entice others to inquire further.

    Thanks for stopping by and your input! 🙂

  • Hello Michele,
    I too, like Daniel, didn’t know what a elevator pitch is but know I think I got a little bit smarter.
    A one sentence that can bring a business deal is a great advantage and asset for a seller of any kind.
    I don’t exactly know how to summarize my business in one sentence without losing the essence of it. Although I can think of “The One Liner” as a way to begin a conversation and imply at the same time you want to do business with your interlocutor.

    As a funny note (I hope) I can say.
    “Come do business with us, we have free cookies” and this :”off your tongue like melted butter on a hot breakfast muffin” just made me hungry 🙂

  • mmm…makes me hungry too! …lol

    Hi Alex, think of your one liner as something you would say to a friend asking you “Hey Alex, so what do you do?” And proceed to tell them what product or service you offer and to whom.

    If you are in the cookie business, it would be something like , “We sell fresh home made cookies to local college universities.

    It describes your product and your target market, but it’s interesting enough that may keep the other person wanting to hear more. Of course, this is a general example, since I don’t know your business. But I love that you are willing to have fun with it! I think that is the key here. Take it serious enough that you get your message across but not so serious that it comes across boring and robotic.

    Good luck and thanks for the comment!

  • I’ve been totally overwhelmed and nervous everytime I’ve tried to pitch myself to anyone. This has been a godsend, I feel much more confident about how to present and express myself to potential clients and connections now. Great article, thank you.

    • Glad to hear it helped! It takes a while to get used to but with practice it will become second nature. Thanks for the lovely comment!

  • Great tips. I like seeing the elements included in the 60 second pitch. It helps to develop the pitch if you have specific elements to cover in it. I need to rewrite one now after reading this.

  • I have heard this one-line elevator pitch not too long ago and ignored it thinking it’s not too important for my online business. But now, upon reading this post, I guess I have to consider making it to attract more clients for my business. log home furniture

    • @Melinda @Andrei Good luck with your pitches! Good to hear this may be a helpful guide for you. =)

  • Hi Michele

    This post is on topic for me. I am doing product reviews from next week and have a web designer doing my shopfront for sourced products in my niche. Thanks for sharing such an informative post.

    Patricia Perth Australia

    • Hi Patricia,

      Nice to see you! Sounds exciting! Good luck your product reviews and thanks for your comment.

      P.S. Great title for your post!

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