- Diane Luccy
- Wednesday, January 25, 2023
If you are a small business owner and don't already have an elevator pitch for your business, you should! "An elevator pitch sums up the unique aspects of your business or personal brand and gets a conversation started." --Adam Uzialko, "Business News Daily", 6/29/2022
Your elevator pitch should be 30 to 60 seconds, include important details about your business that encourage follow-up questions from your audience and encourage additional conversation pertaining to your business. Your goal is not to introduce all relevant elements of your business but rather just enough information to spark interest in your product or service. You are keeping it simple. Present a problem to the audience, possible solution(s), and why you (your company) IS the solution.
There are many excellent online resources that can assist you with creating an elevator pitch for your business. I especially enjoyed reading the suggestions put forward in a recent article authored by Marisa Sanfilippo, "Business News Daily", https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4034-elevator-pitch-tips.html.
Recently, I also reached out to a very special group of business experts, Richland Library's cohort of former Entrepreneurs-Residence (EiRs), to see what they had to say about "How to Pitch Your Business."
This is what they would like for you, the business owner, to know:
Shennice Cleckley, Smart Cookie Coaching, LLC,
shennicecleckley.com and heysmartcookie.com
"The best advice I can give to a business owner is to know your numbers. It’s great to have why and even how you do business, but if you are pitching to a future investor or bank you’ve got to show you have a handle on how you make money. Show what your projections are for the future and how you plan to grow with the money. Know your numbers! "
Bayne Dangerfield, Soda City Sewing, https://sodacitysewing.com
"I am more customer focused so I’ll say that when pitching your business to customers, remember to think about how your product benefits them. For instance, Instead of saying we “offer home organization”, tell your client that you “bring peace and ease to your home surroundings by clearing the clutter and organizing the things you love”. Use your product’s specific features to highlight how it makes your client's life better!"
Karen R. Jenkins, KRJ Consulting, https://www.krjconsulting.com
"The best advice that I’d give a small business creating a pitch is to focus on the needs of the audience not on what they offer or do. Their pitch should be solution driven to identify and talk about the problem they are solving. Most businesses provide a list of all the things they offer and focus on their products or services when in reality they should focus on the problem they solve."
Roshonda Pratt, The Rosho Live| Visibility Coach | Producer| Founder, The REP Network, https://www.therosholive.com
"As a local business owner, the best way to pitch your business is to remember facts tell but stories sell. As humans, stories naturally connect us. Business owners should be very clear about their story and how it connects to their audience. In fact, it is not just any story but one which makes a deep connection emotionally with your audience. This story should include your why story, why you created the product or service, the problem, and how you solve it. You will also want to highlight the specific lives of people in your story and how people were positively impacted by your business idea. Storytelling will also be the number one way in my opinion to market and pitch your business. My favorite Native American proverb says it best: Those that tell the stories, rule the world. Start telling your story."