The Ultimate Guide to an Elevator Sales Pitch: All You Need To Know

10…15…30…click. That’s roughly how many seconds it should take for you to make your elevator pitch land. 

It can be during a cold call or a conference - you need to be ready with a 2-3 line pitch that draws the prospect in, making them curious to know more. In this blog, learn everything you need to know to make your elevator sales pitch hit the mark!

What is an Elevator Sales Pitch? 

On a recent cold call as a part of our Call of Fame series, a sales rep had to deliver a quick (elevator) pitch in the middle of the conversation upon request. The sales rep could create the right amount of curiosity, because of which the call went on for another 3 minutes, securing a meeting in the end.

So, what is an elevator pitch?

An elevator pitch is a crisp and persuasive description of your product or service, highlighting its value in a few lines.

Why is it called that?

As the name suggests, your pitch has to be short and finish by the time you get in and out of an elevator. Even if you’re taking the lift in Burj Khalifa, which has the fastest elevator in the world. But you get the gist, right?

What’s the goal of an elevator pitch?

The goal is for your prospect to say yes to a further meeting. The focus should not be on convincing your prospect to purchase the product. 

A Good Elevator Pitch: How It Looks Like

So, what does it take to write a great pitch? Yours should contain these factors: 

1. Keep the conversation going

A strong pitch can help you realize if your prospect wants to know more or is disinterested. If you’re starting the conversation fresh, you can start with a casual opener to make the prospect feel comfortable.  

2. Hook, introduction, problem

Use an attention-grabbing statement or a powerful question followed by answering who you are or what your product is, and then talk about the problem or opportunity your product/service solves.   

3. Value prop it

What’s unique about your product? And how is it solving the problem you mentioned above? If you have time, you can add more jazz to this part by talking about results from an actual customer of yours.   

4. Add your CTA

What do you want your prospect to do after listening to your pitch? Do you want them to keep listening to you, say yes to a meeting, try your product, etc.? Convey this well at the end of your pitch.   

5. Confidence carries

Emote your words well and draw emphasis wherever possible. Your tone should be peppy and excited, not dull and draining. Practice your elevator pitch whenever you can - in front of your friends, colleagues, and sales team. This will also help you get all the feedback to make it better. Make sure to time yourself and control your pace.

6. Customize your craft

Your pitch should change according to the situation and the person you’re speaking to. Allow a few tweaks in your already perfect pitch to suit the prospect better. Make it a habit to check your pitch before you connect with the prospect. 

7. Revise it regularly

Your product can see many changes in a quarter. Features can come and go, USP can change, etc. Check your elevator pitch every month to accommodate those changes. 

The Advantages of an Elevator Sales Pitch 

1. Crisp communication

An elevator pitch is always crisp and compelling. It’s short, but it helps to make an impression on potential customers. This type of communication is especially effective in today's fast-paced business, where decision-makers have limited time and attention spans.

2. Networking events

Networking events can be your gateway to fresh prospect conversations and converting them into customers. Since you will have very little time, you can use such a pitch to create interest in prospects with just a few lines.

3. Adaptability

An elevator pitch allows sales professionals to adapt their message depending on the situation and the persona, whether it's a chance encounter at a networking event or a scheduled meeting. The framework of such pitches is such that you can move a few lines around and add the relevant features - specific to the prospect.

4. It's memorable

Utilize your creative freedom with your elevator pitch. Your goal should be to make it practical and innovative - to leave a lasting impression. Short pitches like these will get etched deep in your prospects’ minds.

5. Time constraint factor

Are you on the move? Is your prospect in a rush? With your 3-4 lines pitch, you can quickly gauge the prospect’s interest in time.

6. First impressions

It’s all about the first impressions. If your quick pitch highlights the necessary features, pokes the pain point, and provides the solution or raises eyebrows (with curiosity, of course) - all in a few minutes, you’d easily have the prospect say yes to your CTA. 
 

How Long Should the Elevator Pitch Be?

A good elevator pitch should be anywhere between 30 seconds to 1 minute. You're golden if you can convey the necessary details in under 30 seconds.

The duration of the pitch would also depend on where you are, whom you’re talking to, and what you have to highlight. Always be ready to tweak your pitch based on the scenario.

30 seconds can be when you have to catch the receiver's attention quickly. This can be at a conference or if you meet someone in passing who wants to understand what you or your product does.

A 1-minute pitch to a little extension of it can be when you have the freedom to explain a bit more about your product/service. Bring a particular feature to attention, as per your conversation, or if the prospect has asked for something specific.

Always keep 2-3 variations of your pitch handy. 

Tips & Best Practices to Write the Perfect Elevator Sales Pitch

What to Include:

1. Start with a casual question

You don’t want to start with a pitch if you’re just about to begin a conversation. Before you start, try to connect with the prospect. 

Your question can be as simple as enquiring about the weather, or if you’re at a networking event, you can ask how they like the sessions. If you read their insights anywhere, bring that up first and compliment them. Then go to your pitch.

2. Introduce yourself and your company

Stick to short introductions. You can mention your name, role, and place of work. If you get more time, you can dive deeper into your company’s goals, mission, etc.

3. Establish the problem

Start with a curiosity-inducing question or something that makes them want to know more, like a powerful statistic that brushes upon the problem or pain point.

4. Share the solution

Why are you reaching out to them? What can they gain by using your product/service? You can highlight this area by highlighting a value-prop feature(s) that solves that problem.

5. Decide on the next action

What do you want them to do at the end of your pitch? Do they want to know more about your services? Would they like a demo? Should you explain more about a particular feature or share some real-life examples of how your customer uses them? Be clear with your audience.

What not to include:

1. Don’t be too technical

Nobody likes hearing a bunch of technical jargon during a pitch or even a normal conversation. You don’t want to confuse the listener with heavy words and overwhelm them. Use simple language that is easy for anyone to understand.

2. Don’t get carried away

Practice will help you fill all those loose holes and draft a crisp elevator pitch. Practice as much as possible to ensure you don’t ramble too much. Keep it under a time limit and give yourself room to change the copy based on the prospect/persona.

3. No personal information

Don’t bring up any personal or private information about the prospect you must have encountered on their social handles like Instagram, TikTok, Medium, etc. Keep it professional, but you can always make it unforgettable and funny without overstepping boundaries.

4. Don’t forget to get specific

Create a sense of urgency within the prospect to get them to complete the CTA right after the elevator pitch. It becomes easier if you make the pitch relevant to their problems.

14 Elevator Pitch Examples 

Here are some examples you can use as inspiration to draft your elevator sales pitch. We also have some awesome examples by sales reps - Joe Rugarber, Vishnu Anuraag, Roshan Karthik , and Saranya K. 

1. Thought-provoking  

Hey Jan, I’m Penny, BDR at Outplay. So, I’ve spoken to a few Sales Managers whose teams are tired of sending manual emails daily.  

To be honest, I used to face the same problem before until I got my hands on Outplay. Can I tell you more about the results? Mainly, how can you bid goodbye to all the unnecessary manual work?  

2. Creating curiosity 

Hey Niall, can I tell you about a recent study I conducted by speaking to 100s of VPs of Sales?   

70% of them saw a common problem.   

That is facing a severe data overload. Luckily, with Dunder.co, you can host all your data collectively and integrate it with your favorite tools for cross-channel data integration.   

Can I show you how? 

3. Conference engaging

Hey George, how are you liking the conference?   

I enjoyed your talk on creating lasting customer relations. Speaking of customers…  

…we at ABC have spent the last eight years working with companies to reduce their churn by an average of 13.2%.   

Can I tell you more? 

4. Pain-first approach by Joe Rugarber, Senior SDR at Relevize

Recently, I've been hearing that it's difficult to get mindshare with your partners and get them to execute co-marketing campaigns. Is that something you run into? (Yes)

...well if I told you there was a way to execute it on their behalf so they can focus on what they do best, selling, would you be intrigued?

5. Problem-first approach by Joe Rugarber

Relevize gives you a scaleable way to execute targeted co-marketing campaigns on behalf of your partners and provides full visibility into the results. Is that something in your wheelhouse?

6. Personalized approach by Vishnu Anuraag, BDR at Multiplier

With ABC looking to expand into XYZ, I wanted to show how Multiplier has helped organizations like yours to reduce payroll costs while employing talent compliantly from this region.

7. Keeping it generic by Vishnu Anuraag

Expanding into new territories can be an expensive, time-consuming, and high-risk venture. Not with Multiplier. With entities in over 150 countries, Multiplier gives organizations the ability to employ talent compliantly, while managing employee contracts, payroll, benefits, and taxes cost-effectively. Worth a chat?

8.  Make them think

Are you tired of spending hours sifting through emails and struggling to stay organized? Our email management software is the solution you've been looking for. It automatically categorizes and prioritizes your emails, saving you valuable time and reducing stress. With our software, you can reclaim your inbox and focus on what truly matters. How about I give you a quick demo? 

9. Efficient by Roshan Karthik, SDR at Outplay

Outplay helps SDRs by enabling them to prospect, engage, book meetings, manage pipelines, and win deals, all without jumping multiple browser tabs.

Is it a conversation worth exploring?

10. Catch them with stats

Hi Pam, can I interest you in a fascinating statistic?   

A report by Adobe in 2019 found that 68% of workers believe technology helps them be more productive. Isn’t that something?   

To make work more exciting, our product XYZ brings all ideas to life visually with its superior task management and brainstorming software. Can I show you how that works? 

11. To the point by Saranya K, SDR at Outplay

Outplay is an all-in-one sales platform that can possibly replace 3-5 tools in your current stack.

Worth taking a look?

12. Creative one-liner by Saranya K

Outplay is a sales solution for all your sales hunting and farming needs.

Would you like to explore this further?

13. Customer story

Hi John, I’m Billy, an SDR at Outplay. I have a fascinating story to share. One of our customers UserVoice, increased their outbound success rate by 30% with Outplay. They’ve booked more meetings in the last six months, and their prospecting targets are on pace for the first time in years. Can I tell you more about how this number can become your reality?

14. Social observation

Hey Bruce, can I just say that I love going through your LinkedIn posts on how to write the best cold emails? Since you’re so famously active on LinkedIn, have you and your team thought of using it as a channel to reach out to prospects? I have seen massive success with it after using Outplay. Would you like to know more? 

Listen to real-life cold calls on Spotify here!

Final Thoughts

It can take a few tries to perfect your elevator pitch, but once you have it with you, you can also get ready to impress your prospect in just a few lines or seconds. It’s a power to explain your product or value prop in under a minute. 

Feel free to come back to this piece whenever you want some examples. 

To automate your sales tasks and see quicker results (just like your elevator pitch!) with multi-channel outreach and conversational intelligence tools - you need to get your hands on Outplay.