You walk up to your business icon at the Connect Nigeria eBusiness fair, after exchanging pleasantries, he asks you what your company does. You open your mouth, but nothing comes out. Where do you start from?
As you try to organize your thoughts, his PA calls him away, he has to go, his car is waiting. If only you’d been prepared, you could have gotten a meeting scheduled from that brief encounter. That’s why you should have an elevator pitch; a short-prepared speech that explains what your company does clearly, and in few words.
An elevator pitch is a short convincing speech that you use to spark up interest in what your company does. A good elevator pitch should last no longer than a short elevator ride, which is 20-30 seconds, hence the name. It should be memorable and to the point. It also needs to explain what makes your company, idea or product unique.
Let’s look at how you can craft an effective elevator pitch and have it ready for #cnbizfair.
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Identify Your Goal
What is the objective of your pitch? To tell potential customers about your organization? To pitch a new product idea? Or to give an engaging explanation, about what you do.
2. Explain What You Do
Start the pitch by explaining what your company does. Focus on the solutions you provide, and if you can, back it up with statistics that prove the value of what you do. Your pitch should be exciting. If you’re not excited about your pitch, most likely, nobody else would. Also, someone would most likely remember your enthusiasm, more than they would everything you say.
3. Communicate Your Unique Selling Point (USP)
What makes your idea or company unique? That’s the next thing you should communicate, right after what you do.
4. Involve Them With a Question
After you communicate what you do and your unique selling point, you need to involve your audience in the conversation. To do this, ask them a question, regarding what you do in their own business. Make sure it’s not a yes and no question, and you should have an answer for that question.
5. Blend It All Together
When you’ve completed each section of your pitch, put it all together. Then read it to yourself, and time it to see how long it takes. Ensure it’s not longer than 20-30 seconds, so that you don’t lose your audience’s interest.
Remember, your pitch needs to be snappy and compelling, so the shorter it is, the better!
Here’s an example of an elevator pitch:
“My company develops mobile applications that businesses use to collect data and stores them in an organized manner. This means that their staff can spend less time imputing data into a system or sending out newsletters.
“Unlike other similar companies, we visit each organization to find out exactly what their unique need for data collection is. This means that, on average, 95 percent of our clients are happy with the first version of their app.
“So, how does your organization collect data from its customers?”
6. Rehearse
Remember, Practice makes perfect. You might think you got it, and end up talking too fast or sounding robotic. The more you practice, the more natural it’ll sound. Don’t forget, you want it to sound conversational and not like a salesman reading the sales pitch in his company manual.
So what are you waiting for? Get cracking! You need that pitch perfect by February 3
rd, 2018, ready for the eBusiness
fair.
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This article was first published on 26th January 2018
chidinmakalu
Chidinma Kalu is a trained psychologist and an entrepreneur. Aside from writing, she spends her time researching on anything that has her curiosity piqued. In 2016, her essay was shortlisted for a prize. She hopes to actually win something someday. ?
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