My father taught me a valuable lesson when I entered the world of digital media:
Matt, you need to learn how to express thousands of words in a few. You need to reduce, reduce, reduce.
But in 2013, there’s always a cooler, more innovative way to express yourself. About.com (highly reputable, I know), for example, offers this list of “7 Steps to Elevator Pitches.” These short, business explanations are informative, but there’s a major issue with elevator pitches: they lack take home equity.
There are a lot of external forces that have to play out perfectly in order for an elevator pitch to stick. The recipient has to be in a good mood, ready to receive, and in the state of mind to absorb. This leaves far too much to chance in a situation that could make or break a deal — or even a career.
A lot can happen in the 60 seconds of an elevator pitch, and you could end up losing the person you’re pitching before the 15-second mark.
How do you remedy this? Craft a pitch that is not only going to “wow” the person on site, but also leave them with something that they can review and soak in later. The solution is threefold: a stunning business card, a 15-20 second elevator pitch-esque intro, and a strong Web presence.
The card
I’ve always been a fan of the extravagant. Throughout school, I created both good and bad attention, but this has always allowed me to control the conversation. The first thing anyone does after a hand shake these days is dip into their pockets and grab a business card, and to be honest, most business cards are unimpressive. They tend to be a standard, straight-edged 2.5’’ by 3’’ cards with nothing on them that really “wows.”
In some ways, business cards are more important than elevator pitches. It won’t lose you a potential meeting, but a phenomenal card can earn you one immediately. At my startup, DOG Media, we have multiple versions of our cards: one is a round-edged vertical card with our first names lower case and our last name in all capitals; this aims to grab the attention of whoever’s looking at the card.
As I said earlier, though, I’m extravagant. I wanted to figure out a way to add in the “wow” factor. So, what’d we do? We found a laser engraver who made us acrylic and wood-engraved business cards that we pull out when we’re trying to impress our higher-end clients.
The speech
Having an eye-popping business card is great, and once you’ve impressed someone with it, it’s time to spit out something quick and easy to digest. For instance, DOG Media’s 10-15 second elevator pitch is a simple as “great to meet you, Matt Medney, I would love five to 10 minutes of your time this week to discuss some solutions for your business in the social and digital media world. My e-mail and website are on my card. I’ll follow up with you later this week, and we’ll set a time to meet.” It’s quick, to the point, and with the aid of a great “wow” item, you’ve piqued their interest. Most importantly, you have them wondering who the hell you are.
Your digital imprint
A personal brand is the best elevator pitch in 2013. Having an imprint in the digital world gives people the time to digest and really analyze if you have something that benefits them. Something as simple as a splash page with your social media links, and a 2-4 sentence bio with great imagery will grab attention, bringing you closer to setting up that meeting.
The elevator pitch is a great tool by traditional standards, but times have changed and having a plan of attack that really wows — or what I like to call a “can’t say no situation” — is what you need to strive for.
These three tools are the best offense you can have. If you want it enough, people will see that. You just need to package it right.