An elevator pitch with a difference!
I attend quite a few networking groups and as a result I hear a lot of elevator pitches. Some are hot and some are not but recently I heard one which really grabbed my attention.
Picture the situation, It’s 8:45 in the morning and 20 keen networkers are seated at a horseshoe of tables in near Romsey in The Potters Heron Hotel in Romsey Hampshire having just had a delicious full English breakfast
At one end our speaker rises, An impassioned cry erupts from his lips quoting the immortal lines “Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo?”
As we sit stunned, our speaker scuttles across the room and starts typing on the keyboard of a laptop he had previously set up. “Sorry Jules! I can’t come out tonight, my PC has a virus!” Laughter erupts from the group as he scuttles back to take on the persona of Juliet again.
“Romeo! Why haven’t you signed up for a maintainance contract with Zuumedia?” “For only £10 a month they can take care of all that” – More laughter and another dash across the room and more typing on the laptop.
“Good idea Jules, I’m signing up with them now online.” The typing stops and there is a pause. “Look out Jules, here I come!”
A final scuttle back across the room. Our intrepid presenter turns his back on the audience, puts his hands on his shoulders and mimics a passionate embrace. The laughter transforms into warm applause.
Now that’s what I call an elevator pitch with a difference.
The presenter was Brian Skeggs, ex-teacher and now internet and computer guru at zuumedia.com
For me Brian hit all the right points in this 30 second commercial.
- It was attention grabbing and different
- It was memorable
- It was funny
- it was relevant
- It was clear
- It was concise
There is no one right way to do an elevator pitch however I feel that Brian’s one was brilliant in the context of a regular networking group with a fairly light hearted approach but wouldn’t work everywhere. My take home message is this:
Take a leaf out of Brian’s book and dare to be different. Don’t be scared of experimenting and making a few mistakes. Don’t trot out the same old tired cliches every time. I know that Brian rehearsed, refined and practiced this particular pitch several times before he went public on it .
Now I can’t wait for his next one!
Gavin Meikle, The Presentation Doctor
Great points–especially about being memorable. Too many people focus on being short and that alone won’t help people remember your message.