#003 - Pitching an Elevator - The Right Way
Elevator Pitch Framework - The Basics
We have all seen our fair share of Shark Tank fails, and some successes (Scrub Daddy anyone?)
And by now, everyone knows, a good elevator pitch is short, to the point, and delivers impact.
So why is it then every time I ask founders to give me an elevator pitch for their business - they just stumble.
Funny story actually, a while back, I had a founder who was supposedly running 5 startups side by side. And I go with my usual opener -
Hey, explain to me your business in an elevator pitch format?
And you know what happened?
He couldn’t even remember the names of all the ‘startups’ he had started up.
This is what happens, when you move with trends rather than a vision.
If you’re a founder, and you are unable to explain your business in under 2 minutes - you still have a lot of finding to do.
See, a good elevator pitch isn’t just about you knowing how to sell yourself
- It shows you care about the problem you solve
- It shows you are aware of the market and competition
- It shows you have a vision beyond the current trends
- And it shows, you have done your preparation
Solving Problems Better
Here’s a story from a CRM client consultancy of mine.
The market is full of CRMs, and my client wanted to launch a CRM which was more focused towards the people who actually use it.
Till date, most CRMs are optimized for data, and insights, and workflows, and stuff which is important - to the leaders, but for the employees?
Learning modern CRM itself requires a masterclass.
Anyone who has worked in sales and support in a corpo environment knows this. A CRM can very well kill all your will to get any actual work done.
So what did I suggest to my client?
Simple - Aim to cure the disease, not the symptoms.
Everyone wants to be the next Salesforce, but no one wants to be the next Basecamp - (a non VC company worth millions).
If you really care about solving the problem of employee happiness, then say so, and stick to it.
Instead of standing on features, stand on your vision, stand on the long term goals, stand on the problems you want to solve.
Instead of saying we are a CRM which will use the power of AI, and feature X, and feature Y.
Say we are a CRM which works for the people who actually use it at the end of the day.
And people will care.
Most startups fail right out of the gate because they commit to standing on features rather than a vision.
And a day comes, that feature is not the hot new fad, and then they very well die out.
Knowing the Value ‘You’ Provide
If you’re not sure of what value you are providing.
Then why would anyone buying be confident in you.
Value is a topic that will come up in almost all of my articles, because at the end of the day - if you want to run a successful business, providing value is what makes you - well, valuable.
So here’s a very bare bones process on how you can figure out your Value proposition:
1 - Who are you selling to? And who is eating the cost?
Yes, these can be different sometimes. Especially in B2B, you want to sell to users, but the cost is being paid by the business.
So your messaging needs to consider both sides.
Additionally if you know the industry, type, persona, etc - that is always better.
Don’t overcomplicate it, stick to a core few groups, up to a max of 3. The lesser and more detailed - the better.
2 - Define the problem - don’t just state it.
You have a problem to solve? Why is it a problem? Do you have data to back it up? Do you have feedback to back it up? What makes it a problem?
Ask as many questions as you can to refine the problem you are setting out to solve.
See, it’s easy to point out faults, easy to figure out problems - but hard to figure out problems ‘worth solving’.
Your problem needs to have a demand, needs to have definition, it cannot be something you thought in a silo.
Most founders I have seen would have had a career in a specific industry, and had a list of problems they faced, and then they set out to solve them.
Which can be an excellent starting point……but I have still seen too many fail. Simply because they confuse their experiences with everyone’s nodding heads.
We will visit problem definition in a future article for a deeper dive, but for today - the takeaway is -
Solve problems ‘worth solving’
3 - Sell the outcomes, not the features
So you have your Problem 1, 2, 3 - and your wannabe product has
The Feature 1, 2, 3 - then what?
You spam your features and call it a day? Noupe
See, most folks, don’t care about the specifics.
A person getting a car repaired doesn’t care about how the engine works
A person getting food at a restaurant doesn’t care how the kitchen works
A person charging their phone, doesn’t care how many amps the battery holds
They care about outcomes
Their car getting repaired quickly and within budget ✔️
Their food being served timely and being of quality ✔️
Their phone lasting them once the charge is done ✔️
So why is it that when you make a startup, you don’t commit to outcomes?
Because you don’t put yourselves in the shoes of the customer.
For a moment, forget you are the founder, forget all the hard work you will need to do to build this thing out, and embrace that most folks don’t care how it works
- they only care ‘if’ it works.
It’s painful, but true.
At the end of the day, it’s your job to cure the disease, not the symptoms.
Bringing it under one roof with an Elevator Pitch
I love the cover image for this issue, it perfectly shows how most founders carry a suitcase where a page is needed. You get the point.
So you have your problems, you understand your value, you know who to sell to - now let’s make you a shark tank success.
With the use of ‘Elevator Pitch Framework’
I rarely, use frameworks, and trust me when I say that.
As a PM who reads the top 20 frameworks you must know every day - I seldom pick one, and even seldom-errr-er is for me to suggest one.
But the Elevator Pitch Framework is the ‘explain it to me like I am five’ you need for your startup.
It’s easy to understand
It’s structured for success
And the best of it, you can keep iterating it
Here’s the deal:
The Elevator Pitch framework helps us answer the following questions about your business:
FOR (target customer), WHO HAS (customer need), (business name) IS A (market category) THAT (one benefit). UNLIKE (competition), Business (unique differentiator).
For – who is the target customer for our business. We need to have a specific category to offer a good fit for our services and working style.
Who – we need to identify a need that Company X promises to fill out
The – what is the name of the business
Is A – specific category of services we are offering or the product features we will be offering
That – what is the benefit we are providing to other companies (this is the value part)
Unlike – Who are our competing businesses
Our business – What sets us apart from competition
Example: Salesforce (CRM solution) - A bit dated example
FOR small businesses without a CRM solution, WHO need to control their costs, Salesforce Is A CRM solution THAT is financially flexible with low initial cost.
Unlike Siebel which requires large infrastructural setup or managing customer relationships manually, Salesforce is quick to set up and easy to use.
Wasn’t that easy?
And the best part is, you can keep on improving all the statements over time. And just replace them when the time is right.
And the next time, you won’t have overhead baggage.
Why does this all matter?
Figuring out your elevator pitch is probably the highest ROI exercise you will do in your early stages as a Business.
It will serve as your guiding light towards your mission and vision
It will be your guard against doubts and imposter syndrome
It will be your shield to help you work on your uniqueness
And most importantly - it will help you establish your ideas into reality
Without it, you will be lost for true purpose of your business
Without it, you will doubt the value you want to bring to the table
Without it, you will think to add AI…no AGI…no 6G every other quarter
Without it, your idea will be a dream
Happy pitching!
To close out, I would request you to reflect on these questions, post a reply to the email:
1 - Before today, did you ever think of the impact a good elevator pitch had?
2 - Is the elevator pitch framework a good exercise for your next business idea?
3 - Do you think elevator pitch serves as large of a purpose as I have stated?
I read all your replies, and your feedback helps me improve upcoming content.
See you next time!
Further Learning:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/anthonypierri_fletch-value-proposition-canvas-activity-7174432256931889152-bKjB/
https://saqibtahir.com/market-research-for-your-product/
https://saqibtahir.com/product-discovery-as-a-service/