It’s a fact - summarizing your entire career in a few sentences to present your qualities is as hard as it gets. Even the most confident people can go into standby mode for a minute when thinking about introducing themselves in the best possible light.
That’s the problem. If you need so much time to grab the listener’s attention, you won’t get any. You need a well-prepared, goal-oriented personal brand elevator pitch.
What, why, and how - continue reading, and we’ll answer them all.
An elevator pitch is a widely-known short description used by companies’ representatives to describe their companies’ work, qualities, effectiveness, services, or products. In a way, it’s how deals get started.
However, a personal brand elevator pitch is a bit more complicated because you have to represent yourself and your qualities within 30 to 60 seconds without being braggy. Your description should provoke attention and open the door to a conversation.
This can be challenging as you’re on a slippery floor, balancing between exposing your values and inviting the other person to join the conversation.
The secret is in the name - your pitch should be as long as a typical elevator ride or about 30 to 60 seconds. This is, of course, up until you have the other person’s full attention.
A standard elevator pitch includes several parts:
Your elevator pitch may have a different structure, depending on your niche and experience. That’s the complexity of crafting the elevator pitch that will work for you - it can follow general guidance, or it can be one of a kind. The key is to be authentic!
As we said above, the elevator pitch has to be short. The point is to summarize your qualifications, skills, and experience in a few sentences.
Logically, in order to be short, your sentences have to be focused. We’re referring to the key points you want to share, which depend on the situation you’re in and the person you’re talking to.
For example, if you have a job interview and you have to answer the popular “tell us about yourself”, you have to adjust the elevator pitch according to the job description.
However, if you’re at a social event and talking to a group of people, you need a pitch that generally describes your skills and what you do. People out of your niche don’t need so many details.
If you have experience in the particular position you’re applying to or offering to potential clients, you should use that in your elevator pitch.
Mention two or three clients you have worked for to highlight a successful collaboration. Or, you can say a word or two about the projects you have worked on while working at your last job.
The listener will want to know what’s unique about you and what you do that sets you apart from others. This is the moment in your elevator pitch where you can shine.
Depending on the situation you’re planning to use the elevator pitch, you should include your unique values, that is, what you can bring to the table.
Remember, at this point of creating your elevator pitch, it’s very easy to become braggy. You should avoid that, as no one wants to collaborate with a person thinking the entire world is centered around them.
A short description of what you do: I’m John Roberts, and I work as a content writer specifically focused on digital marketing topics.
Your unique skills: I’ve worked with various SEO agencies on their blogs, including ZXZ and ZAZ, which resulted in 240% of organic traffic growth and 46% conversion growth.
CTA: I’ve analyzed your blog, and I think my writing style is a perfect match for your readers. Would you be interested in checking out my articles over a chat?
For starters, you should keep in mind that this is an example of a more topic-oriented elevator pitch. You can’t use this pitch if you’re talking to a person that’s not familiar with this niche.
E.g., if you’re a writer but you go on an interview for a project manager, this pitch is useless. The interviewer understands that you’re sharing your achievements, but the qualities you’ve mentioned aren’t those that will grab their attention.
On the other hand, if you’re talking to the right person, this elevator pitch may be perfect. It has a short description of what you do, includes your abilities, and opens a conversation.
Hook: Most e-commerce companies spend a fortune on paid advertising but fail to increase their ROI.
Your skills: I’m an SEO strategist with 10+ years of experience helping e-commerce companies establish authority and increase their return on investment.
CTA: Your company offers excellent products, and I think my strategy will help you attract more potential customers. Are you interested in seeing how we can start?
Here we have a different scenario from the one we discussed above. The previous example was more suitable for a job interview, while the elevator pitch in this example can be used in a networking event.
After the usual introduction, you’ll most likely find yourself in a conversation where you can use the hook we mentioned above. You can use it in the same form or ask a question.
Either way, that’s a great opening to share your skillset briefly. The difference between the examples is that in this one, you don’t use professional terms or jargon. Instead, you focus on the listener’s pain points - their return on investment.
Lastly, you invite them to action by suggesting an appointment where you can share your strategy to grow their business. The elevator pitch has everything.
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Hi, I'm Justin and I write Brand Credential.
I started Brand Credential as a resource to help share expertise from my 10-year brand building journey.
I currently serve as the VP of Marketing for a tech company where I oversee all go-to-market functions. Throughout my career I've helped companies scale revenue to millions of dollars, helped executives build personal brands, and created hundreds of pieces of content since starting to write online in 2012.
As always, thank you so much for reading. If you’d like more personal branding and marketing tips, here are more ways I can help in the meantime:
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