Have you ever been to a networking event where everyone needs to stand up and introduce themselves?  I don’t know about you, but after about 3-4 people stand up and recite their elevator pitches, I can’t remember who does what. Very few of them capture my attention. Even less of them are memorable. They all sound alike because everyone is using the same approach, the same boring approach.

How  then can you distinguish yourself? How can you stand out in the crowd?

We all want to sound professional, but in our quest to be professional, our pitches often fall flat. The goal of a good pitch is to attract clients and be memorable. So how do you create a great message; one that is effective and “sticky”?

I find that most of the pitches I hear do not have the “sticky” factor. And many of the pitches are very difficult to deliver. They are too technical or too wordy and, therefore, lose the audience. Some of the pitches are too vague. Sometimes we use jargon that no one understands in an effort to sound professional. The end result is that people may think we’re smart, but they have no idea what are business is.

Here are some tips on how to create a great elevator pitch:

1. Your message should be authentic. Don’t use a lot of jargon or professional language that is off putting. You won’t connect with people this way.
2. Your message should be personal. Tell your story. People love stories and they remember them.
3. Put energy and passion into your message. Let people know that you love what you do. Don’t you want to work with people who love what they do?
4. Make an emotional connection with you message. Identify the need and pain of your target audience so that people can easily identify with what you provide and they will remember you.
5. Make your message easy to deliver, conversational. Don’t write a speech that you need to memorize and recite. It doesn’t sound authentic. It’s boring.
6. Stimulate curiosity. Give a teaser or enough information so that they want to learn more about you.
7. It might be appropriate to make it light and fun. Try using cliches, song titles or quotes to begin your pitch and get people’s attention.

Promotional messages take time to create. Start big, not small. Brainstorm and write down all your ideas about how to present yourself and THEN review your notes and pull out sound bytes to craft a great message.

For more tips on how to create a great elevator pitch, listen to my Women Mean Business show, Tune Up Your Pitch. On the show, I coach 3 women entrepreneurs through a process to tune up their pitch!

www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=43836