How to Craft an Intriguing Elevator Pitch or Byline

The typical elevator pitch goes like so:
I help the blah blah blah do the blah blah blah… YAWN!
Does that sound like yours?
Are you excited about sharing your elevator speech, or do you drag your feet in those networking events hoping you’d never have to whip it out?
After spending 6 weeks agonizing over an elevator pitch, how many times have you actually used it?
Is whatever script you landed on so freakin’ boring and formulaic that you’d rather dress like captain underpants than recite your elevator pitch that makes you sound like everybody else?
If you aren’t excited about what you’re saying, how can you expect others to be convinced?
Even if you don’t go to networking events, writing an elevator pitch is still a great exercise in honing in on your marketing communication with a very useful final product…
- The process makes you get crystal clear on you “why, who and how” so you can focus on doing what matters
- The process helps you distill your marketing message to something succinct that can easily be grasped by others
- The process forces you to be intentional about your word choices, and nail down how to present your work so it appeals to your ideal clients (you can then rinse and repeat it in your content and copy)
- Repeating the process periodically can give you the gut-check opportunity to see if your marketing communication is still in alignment with your soul-level message. You’re NOT married to your elevator pitch – with each iteration you evolve closer to articulating your WHY.
- The paragraph you come up with can be used to pitch media opportunities, or adapted as byline in guest posts or introduction in podcasts (the first TWO words in mine has scored me quite a few podcast interviews – read on to find out what they are)
- The elevator pitch you write can be adapted for your social media profiles so you can be consistent across the board (140 characters! It’s a disciplined process to be succinct and impactful at the same time.)

The process gives you the opportunity to understand what’s important for YOU, tease out what your ideal clients need to know about you to want to learn more, and chew on every word to make sure there’s no fluff in your communication.
 
First thing first, we’re going to break the templates – they are BORING, make you sound “blah blah blah” and get your audience to tune out.

What’s wrong with the typical elevator pitch formula?
They talk about what you do, who you help and what results you deliver.
Which is fine. BUT…
It doesn’t really answer “why YOU?” Who the f*** are you, really?
There’re many people who do what you do, selling to the same market, delivering similar results.
It’s probably not your audience’s first rodeo. They’ve heard it all. How can you make a first impression that connects and resonates with them?
Elevator pitch, if done wrong, turns you into a COMMODITY.

If you say “I’m a health coach helping women lose weight” – you’re pitching yourself against ten thousand other health coaches and a million other “weight loss” solutions. Ouch.
Not a battle you want to fight.
Good news is…
I’ve 5 secret ingredients for elevator pitch that will make your audience perk up and pay attention…

1. Personality
Letting your personality shine through will help you stand out from a sea of sameness that are your competitors who work with the same people promising the same results.
Communicating your personality makes you look/sound like a HUMAN BEING and increases the trust factor, which lends well to building a relationship conducive to conversion.
Your elevator pitch doesn’t have to “pop and sizzle” – in fact, it can backfire if it doesn’t reflect who you are.
What are the words that ring true for you, so you feel confident and comfortable when you say them out loud?
 
2. Identity
Your elevator pitch needs to evoke an identity in your audience – essentially communicating that you work with people they aspire to become – to increase their desire to work with you.
How can you evoke an identity in your audience so they get inspired to work with you?
 
3. Point-of-View and Value
Having a point-of-view is essential in anchoring your message and cultivating credibility.
Having a shared value is magnetic to your ideal clients.
How do you communicate your point-of-view and values in a short paragraph?
A lot lie in the words you use and how you phrase your sentences.
Can you make a bold statement about your work that also reflect your beliefs and values?
 
4. Intrigue
People have a Internet attention span shorter than that of a goldfish (6 – 8 seconds) – you need to capture their attention and make them curious enough to find out more.
It doesn’t mean you’ve to pull some stunt if it’s not your personality. The key is to find the words or a phase that appeal to your ideal clients while piquing curiosity.
How can you communicate why you’re different beyond a conventional “title?”
 
5. Power of Word Choice
A good elevator pitch is lean and mean. Cut the fluff – make every word count.
A mouthful is never sexy. It gives you more chances to babble, instead of sounding certain and confident.
What bugs me a whole lot is how everyone seems to start with “I help…”
It may make sense (especially for those in the “helping” profession,) but it always feels “weak” to me. It doesn’t say a whole lot about YOU – everybody can go about having an intention of helping people.
When you put together your elevator pitch, chew on every single word to make sure it packs a punch. Every word needs to add something new and relevant to the pot.
What makes you tick? What would evoke excitement in your ideal clients?
Does it make you feel confident when you say it out loud? Does it give enough information to your audience for them to want to learn more?
Does it point to your values, POV and personality, enough to distinguish you from your competition so your audience would want to find out more?