Crafting the elevator pitch
The elevator pitch can be an invaluable tool for those of us in financial services marketing. It forces you to look at your business from your prospect’s point of view. Better yet, the elevator pitch helps you to focus on the real value you offer, then articulate it in a way that differentiates and elevates your proposition.
We ran across a couple tools to help you get started crafting the elevator pitch for your offering. Here’s a quick overview of each.
The Harvard Business School Pitch Builder
The Harvard Business School Pitch Builder is a nice interactive tool that allows you to build and fine-tune the elevator pitch. It even offers a fundamental analysis of what you create. It doesn’t give examples of effective elevator pitches, making this a tool more suited for someone who has some experience with writing these. Nonetheless, it is a good place to start.
The message map
The message map is a tool that has been around awhile, but this video reminds us of why it is still a useful exercise for financial services marketing. The video uses a real life example which helps illustrate how to put this tool to use. The key differentiator feels a little weak, but you get the idea.
Also, check out “3 steps to a great elevator pitch” on microsoft.com.
The elevator pitch as a positioning tool
Smart marketers recognize the value of going through the elevator pitch exercise, even if they never have to give the pitch. They understand that the elevator pitch is a proving ground. If done right, it can become one of the most powerful expressions of the company’s positioning.
Do you have any great elevator pitch tools/examples that you reference?
Key takeaways
- The elevator pitch can help you focus on your differentiator and articulate it in a way that elevates your offering
- There are some good tools for helping you craft your pitch including The Harvard Business School Pitch Builder and this message map video.
- The elevator pitch can serve as a proving ground for your positioning