Sales professionals have known the effectiveness of compacting what they have to offer in a short thirty second speech. The elevator speech comes from the concept that you have a very limited time to pitch your sale so you need to get to the point quickly as if you’re riding on an elevator.

The purpose of a 30 second pitch is to make a powerful first impression. You want to highlight a key accomplishment and at the same time make a dramatic impact on your client. You want them to ask you for more information.

Here is a simple 4 step process that you can use to create your own 30 second pitch. Remember your purpose is to present yourself in a way that meets a specific need of your contact.

Step 1: Know Your Objective
Knowing what you want out of a relationship will help you craft your pitch. Do you need more transcription clients? Then keep this in mind while you write.

What key value, strength, accomplishment or skill do you offer that will benefit your potential client and meet your objective? Choose something that shows your expertise in a positive way.

Step 2: Give an Example
Based on your objective (gain more transcription clients) use a personal example of how you displayed this. Choose an example that is real, dramatic and that evokes emotion. You want to touch the heart of the person you are talking to.

Step 3: What was the Result
How did your skill or value help you in the situation you found yourself in? Did you increase sales by 30%? Did you supervise 30 employees? You want to use percentages, numbers or dollar amounts if possible to emphasize your claim. It helps your contact see what you do in a tangible way.

Step 4: Match the Needs of Your Client
What are your client’s needs and goals? Once you know this you can craft the pitch to meet it. This is where you make your call to action. The ball is now in their court and it is up to them to play the next move.

Example of a 30 second pitch:
I am dedicated to meeting deadlines and customer satisfaction. For example, as a virtual assistant I was able to manage my client’s customers over the busy holiday rush which resulted in a 38% increase in sales.

Now that you have an idea of what your speech looks like, it’s time to cut it apart. You need to condense this into 2 – 3 sentences or preferably, one sentence.

Your speech is all nice and compact, now it is time for you to memorize it. The best way to memorize your pitch is to say it out loud repeatedly until you can say it with passion. Feel comfortable with the words as they come out of your mouth. Speak in a gentle tone yet don’t make it pitchy or high. You want to come across as a confident businessperson who knows what they want and what they can do to help others get what they want.

Next time you are in a situation where you need to introduce yourself to a potential client or business acquaintance have your pitch ready. Remember not all businesses and clients are the same. Each needs something different. Try to make more than one pitch statement so you have different ones to meet a number of needs.