How to Write an Elevator Pitch
October 20, 2010 
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Have you ever heard of an elevator pitch? It’s that thing you’re supposed to write and store in your brain the next time someone asks you who you are and what you do. I’ve heard it got its name thusly: if you do it right, you can spit the whole thing out in 30 seconds or less—the time it takes to get from floor A to floor B in an elevator.
People who work in skyscrapers apparently get more time. Cheaters.
Anyway, if you’re a small business owner, the goal of your elevator pitch is to give your captive audience need-to-know information about your product or service. I’ve put a sample together for you to show you that writing an elevator pitch is pretty simple really.
The Elevator Pitch for Betty Francis (née Hofstadt, formerly Draper)
The following pitch is an example of how this Mad Men character might sell herself to her target audience:
For men who want a wife and child without the actual child,1 Betty Francis delivers. Betty Francis is even more juvenile than her own pre-teen daughter.2 Plus, she can rattle off 100 reasons why everyone should do what she wants3. Go to Betty whether you need someone to cry on your shoulder or poop at your party4.
1 Let ‘em know who benefits from your business.
2 Tell ‘em what the greatest benefit is.
3 Show them how you’re different than all the rest.
4 Be compelling.
