How to introduce your business in 60 seconds

Knowing how to effectively pitch your business in 60 seconds or less is an essential skill that business owners need to perfect.

Whether it be for a networking event, formal presentation, a casual coffee meet-up or inclusion in your marketing communications, being able to tell your business story in a succinct and engaging way will prove invaluable.

You will be asked time over about your business and the products or services that you offer. And as your front PR-person, it is vital that you can confidently give a concise response, being careful to include your key selling points in a persuasive way (that doesn’t sound rehearsed!).

Perfecting your elevator pitch

Have you ever been unprepared with a snappy response when someone has asked you about your business? Perhaps you blurted out a long, rambling answer and missed your chance to start a meaningful conversation? What a wasted opportunity to promote your products or services!

So how do you create your perfect business pitch (also often referred to as an ‘elevator pitch’)? It’s actually pretty simple. Dedicate some quiet time to jotting down 1-2 sentences in response to each of the following questions.

1. What do you do?
2. What problem do you solve?
3. How is your product or service unique?
4. How can you help me?

If you keep each of your answers brief, your business story will total to around 60 seconds. Using this technique, you can be confident that you have included your key selling points plus comfortably be able to deliver an engaging and memorable introduction to your business at any time.

A working example

Let’s look at an example of how this pitch development process might look for an organic farm offering home-delivered fruit and vegetable boxes.

1. “We are an award-winning organic fruit and vegetable farm delivering only the freshest of produce to homes around the UK 
   [What do you do?].
2. We deliver seasonal, organic goods directly to your door – putting fresh fruit and vegetables on the family table at an affordable price [What problem do you solve?].
3. Our great-tasting, organic produce is grown at regional farms throughout the UK helping us to keep the food miles low, support local farmers and create local employment. We are 20-30% cheaper than the supermarkets and offer our customers convenient 1-hour delivery slots [How is your product/service different?].
4. Our customers love the convenience of having fresh, seasonal products delivered directly to their door. We are passionate about supporting healthy food choices whilst saving our customers both time and money” [How can you help me?].

Practice makes perfect

Once you are happy with your responses to these key questions, practice saying them out loud. Keep refining them. Practice in front of a mirror, a friend or family member until you are comfortable with your pitch.

It’s important that the response doesn’t sound rehearsed so be careful not to be too rigid when you are talking (or look like you are trying to recall all the points that you want to include!). But don’t worry, the more you practice, the more natural you will sound.

Have you got a question about how to successfully pitch your business? Find us over on Instagram or drop us a line through our website – we’d love to hear from you.