The Windup and The Pitch, Elevator Pitch, That Is

Whether you played baseball or softball or not, you need to know how to throw a good pitch! And you have to know how to switch it up… you’ll have one pitch if you’re networking with a board member, another if you’re networking for a new position, a different one if you’re networking with a potential business partner who is not in your company or industry.

The first time I heard the term elevator speech was in the middle of the dot-com bubble. I had been hired to design a three-day new employee orientation program for webMethods and the CEO was laying out the specifications. Among them he said this, “Everyone at webMethods must understand that they’re salespeople. They must know our elevator speech and be able to pre-qualify potential customers anywhere they meet someone – on the plane, at a cocktail party, at a conference.”

Fast forward four years. I am giving a speech in Connecticut and a woman in the audience tells me about her CEO. He had the practice of eating lunch in the company cafeteria where he would sit down with an employee he didn’t know and ask his favorite cafeteria question, “Who are you and what does the company pay you to do?”

Click, click… pieces fell into place. I realized that a leader has to have her own elevator speech. I thought instead that it should be called an elevator pitch because I realized how especially important it is for women (who are often encouraged to be modest, not boastful) to feel comfortable pitching (promoting) themselves. WHY does your position matter?

A Pitch By Any Other Name

Have your pitch ready? What is an elevator pitch? Originally an elevator speech referred to a short (you can say it in the time it takes an elevator to move between floors) and complete description of the business idea of an entrepreneur trying to catch the attention (and backing) of a venture capitalist.

In the context of our careers as women leaders in organizations, elevator pitch means a short description of the position we hold and why it matters. It is used to catch the appropriate attention of people we meet by promoting the value we offer to the company, a potential employer, a network member.

For tips on throwing your best “pitch” (and switching it up!) read the rest of the article and find a link to Harvard Business School’s free “pitch builder” here.

Network ON!
By Susan Colantuono