It’s true that everyone wants the next greatest thing delivered in the shortest amount of time. And if you’re sitting on it, you’ve usually got an elevator pitch ready to secure interest in it. Unfortunately, a regular old elevator pitch just doesn’t deliver anymore.
The elevator pitch is old. Dated. A relic from a bygone era.
Most people assume that the elevator pitch came from busy magazine rooms. Like at vanity fair, where some editors were notorious for pitching stories to their busy editor in chief during an elevator ride.
Others say that this pitching method came from Hollywood writers during the golden age. Writers would shoehorn themselves into elevators filled with trapped executives, forcing them to listen to 20 seconds of a pitch.
Still, others say that the elevator pitch came from the inventor of elevator brakes who needed a fast way to pitch his invention to a skeptical audience. (This elevator pitch definition is little on the nose if you ask us though.)
How Did The Elevator Pitch Die?
The elevator pitch has persisted this long for good reason. Elevator pitch writing is short and sweet. Perfect for grabbing attention.
Now, Covid-19 and digitized communication have gutted the communal spaces that elevators and elevator pitch ideas used to operate in. Ironically, the idea to move work online probably started as an old school elevator pitch somewhere in D.C. So, how do we adapt the old elevator pitch ideas to live within the new?
We face challenges like:
- Social distancing (Elevators aren’t big enough to social distance in! Sheesh)
- Telecommuting (How are we going to talk in an elevator when we don’t even work in the same place?)
- Masks (Do you really want to have to yell through a mask to make yourself heard – especially when you only have the amount of time of an elevator ride?)
- Avoiding enclosed spaces (No one wants to be next to anyone right now anyways.)
Luckily, these factors don’t stop us from reinterpreting the elevator pitch in new and innovative ways. Just watch, below we’ve embedded what an new, inventive elevator pitch SHOULD BE.
Be Disruptive
The elevator pitch works because it DISRUPTS. A fast flow of focused, compact information can’t help but do anything but that.
It’s time to innovate – it’s the 21st century after all! Find an elevator pitch template to follow, record your pitch until it’s perfect, punch it up with sound effects, and send it off via email, direct messages, or anything else you can think of.
Then, if you do end up in an elevator with someone, you already have your pitch recorded and ready to go.
Our New Elevator Pitch Definition: Anything Is an Elevator If It’s Not Moving
Maybe you run into your prospect by chance at a coffee shop. This is what you’ve waited for!
The term “elevator pitch” is misleading. So long as you and your prospect are stationary for 60 seconds or more – and you can responsibly social distance – then you can pitch. Offices – and elevators – are now public spaces, shops, and parks. The elevator pitch structure can be used anywhere, so take advantage of the lack of elevators.
Make Your Own Elevator
Everyone has a platform nowadays. Use yours.
With the creation of platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram you have an opportunity. Post your pitch on your prospects’ social accounts or change your profile picture to include your pitch as text. Flood your platform with your message until no one can deny its worth.
Confused by Our New Elevator Pitch Structure?
Using video might be your answer. It might not seem like it at first, but 30-second ads are really just fancy elevator pitches.
Not only that, but elevator pitch writing in video form is our specialty. Reach out and let us help you with your elevator pitch… OR you can make one yourself using our automated video creator The Video Bot for FREE. Your brand will thrive or die depending on the story that you tell.