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."
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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.
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A Pitch By Any Other Name
 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!
Susan
Susan Colantuono is the CEO and Founder of Leading Women. She also blogs about women's successes (and challenges) at the Leading Women Blog. Follow her on Twitter. Join the Leading Women group at LinkedIN.
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Posted
Apr 11 2009, 12:48 PM
by
Susan Colantuono