The “elevator pitch” is not just a speech or training to talk about entrepreneurs’ projects, but it is one of the main things in the project presentation stages, even if it is in the idea or launch stage. The entrepreneur must possess clarity and knowledge of all aspects of his project, in addition to knowing the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities offered by the project.
An elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive speech that you use to spark interest in what your organization does. You can also use it to create interest in a project, idea or product – or yourself. A good elevator pitch should last no longer than a short elevator ride of 20 to 30 seconds, hence the name.
This was confirmed by Lamis Bakodah; An internationally accredited consultant from the Organization of Small and Medium Enterprises Advisors; an ICF Professional Business Trainer; Program Manager at Qewam Digital Incubator.
She told Entrprenurship KSA that Elevator Pitch is of paramount importance to the success of entrepreneurs.
Lamis Bakoudah said: “I will present a simple story about one of the small projects that I have recently seen by communicating with entrepreneurs and conducting a personal interview with them. Unfortunately, the method of identification is not optimal for their ideas and the delivery of sufficient information that best reflects the project.”
Lamis thought that the ideas are great, but when they introduce their own ideas, they cannot express themselves correctly, even though they are the owners of the projects, they may showcase passion, hope and enthusiasm, but the whole idea of the project was not projected properly.
The business coach explains: “But why are we talking about the elevator pitch? It is a brief, persuasive speech about my project in an optimal way, in an attractive and adequate way, that shows all the important points. It is a very popular term in the business world, it means to communicate your idea clearly and directly, in a period ranging from 30 seconds and two minutes, which is the time you spend in the elevator and when talking to someone. I tried and failed more than once until I became successful and convincing in a way that prompts the person to think about communicating with me after getting out of the elevator.”
And she adds: “The first steps are the idea stage, and after identifying it optimally through effective tools, the business model, the value provided to the project, the competitive advantage, and where we stand in the market. After these steps, I start training them on the elevator pitch; rather, the means in which they present their project is in a short speech, but it is conducted professionally and very correctly, in which the entrepreneur introduces himself in a practical and inspiring way, fulfilling all the important points.”
Lamis confirmed: “We started talking about the things that we should avoid, including talking at high speed, moving too much, not paying attention to the person in front of him, the lack of harmony and arrangement of speech. So instead, we must focus on the information that we want to talk about, and arrange the most important points clearly, dealing with the voice correctly, and highlighting the information in the tone of voice, as it can be louder when talking about important information, and return to a normal tone when speaking in general.
And she added, “How do we work to be immune to the interactions of the other party? The entrepreneur or the owner of the idea must not be affected by what the person in front of him shows him in a way that might hinder him, so he does not retreat when he notices a particular reaction, he must be experienced and immune to external influences, whether From the listener or the characters around him, or the voices appearing around him.
She adds: “In order for the entrepreneur to become a professional in elevator pitches, we train on organizing the time in an attractive and non-elaborative manner so that the person does not lose interest, but when he chooses the correct information and in a concise, not abbreviated or excessively lengthy manner, we gave this topic 10 seconds as a start. In the next 25 seconds, we should showcase the services of the project and meet the needs and desires of customers, and where it is in the market, then describe them appropriately within this time, and show what we offer, and what we constitute for the market as an added value and various competitive advantages. The last 10 seconds are the most important because it is when skill, passion and ambition begin to speak, to describe what exists now as an idea, and what it will constitute once it exists on the ground, and what it can provide.”
She concluded her speech: “The objectives must be defined, explain what is being presented, display the unique feature, and attract to build communication with questions, so this information must be collected, so that male and female entrepreneurs can train on it, to familiarize themselves with this key information, and work on it according to the timing that was monitored for each axis.”
Elevator pitch” when I talk about my project in a minute, has important dimensions. Now I am confident in my idea and in everything I say, distractions do not concern me, I am only familiar with my project; This gives me the opportunity to talk about the project in a special way.
Elevator pitch is training, knowledge and confidence, and one of the most important things that confirm our commitment to the idea. Since we talk about the idea correctly, and I know the stages of my project, from its formation to the stage of an idea, to an initial launch, to the actual launch, then continuous development, stability, keeping pace, sustainability, with the renewal of products with the project’s vision and goals.
