How do you create a captivating elevator pitch for your product?

If you struggle to connect your offering to a universal benefit, try the "5 Whys" exercise where you start by asking why your offering is important. Then repeat until you reach a universal benefit (which is usually either more money, reduced cost, or staying out of jail) For example, why do companies use LinkedIn? To reach new customers. Why do that? So they can sell more products. Why do that? So they can make more money! Now, here's the fun part. Simply reverse the order for a quick and dirty "pitch": In order to increase profits, companies must reach new prospects, which is why they should post on LinkedIn. Obviously this is a crude example, but you can see how this helps you get closer to a tight pitch in a short amount of time.

Striking the right balance between concise and descriptive is difficult. I find it most helpful to write out the full details of the pitch and value proposition, then pare down by combining capabilities for a higher order value. Paring down may also help identify the one most compelling value that the pitch focuses on. Once you have the customer interested, you can introduce the other benefits your product provides.

Industry tradeshows are often good venues to test and iterate your elevator pitch. In this case, you have less than 30 seconds to assess a prospect's level of interest, engage them, and convey how you can help solve their potential problems or at least gain a referral. For relevance sake, ask questions and show interest. Refine your pitch to at least get visitors to stop and have a two-way conversation; this is a small win with potential upside.

I have seen answering these questions in that order is the best elevator pitch framework Q1 - Why bother? This is about inertia, overwhelm and constant state of distractions. This is your customer - not matter what your product or service is. Why should they stop doing what they are doing and pay attention to you. This is about the problem statement that you want them to pay attention to. Q2 - Why you? Credibility. If you got them past Why bother, now its time for showing your value. What is it about you or your product that should get them interested in solving the problem articulated. Q3 - Why now? Urgency to act. What is the need to act now versus tomorrow or year later? Weaving these three answers into an elevator pitch delivers results

Three points: 1) The best elevator pitch is clear and concise and focused on what the customer problem is and how it is solved. 2) It is not focused on the product, the technology, the specs or any other details like that. 3) Don't use jargon or marketing-speak, just clearly state how your product solves the problem for the customer.

A good elevator pitch should be just that, short, hence the name. It should be interesting, memorable and succinct. It also needs to explain what makes you, or your organization, product or idea unique. A good elevator pitch is not easy to do, but its worth taking the time to create one.