This is How You can Master the Art of an Elevator Pitch If your pitch is right the elevator will lead you to the investor's boardroom

Young entrepreneurs across the globe keep pitching their ideas to investors all the time. But imagine if you meet a potential investor in a 5-star hotel's ballroom during a business conference.

After a lot of struggle, the gentleman has agreed to listen to your idea but the catch is you have less than 60 seconds with him in the elevator to sell the idea.

These few seconds are extremely crucial for your idea and it is not about the failure here, however, if your pitch is right the elevator will lead you to the investor's boardroom.

So, here are some quick tips for entrepreneurs on how to set the note high with your elevators pitch.

Avoid Monotony

Time is always a constraint when it comes to an elevator pitch. Hence, rather than listing off your accomplishments, Bhavik Vasa, Chief Growth Officer, EbixCash suggests entrepreneurs to hit it off with a plain narrative that one can immediately relate with.

Vasa says "Construct a story around it and then bring your expertise to the table that showcases how uniquely qualified you are to pull off that which is being targeted. Build the context on how you identified the problem, what's precisely lacking in the existing solutions, and then illustrate how you have successfully solved it for a few early customers.".

Secondly, it is extremely critical to pick and choose the right words evading monotony.

"If you lose the latter's attention you neither get a second chance nor the time to revise and make your message any better. An easy and approachable style of conversation will pay off better vis-à-vis a well-rehearsed monologue," Vasa added.

Sell the Idea

Anirudh Damani, Managing Partner, Artha Venture Fund opines that founders should treat their elevators pitch like a sales pitch wherein you are selling an opportunity for another person to buy a part of your success story.

"Create just enough interest in the listeners for them to want to learn more about your venture. Allude to why there is an investment opportunity that listener should know more about and avoid unnecessary details that can be explained in the longer pitch," he shared.

Entrepreneurs should also try to keep their communication crisp and short enough so it's easy to remember.

Which is why Rashi Bahel Mehra, Founder, Alanna suggests that your elevator pitch must communicate "What you do "and "Why are you best among others'. This will help you talk about your idea's USP.

How to cut it short?

But then the question is how to cut an hour-long speech to less than 60-seconds? Mithun Srivatsa, co-founder & CEO, Blowhorn shares the startup's tried and tested three-step method:

1. Pitch the idea to your friends (especially those who are entrepreneurs) and further, refine the core idea.

2. The second stage is pitching the idea to investors who you are certain will not invest in your space (due to differing round-size preferences or domain preferences).

This is a key stage. This helps in idea validation and allows room to make course corrections if required.

3. The third stage is pitching the idea to core investors. Take feedback, which is frequent to further refine the pitch

The Conclusion

A good short film becomes the talk of the tinsel town because of its climax and so is the case with your elevator pitch. If you fail to conclude right, the results might not be in your favour.

Therefore, Gurmeet Singh Anand, Founder, DEEP AERO suggests entrepreneurs to end the pitch with an interesting question so that the prospect remembers you.