The Nine C’s of an Effective Elevator Pitch

Now that you have a high-level sense of what an elevator pitch is, and what an elevator pitch is designed to do, let me drop down a level and discuss the characteristics of an effective elevator pitch.
After working with hundreds of would-be entrepreneurs, and studying hundreds of effective and ineffective elevator pitches, I have found that an effective elevator pitch is nine things.

1. Concise
2. Clear
3. Compelling
4. Credible
5. Conceptual
6. Concrete
7. Consistent
8. Customized
9. Conversational

(Elevator Pitch Essentials is a business book by Chris O’Leary)

Creating the “Elevator Pitch”: Six questions your “Elevator Pitch” must answer:

• What is your product or service?
  Briefly describe what it is you sell.  Do not go into excruciating detail.
• Who is your market?
  Briefly discuss who you are selling the product or service to.  What industry is it?  How large of a market do they represent?
• What is your revenue model?
  More simply, how do you expect to make money?
• Who is behind the company?
  “Bet on the jockey, not the horse” is a familiar saying among Investors. Tell them a little about you and your team’s background and achievements. If you have a strong advisory board, tell them who they are and what they have accomplished.
• Who is your competition?
  Don’t have any?  Think again.  Briefly discuss who they are and what they have accomplished.  Successful competition is an advantage-they are proof your business model and/or concept work.
• What is your competitive advantage?
  Simply being in an industry with successful competitors is not enough. You need to effectively communicate how your company is different and why you have an advantage over the competition.  A better distribution channel?  Key partners?  Proprietary technology?

(The Art of the Elevator Pitch, Robert Pagliarini)