Building a Good Elevator Pitch for Your Nonprofit

Why?  Because good elevator pitches make money.

What is an elevator pitch? It’s a short speech you give every time someone asks about what you do or where you work.  Here’s the basic scenario. You get on the elevator and someone strikes up a conversation with you and asks where you work? You respond with a few well-rehearsed lines in which you quickly sum up what work you do, why it’s important, and what makes your organization unique. Then you gracefully hand off your business card.

The locations can vary. The pitch can vary as you fine-tune it. But the time limitation needs some respect. Most people go wrong on the time limitation. Keep it very short, around 30 seconds.

First, you must recognize that a question about where you work or what you do is an opportunity. We run into these situations all the time. Whether in line at the grocery store, at your kid’s soccer game, or, on the bus or train, you can quickly find yourself in a conversation with a stranger.

Your new friend may be a potential donor. And, you have about 30 seconds to let her know the nuts and bolts of what you do. This is no time to explain your organization’s vision, mission, and core values statements. The time constraint may be real or self-imposed. You want to keep the pitch short (even if you have more time) so that you don’t risk overwhelming the person with an unsolicited 5-minute infomercial.

If you are not using conversational language in your elevator pitch you are making a mistake. An elevator pitch that uses $10 words like those found in many vision statements will not be very memorable. If you rush the delivery of the words or sound like you are reciting, it will sound like a sales pitch. The trick is to rehearse so often that it doesn’t sound like a sales pitch.  You should sound natural and conversational when you deliver your elevator speech and know it so well that you can even pause momentarily as if you are gathering thoughts mid-sentence.

Always be ready to introduce your fundraiser in any chance meeting. You could even have a few Sunset Coupon books in your pocket for this very type of a meeting.

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Sunset Coupons
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