Elevator pitch examples, and the shape behind them.

What an elevator pitch does

An elevator pitch is your answer to "so, what do you do?" when the person asking has about 30 seconds of attention to give. Its job is small and specific: help a stranger understand who you help and why it matters, clearly enough that they ask a second question or think of someone to introduce you to.

It is spoken, so it should sound like you talking. Read it aloud before you use it. If you would never say a sentence across a table, rewrite it.

The four-part shape

Most good pitches have these four parts, in roughly this order:

Two things to leave out: your job title as the opening line, and any claim you cannot back up. "The best" and "number one" make people stop listening.

Eight for networking events

At an event, the goal is a second question or an introduction. Each ends with something easy to answer.

1. 1. Bookkeeper

   "I keep the books for restaurants with one to three locations. Most owners I meet only find out they lost money in a month when their accountant tells them in April. I give them a one-page report every Monday so they can fix things while it still matters. Do you know any restaurant owners?"

2. 2. Commercial insurance broker

   "I help construction companies with 20 to 100 employees buy insurance that covers what they actually do. A lot of them find gaps in their coverage the day after something goes wrong. I find the gaps before that day. Are you in construction, or close to it?"

3. 3. IT consultant

   "I look after the computers and security for law firms that are too small for an IT department. Partners call me when email goes down, but the real work is making sure a stolen laptop is never a headline. What does your firm use for IT now?"

4. 4. Interior designer

   "I design offices for companies that are bringing people back to work in person. Most offices were built for a world where everyone came in five days a week. I help teams figure out what the space is for now. Has your team changed how it uses the office?"

5. 5. Recruiter

   "I find nurses for rural hospitals. Those hospitals compete with city systems that can pay more, so I help them sell what they have: a team that knows your name. If you know anyone in hospital leadership, I would love an introduction."

6. 6. Photographer

   "I take headshots and team photos for professional firms. Most people hate their work photo and use one from ten years ago. I make the session painless enough that people actually update it. When was your last one taken?"

7. 7. Nonprofit director

   "I run a program that teaches high school students in our county to manage money: budgets, credit, first paychecks. Right now we reach six schools and want to reach all fourteen. We are looking for volunteers who work in finance. Is that you, or someone you know?"

8. 8. Real estate attorney

   "I help families who inherit a house figure out what to do with it: keep it, rent it or sell it, without the siblings falling out. It is half legal work and half keeping the peace. Has anyone in your family been through that?"

Six for job seekers and career changes

For a job search, the pitch connects what you have done to the job you want next. Name the kind of role and the kind of problem you are good at.

1. 9. Recent graduate

   "I just finished a degree in supply chain management. In my internship I rebuilt how a warehouse tracked returns, and I found I like the puzzle of getting things where they need to be. I am looking for an analyst role at a company that ships physical products."

2. 10. Teacher moving to corporate training

   "I taught middle school math for eight years, which means I have explained fractions to people who did not want to learn them. I want to bring that to corporate training, helping employees learn new software and processes they did not ask for."

3. 11. Military veteran

   "I spent twelve years in Army logistics, moving equipment and people on tight deadlines with no room for error. I am looking for an operations role where planning and follow-through matter as much as they did there."

4. 12. Mid-career manager

   "I manage customer support teams. My last team went from the lowest satisfaction scores in the company to the highest in two years, mostly by fixing how we hired and trained. I want to do the same for a company that is growing and knows support is where customers decide to stay."

5. 13. Returning after a career break

   "I was a marketing manager for a regional bank, then spent five years at home with my kids, where I also ran the communications for our school's parent group. I am coming back to marketing and looking for a team that values clear writing and steady work."

6. 14. Nurse moving into health tech

   "I have been an ICU nurse for nine years. I have used every kind of hospital software, and I know which screens nurses ignore and why. I want to help a health tech company build tools that clinicians actually use."

Six for founders and business owners

For a business, start with the customer and their problem before the product. Investors, partners and customers all want to know who it is for first.

1. 15. Software founder

   "We make scheduling software for home health agencies. Their nurses drive between patients all day, and most agencies still plan routes on a whiteboard. Our software plans the day so nurses spend more time with patients and less time in the car. We are working with twelve agencies in two states."

2. 16. Manufacturer

   "We make replacement parts for farm equipment that the original makers stopped supporting. A farmer with a 30-year-old combine that still runs well should not have to buy a new one because of one part. Do you know anyone who sells to farms?"

3. 17. Family business owner

   "My family has run a commercial cleaning company for three generations. We clean medical offices, where clean has a stricter meaning than most places. If you know a clinic manager who has had trouble with a cleaning crew, I would be glad to meet them."

4. 18. Franchise owner

   "I own four tutoring centers in the suburbs. Parents come to us when their kid is falling behind in math, and they stay because the kid stops dreading homework. I am looking for a fifth location and talking to commercial landlords."

5. 19. Consumer product founder

   "We make a baby carrier for parents with back problems. My cofounder is a physical therapist who kept seeing new parents in pain, so we designed one with her patients. We sell online now and are talking to retailers."

6. 20. Service business owner

   "My company builds and maintains websites for credit unions. They are held to strict rules about what they can say, and most web agencies do not know those rules. We do, which is why credit unions stay with us. Do you work with any?"

Six for consultants, advisors and coaches

For professional services, the risk is sounding like everyone else in your field. Be specific about who you work with and name the moment they usually call you.

1. 21. Management consultant

   "I help family-owned manufacturers plan who takes over when the founder retires. The founder usually knows it is coming and keeps putting it off. I make the plan concrete enough that the business survives the handover. Is anyone you know facing that?"

2. 22. Financial advisor

   "I work with physicians in their forties who earn a lot and feel behind anyway, usually because of student loans and a late start. I help them build a plan they can stick to, so they know when they can work less. Are you in medicine?"

3. 23. Executive coach

   "I coach engineers who have just been promoted to manage their former teammates. They were great at the work, and now nobody tells them how to do the new job. I help them through the first year. Have you seen that happen at your company?"

4. 24. Marketing consultant

   "I help accounting firms get clients from their websites instead of only from referrals. Most firm websites list services and say nothing a client can use. I help them write pages that answer the questions their clients ask, so the right people call."

5. 25. HR consultant

   "I help companies with 30 to 150 people write their first real HR policies. Until that size, everyone knows everyone. After it, things that used to be handled with a conversation turn into lawsuits. I help them get ahead of that."

6. 26. Sales trainer

   "I train salespeople at companies that sell to hospitals. Hospital buying involves a dozen people and takes a year, and most sales training is built for one buyer and one meeting. I teach reps how to work the whole room. Who runs sales at your company?"

Four for authors

An author's pitch is about the reader, not the book. Lead with who the book is for and what it helps them do, then name the book.

1. 27. Business book author

   "I wrote a book for small-business owners who want to sell their company someday but have never thought about what a buyer will look for. It walks through the five things that set the price, years before you need them. It is called (Title), and it is on Amazon."

2. 28. Physician author

   "I am a sports medicine doctor, and I wrote a book for runners over 50 who want to keep running without getting hurt. It covers what changes in your body, what to change in your training and when to see someone. Do you run?"

3. 29. Memoir author

   "I wrote a memoir about caring for my father through dementia while running a business. I wrote it for the people in that spot right now, who feel like they are failing at both. If you know someone going through it, I would be glad to send them a copy."

4. 30. Consultant with a book

   "I help hospitals cut the time patients wait in the emergency room, and I wrote a book about how we do it, so administrators can see the method before they call me. I usually start by sending the book. Can I send you one?"

Five weak pitches, rewritten

A fill-in template

Fill in each blank, then read the whole thing aloud and cut any word you stumble on.

Then write three versions of the last line: one for a networking event (asking for an introduction), one for a likely client (asking about their situation) and one for an interview or partner meeting (connecting to what they need).

If you are stuck on the "who," the positioning statement guide helps you name it. If you want the same facts in written form, the personal brand statement examples and the author bio generator use the same parts.

Saying it out loud

A pitch that reads well can still sound stiff. Before you rely on it:

• Say it to three people who do not know your work. Ask them to repeat back who you help. If they cannot, the "who" is too vague.
• Time it. If it runs past 30 seconds, cut the part where you explain how you do it. People ask about that if they are interested.
• Listen for the follow-up question. A good pitch earns "how do you do that?" or "I know someone who needs that." A blank nod means it needs work.
• Try it on a child. If a twelve-year-old would understand it, so will a busy adult.

That last test is one Mary Hagerman, a money manager and author of The Black Belt Investor, already passes. Her story quotes how she explains her work to her own children: "When my kids ask me what I do, I tell them people give me their money so I can give them back more in return." (read her story)

When the pitch needs more room

Some work does not fit in 30 seconds. John Ruhlin built an agency around corporate gifting, and his Scribe story describes the problem plainly: people could not understand why they needed a gifting expert, and even the clients who loved his work had a hard time explaining why it worked. A book gave his method room to be explained in full (read his story).

Doug Brackmann, author of Driven, describes the same effect in his story: "The book gives a lot of context into who I am and what I do, and now the conversations start at a much more interesting level." (read his story)

Each card links to the author's full story on scribemedia.com. These are strong results from individual authors, not typical ones.

For turning your pitch into talks, see how to get speaking engagements.