http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IeeoWpuD2w
What is an Elevator Pitch?
An “Elevator Pitch”, also known as an elevator speech or statement, is a short summary used to quickly define a person, product, profession or organization and its Value Proposition. The name “elevator pitch” conveys that the person who is delivering the message has about the same time that it takes the typical elevator to go from the ground floor the top floor to convince their audience about their proposal. A well designed elevator pitch should be between 30 and 60 seconds.
How to Write a Good Elevator Pitch
The “Elevator Pitch” on Legal Bistro is five lines (500 words maximum) of text that are displayed to potential clients in what we call the “Short Profile Preview”. This is the very first thing that a potential client will see about you and your law firm so you should give a lot of thought to what you would like to say.
The following are the components that make for a great elevator pitch:
- How You Add Value for Your Potential Client - Perhaps you previously worked in an insurance company and either understand the process used by a carrier to settle a case or maybe you even have strong relationships at the Company who will be the defendant in the lawsuit. Perhaps you have 40 years of experience handling only medical malpractice cases and studied Pre-Med early in your career. The objective is to quickly identify for your potential client what specific value you bring to the handling of their case compared to other competitors. You may even wish to make this your “Tag Line”. Legal Bistro’s tag line for our consumer clients is “When Lawyers Compete, You Win”!
- Keep It Fresh – One of the most common mistakes is that businesses allow their elevator pitch to become stale. All businesses change over time. The market changes and so does the competition. Your potential client will notice you if your material reflects those changes in the market.
- Describe Who You Are – While a client may execute a retainer agreement with your law firm, it is YOU who will handle their case. It’s important to establish a bond and trust with your potential client so let them know what kind of person you are with your elevator pitch.
- Describe Your Immediate Goals for Their Case – Nothing will impress your potential client more than if you are fully prepared with a game plan for how to address their legal needs. Since you do not (yet) know who these potential clients will be when you are writing your elevator pitch on Legal Bistro, describe the process that you use to develop the game plan. In a criminal case, your immediate goal might be to get the defendant released on their own recognizance or a small bail amount.
- Why You – You should always end your pitch with “Why You” are the right lawyer to handle their case. It’s important to keep in mind that your potential client always has other choices. be sincere and let them know what makes you different.
Legal Bistro provides a suite of editing tools so you can use different font sizes, colors, etc. Put some effort into making your elevator pitch stand out in the crowd.