Networking to Get Work - "The Elevator Pitch"

I’ve been told that I need an ‘elevator pitch’ if I go networking. What’s that and where do I get one?

The ‘elevator pitch’ is the concept where you find yourself alongside Bill Gates in a lift and have until the doors open to tell him what you do. I hate the idea!

At any networking event you’ll see lots of people asking each other…”What do you do?”. This is the networking equivalent of “Do you come here often?”! Let’s be honest, most people ask out of politeness, not genuine interest.

This is followed by the prepared elevator pitch, a one-minute lecture outlining everything you do, delivered to someone who couldn’t care in the first place and who is waiting to deliver their own pitch!

Networking is about building relationships and trust, not pitching. Find out what you’ve got in common with each other, not what you haven’t. You’ll find it much easier talking about football if you’re both big fans, than you will talking about accountancy when you have no interest at all.