An ELEVATOR PITCH for ARTISTS

A so called ‘elevator pitch’ is a valuable tool in any sales process. The term comes from an imagined scenario where the sales person gets into a lift, or ‘elevator’ in the States, and finds that they are alone with a very important prospect. They have a sudden very quick opportunity to sell. The prospect is trapped, but only for a very short time before the lift door offers a chance for escape. So the sales person should have ready, in their arsenal of sales patter, a succinct short sales pitch that does the job. Usually it would be a 30 seconds to one minute opportunity.

Or, more realistically, it might be that a casual brief meeting, or question somewhere else, provides the opportunity to use an elevator pitch. ‘What do you do for a living?”, or “ What are you doing here today?” are examples. The elevator pitch is a starter to a conversation, or an ice-breaker, that can develop into much more fruitful dialogue.

Your elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive speech that you can use to spark interest in what you, as an artist, do. You can also use one to create interest in a project, idea, or product.

They should be interesting, memorable, and succinct while conveying important information. They also need to explain what makes you – or your product, or idea – unique.

But It Actually Is Much More Important Than That.

The value of an elevator sales pitch is not as preparation for the unlikely event where a sales person and prospect find themselves in an elevator. Instead the real value is in the process of preparation for such a situation. The self-examination and focus needed to create a concentrated summary of the benefits of your product or service is what is crucial.

That Is ‘Self-Examination’ And ‘Focus’.

We artists seem to find self-examination quite difficult. Maybe that is because art is so difficult to define. Artists make art, but what is art? And why do we make it?

30 to 60 seconds is not enough time to even start searching for an answer.

But perhaps if an artist concentrates on looking for the benefits of their product it might make more sense.

Being able to distil what you do into one simple sentence is incredibly valuable. It helps you, as an artist entrepreneur, focus on exactly what you do and who you’re doing it for. It also helps you clearly market your business.

Bonus Time

The extra benefit of the focused self examination and preparation of an elevator pitch is that you can adapt it for other uses elsewhere. For instance a simple headline at the top of your website, exhibition catalogue, or sales brochures will communicate the core essence of you and your art business and generate interest in learning more about what you do. My postcard handout is an example.

For Example

Here is my elevator pitch. I can use it at the same time that I hand out my illustrated postcard.

‘Hello, my name is Colin Ruffell. I am a full-time professional artist. I’ve been doing this for over 50 years. I paint pictures, make and publish fine-art print editions, and greetings cards of my images. This postcard shows some and it has links to my websites. You can see that I paint cityscapes nowadays, which are popular and successful all over the world. Can I show you some more?’

That is roughly what I say. It might change a little depending on who the prospect is. I prepared, wrote down, and rehearsed mine ages ago.

My A6 postcard handout picture side

A6 postcard handout copy side

Advice Found On Google

My example seems to incorporate the following useful advice that I found on the subject of elevator pitches after searching Google.

To craft a great pitch, follow these steps.

Identify your goal.
Explain what you do.
Communicate your USP.
Engage with a question.
Put it all together.

The elevator pitch is a chance to establish authority.

It needs a call to action.

Try to keep a business card or other take-away item with you, which helps the other person remember you and your message. And cut out any information that doesn’t absolutely need to be there.