Elevator pitch template: fill-in formulas for every situation

This page is for anyone who needs a short spoken introduction and wants a structure to fill in rather than a blank page: salespeople, founders, consultants, job seekers, students and career changers. It gives you ten fill-in formulas, a worksheet to gather the facts first, a worked example built step by step and a scoring check. For finished pitches to compare yours with, see the elevator pitch examples, which include a word budget for each length.

Pick your formula

The core formula, slot by slot

Most of the formulas below are rearrangements of five slots. Fill these first, with sentence starters to choose from:

Ten fill-in elevator pitch formulas

We help [type of customer] [achieve outcome] by [how you do it].

You know how [type of customer] [has this problem, in their words]?

[Company or I] [what you do, in one plain sentence], so [the outcome].

[Proof: one customer type, before and after, with a number.]

[Question: how do they handle it today?]

I'm [name] from [company]. We help [type of customer] [outcome] without [the pain they expect].

[Question that sorts them: "Do you look after X at your company?" / "Is that something you deal with?"]

For [target customer] who [need or problem],
[product or company] is a [category]
that [main benefit].
Unlike [the main alternative, including doing nothing],
we [the key difference].

Spoken version: drop the labels and say it as two sentences, starting with the customer.

HEADLINE: I'm [name], [role] at [organization]. We [what you do] for [who].

HOOK: The problem is [problem, with one number]. We're different because [the one thing others don't do]. [Proof: result so far.]

ASK: Would you [specific ask: a follow-up meeting / an introduction to X / an invitation to apply]?

PROBLEM: [Who] [problem], which costs them [amount or consequence].
SOLUTION: We built [product], which [what it does, in one line].
TRACTION: Since [launch date], [customers / revenue / retention, with numbers].
WHY NOW AND WHY US: [what's changed in the market] and [why your team can win].
ASK: We're raising [amount] to [use of funds]. Could I [send our one-page summary / book a follow-up]?

PRESENT: I'm currently [role or study], where I [main responsibility or project].
PAST: Before that, I [relevant experience], and the result I'm proudest of is [specific result with a number].
FUTURE: I'm looking for [type of role] because [reason connected to this employer].
QUESTION: [A question about the role, team or what success looks like.]

WHO: I'm [name], a [year] studying [major] at [school]. Right now I'm [current activity: a project, a job, a club role].
GOAL: I'm working toward [career goal], and [experience: volunteer work, a course project, a part-time job] showed me [what you learned or achieved].
WHY I'M HERE: I'm hoping to [learn about X / find an internship in Y / meet people in Z].
CALL TO ACTION: Would you be open to [a 15-minute coffee chat / telling me who I should talk to]?

I spent [years] as a [old role], where I [skill the new field needs, in their language].
I'm moving into [new field] because [honest reason].
I've already [proof: a course, a project, a result in the new field].
[Question: "What do people who succeed in this role have in common?"]

[Problem] costs us [time or money, with your estimate] a [week / month].
I'd like to test [idea] with [small group] for [short period].
We'll know it worked if [measurable result]. If it doesn't, we stop.
Can I [set it up / have X hours / start on date]?

The headline, hook, ask structure follows the CDFI Fund's elevator pitch template for community lenders pitching funders ("60 seconds or less"), and the who, goal, why formula follows Western Carolina University's template for student networking, which also suggests a shortened version of 45 seconds or less for group settings. Both work well outside those settings.

Fill in the worksheet before you write

A formula only works if the slots hold real facts. Gather them first.

1. Who will hear this? [role, industry, event]
2. What do they care about most right now? [cost, growth, risk, time, a job]
3. The problem, in a customer's words: [quote or paraphrase from a real conversation]
4. What I do, in one sentence a stranger would understand:
5. My best proof: [result, number, customer type, period] Could I back it up? [yes/no]
6. What I want to happen next: [the question or the ask]
7. Which formula fits? [from the table above]
8. Draft (30 seconds):
9. Word count: [ ]  Time spoken aloud: [ ] seconds

Then build it in this order:

1. Answer the worksheet. If you can't fill question 3 from a real conversation, talk to a customer before you write.
2. Pick the formula that matches the listener and the setting.
3. Write the 30-second version first. It's the one you'll use most.
4. Read it aloud with a timer. If you speak at 150 words a minute, 30 seconds is 75 words; time your own pace and cut to fit.
5. Shrink it to 15 seconds: keep slots 1, 3 and 5. Drop the problem and the proof.
6. Stretch it to 60 seconds: add the objection you hear most and how you handle it, and an offer before the question.
7. Score it with the check below, fix the lowest slot and score again.

Worked example: building a pitch from the worksheet

Illustrative example. The company, people and figures are fictional, to show the method.

The speaker: Lena, an account executive at Brightfield Solar Builders (brightfield.example), a solar EPC firm that designs and builds rooftop solar for commercial buildings. The setting: a breakfast for a regional manufacturers' association.

Her worksheet answers:

The 30-second version (71 words):

You know how a factory's power bill only ever goes one way? I work with Brightfield Solar Builders. We design and build rooftop solar for plants and warehouses, so more of the power they use comes off their own roof at a fixed cost. A plastics plant in Mesa cut its grid bill by about a third in its first year. What does power cost your plant each month right now?

Shrunk to 15 seconds (32 words), slots 1, 3 and 5:

I'm Lena, from Brightfield Solar Builders. We put solar on factory and warehouse roofs, so more of their power comes at a fixed cost. Do you look after energy at your site?

Stretched to 60 seconds (117 words), adding the objection and an offer:

You know how a factory's power bill only ever goes one way? I'm Lena, with Brightfield Solar Builders. We design and build rooftop solar for plants and warehouses, so more of the power they use comes off their own roof at a fixed cost. The two worries we hear are the up-front cost and disruption, so we size each system from a year of utility bills and install around production shifts. A plastics plant in Mesa cut its grid bill by about a third in its first year, without losing a shift. If it's useful, I can run the same estimate for your site from your bills. What does power cost your plant each month right now?

At 117 words, the long version stays under a minute even at a slow 120 words a minute. Notice that all three versions open with the listener's problem or the customer type and close with a question; only the middle changes.

If you know which companies will be in the room, research them first so the problem slot names something they actually face. When you're pitching to a list of target accounts rather than a room, Bebop researches each account and writes a playbook with what's happening at the company and the angle to open with.

Score your pitch

Give each check 0 (missing), 1 (partly there) or 2 (clearly there):

10 to 12: ready to use. 7 to 9: fix the lowest-scoring slot and score again. 6 or below: go back to the worksheet; the facts are probably missing, not the wording.

Lena's 30-second version scores 12. Her first draft, which began "I'm a senior account executive at a leading commercial solar EPC," scored 5: no listener, no problem, no proof.

Mistakes to avoid

• Filling slots with categories instead of facts. "Businesses" isn't a type of customer; "manufacturers with big flat roofs" is.
• Using the positioning formula word for word out loud. "For plant managers who..." sounds like a document. Say it as two normal sentences.
• Two proofs in 30 seconds. One strong result is remembered; two blur together.
• An ask that's too big. A meeting, a job or an investment is too much for 30 seconds. Ask a question or for a small next step.
• Writing without saying it. Sentences that read well often trip you up aloud. Draft by speaking.

Before you use it

• You've filled in the worksheet from real conversations.
• The formula matches the listener and the setting.
• You have 15, 30 and 60-second versions.
• You've timed each one aloud.
• It scores 10 or more on the check above.

Next step: compare your draft with finished pitches for sales reps, founders, job seekers and students in the elevator pitch examples.