I came across a blog on a BNET blog entilted 5 Truly Horrible elevator pitches… so I had to look. The examples didn’t dissapoint. The above video is one of them.
I wasn’t aware that video elevator pitches where even a video category but there are a whack of them on YouTube. TechCrunch has been highlighting them on their Elevator pitches site for a while – perhaps this is where the idea got legs. I understand why they exist on Techcrunch - CEO’s and founders get an opportunity to pitch their start-up ideas directly to the TechCrunch audience. Viewers get to vote and comment on the ideas. It’s like the Dragon’s Den without the theatrics and egos. I’m just not sure this format has a life beyond TechCrunch.
The video above is a good bad example. Why bother? Pitching a new business in one minute to entertain or inform people who expect to see that exact format is one thing. Telling people very little about your existing business in less less than 60 seconds serves no purpose. Why not take an extra minute or two and say something valuable – explain to your prospects how you help solve their problems, tell them what is unique about your company and services, show them what you do.
Bringing a camera into a noisy restaurant, repeating your name four times (I’m sure someone told the guy in this video that was ‘the rule”) and looking like you’re taking part in a speed dating session won’t drive new sales. Even if you are just creating a ‘Networking profile’ as in the example above (as part of a Networking for Professionals activity) you should still take the time to say something interesting.
