Developing Your Pitch Ladder
OK, founders, you’re at one of a million networking events. You’ve got a toothpick full of cheese in one hand and a seltzer in the other. Someone asks what you do. Five minutes later, their eyes are glazed over, and they are near comatose as you are halfway through your full ten-minute pitch.
Been there.
Or maybe you know that’s not the right call, so you try for something shorter and more appropriate. But what emerges is a tangled jumble of somewhat connected words and concepts that your brain has haphazardly selected from your longer pitch.
Been there too.
Or maybe you want to avoid all of that awkwardness, so you make a throwaway comment that doesn’t really say anything and ask about them. Then, you walk away realizing that you missed an opportunity.
Yep, me too.
The problem is that it’s difficult to calibrate our pitch or description of our company to our conversation partner’s appetite to listen. We care way, way, way more about our company and what we do than anyone else ever will.
Sometimes, they are just being polite. Sometimes, they are trying to sell you something. Sometimes, they are genuinely trying to explore a relationship that might be mutually beneficial. Sometimes, they start out interested, but we lose them by just rambling for too long.
The Pitch Ladder
Through trial and error and lots of practice, I’ve organically developed what I call the Pitch Ladder. My own pitch ladder is still a work in progress; maybe it always will be. But it helps me give a punchy first line and then slowly add more information in response to their questions or comments. The beauty is that what emerges is more like conversation and less like a one-sided sales pitch.
Here’s how it works, and I’ll sprinkle in examples from how I talk about Wisdom Partners.
5 Second Pitch
This needs to be around 10 words or less. You want to say the main thing your company does quickly and clearly. You probably want to try out several variations and see how they land and how easily they roll off the tongue.
I run a leadership coaching and consulting company focused on founders.
15 Second Pitch
Usually, people will say something like, “Oh, that’s interesting,” or “Oh, how does that work?” That’s great, now they’ve given me permission to explain a little bit more, and I’m not pushing because they’re asking.
Our whole mission is to help founders succeed, and we do that by surrounding them with a robust ecosystem of support. We help founders get answers to their most pressing challenges from trusted peers and advisors.
1 Minute Pitch
Notice that, so far, I haven’t said very much about what we actually do, other than “coaching and consulting” for founders. That’s intentional. Instead, when I’m in the zone, I focus on the value that founders get from working with us:
We “help founders succeed.”
They get “a robust ecosystem of support.”
They “get answers to their most pressing challenges.”
Often, early in the conversation, people will ask if we are helping with sales, revenue, or Go-To-Market strategies. That seems to be the most common type of consultant serving founders. So eventually, I have to describe what we do in more detail. For me, it helps to think in categories: coaching, communities, and consulting. Maybe you only have one main product or service, but you can still develop some handles that explain the main value for your customers.
Most other consultants help your company relate to the outside world through marketing and products and sales. We help with the inside world of the founder and the company.
We offer one-on-one coaching with a trusted mentor. We put founders together in peer groups with founders who are at the same stage of development and working on similar things. Those groups meet once a month to help each other work on whatever is their hottest issue at the moment. Then, we also do some things under the consulting umbrella, like strategic planning or executive retreats.
Our sweet spot is right around when the company is beginning to find product-market-fit. Up to that point, the founder’s job is mostly about matching the technology to the customer. But once that is done, their job changes dramatically. Now, their job is about people and systems to deliver that product at scale. Most founders are not prepared for that shift. We help them shift how they think about themselves and their company, so they can succeed in this new role.
Practice Makes Better
Perfect is a myth. Go easy on yourself.
To get better at this kind of thing, you just have to put in the reps. It may be helpful to write it down on paper (literally or figuratively) first - especially if you’re an introvert. But you won’t find what works until you just go out there and talk it through fifty to a hundred times - especially if you’re an extrovert. I think out loud and adjust on the fly, so just talking it through over and over - even with stumbles - is helpful.
Pro Tip: If you’re networking with a specific purpose (looking for customers, investors, or collaboration partners), try to ask about the other person first. Then, with practice, you’ll be able to customize your pitch ladder to what they have already shared.
Get a notepad and scratch out three imperfect one-sentence descriptions of what your company does. Then, make it a little longer, and a bit longer still. Then, get out there and practice. Go to some networking events and just try them out. Slowly, you’ll be able to tell what is working through feedback and through your own internal resonance. When you start to get it right, you’ll feel it.
