An elevator pitch is a brief presentation of a jewelry
company’s value proposition. The name comes from the amount of time one has to
make a presentation from when an elevator door closes until it opens on the
next floor. Most elevator pitches last from a half minute to a
couple minutes in length. Jewelry marketers should use elevator pitches to better
communicate with customers and to direct suppliers. Merchandising managers can
use elevator pitches to help vendors better understand the value proposition
the company is using to differentiate its inventory offerings. Sales
representatives can use elevator pitches when they are out in public and to
better engage in-store shoppers. Sales representatives will need to develop a series of elevator pitches to meet the needs of different customers. Elevator pitches help speakers deliver a
well-articulated message in a very concise and consistent manner.

Here are 10 tips to developing effective elevator
pitches:

1. Be
   succinct. Most adults are only going to give a speaker about 10 seconds of
   their time before they make a value judgment if they are going to continue to
   listen. The first one or two sentences must be highly influential on
   recipients. How do customers benefit from buying jewelry from your company? Lack
   of confidence is a big issue for many jewelry buyers. How does your company
   help? How does your company help customers gain the confidence they need to
   make large jewelry purchases?
2. Be
   transparent. Have a hook that draws in the listener and is easy to understand.
   Focus on why people buy jewelry. What motivates your best customers to buy from
   you?
3. Be
   powerful. How do your best customers
   describe their perceived benefits derived from owning, wearing, gifting and
   self-gifting your jewelry? Customize a compelling value proposition for each
   customer.
4. Be
   trustworthy. Share an example of how the jewelry company is perceived by
   customers as being reliable. The number one reason why people do business with
   companies is reliability.
5. Be conceptual. Share the sizzle of jewelry,
   but don’t use gemology terms. Romance the jewelry by describing it emotionally.
   Keep it simple and easy to understand.
6. Be
   grounded. Practice the pitch over and over until you can state the pitch while
   thinking of another activity. Practice voice infliction to keep the listeners
   attention and make each pause a cue for the listener to pay special attention.
7. Be
   integrated. Repurpose each elevator pitch into other media ranging from print
   materials to a web site. Nothing sells like a perceived superior value
   proposition.
8. Be
   compatible. Revise the elevator pitch as the company’s competitive edge changes
   and evolves. Be sure to offer a message
   that is very relevant to each specific customer. Target market customers with
   separate elevator pitches.
9. Be
   communicative. Use the elevator pitch to engage a prospect and then be a great
   listener to make the right product presentation for the right reasons. Selling
   is not telling. Use the elevator pitch to draw in shoppers and get them
   involved in trying on jewelry and sharing what will motivate them to buy.
10. Be open to rewriting. Plan to spend quality time creating a
    series of elevator pitches. Keep rewriting each pitch until it is concise and very simply articulates your superior value proposition.

JCK