Why An Elevator Pitch Is Important and 4 Essential Steps to Perfecting Yours
What if you find yourself in an elevator with someone influential in the medical field, how would you turn that into an opportunity?
In this episode, the Girls of Grit delve deep into the art of crafting a compelling elevator pitch—a powerful tool to capture attention and leave a lasting impression, all in a matter of seconds.
Elevator Pitch Definition from The Girls of Grit
The elevator pitch is not merely a sales spiel but rather a strategic conversation starter designed to intrigue and engage potential clients or collaborators. And it can happen anywhere, not just in elevators. Whether you're at a conference, waiting in line at a coffee shop, or even at a networking event, these moments can serve as opportunities to deliver your pitch and make valuable connections.
By honing this indispensable skill, listeners are poised to elevate their success in the competitive realm of medical device sales.
Do watch out for future episodes where we give elevator pitch examples and elevator pitch formats you can use to uplevel your networking game.
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
Know Your Purpose and Clearly Introduce Yourself: Begin by understanding your purpose for the pitch. Once your purpose is clear, introduce yourself confidently, ensuring your name is heard and remembered.
Summarize What You Do: Highlight your background and experience succinctly.
Explain What You Want: Be specific about your goals and what you are seeking.
End with a Call to Action: Request a contact or the next step to keep the conversation going.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
“If you have a practice elevator pitch or a quick way to make sure when you get in front of people who could open a door for you, you make sure you say what you need to say quickly, nicely, and make an impression.” – Cynthia Ficara
“Remember, you had to figure out your goal before the elevator pitch. If it's just to network, then great. But why do you want to connect with them? They're not just going to connect with you for no reason, they want to know why. So you need to give them a good, solid reason why you want to connect with them.” — Anneliese Rhodes
“When you practice, you become more confident. When you're more confident, you deliver a better message, and when you deliver a better message, people will hear it better.” — Cynthia Ficara
“Practice makes perfect but perfect practice makes practice perfect.” — Cynthia Ficara
“Always smile because everything's delivered better with a smile and when you smile, your tone of voice is lighter” — Cynthia Ficara
“There's nothing wrong with always upping your game and making it the best that you can be.” — Anneliese Rhodes
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Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Cynthia Ficara: Have you ever come across the term elevator pitch? It's a game-changer. It's like capturing attention in a flash and leaving a lasting impression. You won't believe how much it can help you, especially at work.
Anneliese Rhodes: Today we'll dive into the secrets of crafting a concise and personalized elevator pitch and why it's an absolute must for success in medical device sales. Good morning, Cindy. Good morning to all of our listeners.
Cynthia Ficara: Good morning, Lisa, and good morning to everyone.
Anneliese Rhodes: Today, we are talking about something that we mentioned in a previous episode, and it is called the elevator pitch. It is something that Cindy and I feel is super important, and there are several reasons why.
But let me go through what we're going to do today because it's really important for you guys to follow along and take notes. So the first thing we're going to do is we're going to define what an elevator pitch is. So if you don't know what it is, or you've heard the term and you're like, Yeah, I think I know what it is, but maybe I don't.
We're going to talk about what it is. Then we're going to tell you why it's true. So important for you to not only know what it means but to have one on the tip of your tongue whenever you're put on the spot. So we're going to talk about why that's super important, especially in medical devices. And then the third thing that we're going to do is we're going to help you craft that elevator pitch specifically for you.
And we're going to give you content to think about in your elevator pitch. And then, like I said, you're going to be able to craft it for your own brand and in your own unique way.
Cynthia Ficara: I am excited about this Lisa, because it's really true. It's a nice little tool you can keep in your pocket and you pull it out when you need it.
So I'll just go ahead and define exactly what an elevator pitch is for those who don't know what it is. It's actually a tool essentially to start a conversation. So it is not a sales pitch and I want to say that again.
This is not a sales pitch, but it's a way to start a conversation. So it's meant to pique someone's interest, but you're ultimately trying to open doors for further discussion.
So this conversation is very engaging and memorable. I'm going to give you an example. Let's just say, for instance, you're a brand new college graduate and you are at a conference and a networking conference. You want to go into a medical device, you find a conference, you attend and you get into an elevator.
People wear badges at a lot of these conferences and it would say, like, where they work. And let's pretend you're very interested in orthopedics. So you get on an elevator and you see a title and somebody is standing there who works for a company that you know you would love to be interested in getting to work for them.
So here's this moment you're on an elevator, just you and this person, the door closes, and then do you know what to say? Do you stand there for 30 seconds and say, oh my gosh, do I say hi? What do I say to this person? I really want to work for this company or blah, blah, blah, or do you have something in your pocket that when that elevator opens and you see the opportunity, you know exactly what to say, exactly what you need to do so you can walk away within 30 to 60 seconds and have that next step of whatever that goal is you're trying to achieve.
So I'm going to leave that example and just walk you through like, this is what it looks like. This is what we're talking about, but in the end, I'm going to use that same scenario and plug in the pieces of content to let you know exactly how to do an elevator pitch.
Anneliese Rhodes: I love that, and you're right. I mean, that can actually be in any situation. I mean, it could even apply to us, Cindy. You know, I remember I was at a vascular conference probably five or six years ago now, and there was a female CEO and I knew who she was. I'd heard many things about her.
She's the CEO of a major medical corporation and I really wanted to meet her. And here I am stepping into the elevator with just her. And I'm like, Ooh, this is exciting, and then I got nervous and I'm like, oh, what do I say? Oh gosh, what? What if I say the wrong thing? And she's like, who are you, stalker?
But like, that really happened. It totally happened to me and I went blank and it was like I needed a little kick in the henny and all of a sudden it was like, oh, hey, and then I finally introduced myself. But you know, by that point, you're already halfway up.
The elevator doors are going to open any second and now you feel rushed and you just feel like you've got to spit it all out and you don't want to do that either, because it's like lots of information all at once, and then you become forgettable, and you don't want to become forgettable.
You want to be memorable so that the next time you see that person, they spot you and they're like, Hey Lisa, or Hey Cindy, so great to see you again. How are things going? Tell me about what you're doing. What are your plans? What's your future look like? And you have that great conversation.
But if you don't have it at the tip of your tongue, like you become forgettable and then it's like the next time you see them, then you're almost embarrassed to say something to them because you're like, oh gosh, they remember me. I was stepping all over myself. So again, I know, I'm hammering this home, but it is really important to have it.
Cynthia Ficara: Well, it's also the first impression. I mean, you want to find a link to this person somewhere and that's your first impression. So I think it's also important to let you know that an elevator pitch doesn't always have to take place in an elevator. That's how it got its name. This quick conversation of when you come across a person can be anywhere.
It can be, if you're at a job fair and if you're just trying to reach out to somebody on LinkedIn. If you are in our networking episode, we talked about different community events, whether it's a church event, whether it's like a running race and you never know who you're going to meet that might be a medical device.
But if you have a practice elevator pitch or a quick way to make sure when you get in front of people who could open a door for you, you make sure you say what you need to say quickly, nicely, and make an impression. So that's why we're here to help you to introduce yourself and how to make it memorable.
That is actually the meat of today. I think that was just kind of talking about why, I think if you realize you don't get many opportunities to make a first impression there's going to be times where you're going to all of a sudden be thrown into a situation. It's your opportunity, so all we want to do today is give you a little tool to have with you at all times to practice and be ready for any time that you meet somebody because it's amazing how many times you run into people and have opportunities. So I'm just really excited.
So I think that we can just kind of walk through if you take out a piece of paper and this is the elevator pitch.
I think before we even write anything down, number one, you need to know your purpose. You need to know the goal of your pitch. So I'll just use the example of what I started to talk about at the very beginning. I'm a new college graduate. I'm going to work for an orthopedic company. So I can take out a piece of paper and I can write this.
Somehow I'm going to meet somebody. I want to work for an orthopedic company and I need to make sure I can come up with some information in 30 to 60 seconds. So anytime I come to see somebody. I'm going to know what to say. So, first, know why you're doing this. And Lisa, if you want to give another example of why or a goal or your purpose, go ahead, but otherwise we can move on from there.
Anneliese Rhodes: I think that's really important and you're right. You know, those goals may change, so let's just say, you're a brand new grad and you're looking for a job. It's not just orthopedic since it's in any industry. So your goal really isn't just to get into orthopedics. It's to get into any place within the medical device arena.
So just be aware of this, and you can switch this up, you can change your pitch with the people that you meet. For example, with what you were saying, know your purpose. When you have a purpose, then you can hone in on two or three things that you're going to concentrate on.
Because again, remember this isn't very long. So I think the first thing you have to do is introduce yourself. You have to say your name and you need to say your name very clearly and make sure they understand it. For example, hi, my name is Annalisa Rhodes. You know, that's a mouthful, right?
So sometimes, I'll say, hey, I'm Annalisa Rhodes, but everyone calls me Lisa. So that's a really easy thing for people to go, oh, hey, Lisa. And you know, I don't know how you are about names, Cindy, I'm not the greatest. I'm learning how to remember names better. It's like, what is it? Repeat it three times or something like that.
I don't know, but I'm really bad at it. I usually have to identify an animal or a piece of food or something like that to a person or an event. And then I'm like, oh, I know her name. But make sure that you are really being very concise and you're saying your name, you're not just kind of slurring it by hey, nice to meet you.
And you say it so fast, they're like, who? And they ask you to repeat it. You've already eaten away a couple of seconds. So you really got to make sure that you are super concise and you get that point across.
Cynthia Ficara: The other thing you said was very pleasant and easygoing by saying, everyone calls me Lisa. It kind of breaks the ice. I think in this very first stage, if you take out a piece of paper, there are only four things we're going to tell you. This is very simple to make your elevator pitch. Lisa just said, number one, which is to introduce yourself, but just know that the goal of this is to focus on that essential point, which is your name.
When they walk away, they want to know who this is. So clear, concise, be creative in any way, you can take Lisa's. Hi, I'm Annalisa Rhodes, but everybody calls me Lisa and you can even joke. I think it's like if you say Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, you're supposed to say three.
Anneliese Rhodes: Or Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, and the cold jam. If your name rhymes with something, you could say, you know, so and so and everybody says this or just something that's going to stick in their mind, and they're going to be like, I know her, I remember her. She stands out in my mind.
So, we wrote down introducing ourselves, our full name, and then maybe something super cute and creative. Not like cutesy cutesy, but you know creative enough to have them remember you.
So number two is you need to summarize what you do. For example, in our graduation, obviously, you aren't working yet. You're trying to get into the medical device industry, but you need to be proud of the fact that you're a recent grad. And what describes you? What were your majors? Were you a D1 athlete? Did you work for a year?
Did you do research? You need to tell them a brief stint about what your background is. For me, it would be, I'm Annalisa Rhodes, I've been in medical devices for over 25 years, and I've worked for some of the largest medical device companies in the world, as well as the smallest, and my specialty has gone from cardiac to vascular.
So I think I've already let someone know, number one, it's my name. Number two, how long I've been in the business and what the broad or the breadth of what I've covered in terms of the products that I've sold. So that people understand where I've spent a lot of my time and medical devices.
Cynthia Ficara: That's awesome, that's your impression, your name, and then what you do. I think the number three is really important, and this kind of goes back to the very beginning when you were planning, is you need to give an explanation of what you want. So remember, this is your opportunity, this is your chance to go after something with a goal, with an end in mind. But I need to really emphasize here that this is where you focus on what you want to do.
Don't take any extra time, any extra seconds to tell them what you don't want to do. You don't say, yes, I'm very interested in orthopedic sales. This is what I want. I mean, I could maybe kind of want to do this other thing like trauma or neuro thing, but you know I just find it worth it.
No, It is clear and concise, and very positive. I am a new graduate, I am a Division One athlete, and I am very competitive. I am very excited to get into and I really want to get into the orthopedic space. I love what it could offer.
Anneliese Rhodes: And don't waste any time doing it. Like you said, because you only have, I mean, it may not be five seconds, but it may not be five minutes either. For me, I would say I'm Annalisa Rhodes, I've been in the medical device industry for 25 years, I've done these products through these products and I'm really interested in getting into the neuro space.
I've never been in the neuro space before. And then I want to tell them why I want to get into the neuro space. Because they're going to be like, okay, why? Because you just haven't done it yet. Do you want to check the box or do you want to do it because it interests you because it's evolving? After all, there are so many nuances to it, or maybe because I have a personal connection to it.
You know, I've recently had a stroke in my family, so it now is binding me to more interest in that field, whatever it is that is going to make it stand out in their mind of why you want to work for them or why you want to. Network with them and connect with them. Whatever it is that your goal is, remember, you had to figure out your goal first before the elevator pitch.
If it's just to network, then great. But why do you want to connect with them? I mean, this could be a super high-profile person. This could be the CEO of a company. They're not just going to connect with you for no reason. They want to know why.
So you need to give them a good, solid reason why you want to connect with them.
Cynthia Ficara: Absolutely Lisa, it's funny, what we're talking about really only takes 30 to 60 seconds and maybe 45 to 60. If you're somebody like Lisa who has had 25 years and there's more to say, if this is something short, sweet, a quick introduction, the shorter, the better, but it's still gotta be impactful and memorable.
So after you say all this. Do you know the most important thing, and this is important in sales, is you have to finish this. So you have to have a call to action, a purpose. Now what do you do? You've given the information, you threw it out there. Now what? So number four is finished with a call to action.
That can be as simple as, do you have a business card or an office manager that I could reach out to? Should there be an opening? Is there somebody you would recommend I talk to? I think it's important that you ask for a contact of theirs as opposed to, can I give you my contact? Because you give it to him and it might be up in the air.
I think the most important thing is, if you walk away with a connection, again, as we said at the very beginning, know your purpose. If my purpose is, if I run into somebody I meet that's an orthopedist and I want to get into orthopedic sales and medical devices, I need to know who to call. That's just my goal.
Who to call? What's my next step? Is there a website? Is there a 1-800 number? Is there an office manager? One of the things that I think is a good thing to understand is let's say you are on the elevator with a physician or you're on the elevator with a VP of a company. If you ask for one of their office managers or their practice managers, it takes a little bit of pressure off of them and you're not asking them, can I have your cell phone and call you?
No, you're not going to sit there and bother them on a Sunday afternoon. You just need to know how to get in contact with how to push forward.
Anneliese Rhodes: I agree and by the way, if you can get the name of that person, jot it down on your phone immediately. Oh, Shannon and Shannon's direct line is what? That's great. Now you've got the girl's name and you have her direct line. So when you call her, you can say, hey, Shannon, I just ran into Dr. so and so, and he told me to contact you.
Now you have a direct connection and that's just an easy way to get a good sales call out of it. So, Cindy, I'm sitting here as you were talking and I'm thinking about it. You're going to remember who I'm talking about, but I'm not going to say the name because it's a pretty big list of people. You and I were talking about connecting with different folks and would love to have certain people on our podcast, and hopefully one day we have her on our podcast.
But I heard her speak at an event and it was local, and I was hoping that I would run into her, random. I'm just putting it out in the universe, you know, I'm like hey, universe, come and give me a gift, and I'm driving to the airport, and I wonder if she's going to be there, well, as time and everything else in the universe has it, I walk into the airport, I go through TSA, and who is in front of me with that very same A-lister.
Now, I'm freaking out, I'm shaking in my boots. I'm like, oh my gosh! And I'm like, what am I going to do? What am I going to say? What if I look like a stalker? What if she doesn't want to talk to me? Lisa, you cannot lose this opportunity. Like, I'm scared, literally like going through the motions as I'm like going through TSA and this is taking all of you know, 30 seconds because at this point, well, maybe 2 minutes because TSA is reasonably good in our airport, but this whole time in my head, I'm thinking, what am I going to say to her?
What am I going to say to her? And I'm doing my elevator pitch in my head. I only am going to have a split second to talk to her because I guarantee you she's probably going to beeline for her airline, right? By the way, I was really shocked that she was actually flying commercial, but anyhow, I got through the TSA, I walked up to her and she was grabbing her stuff.
And at this point, I might be a little bit of a stalker. So she's grabbing her stuff out of her bins and I say hello to her. I introduced myself to her and I shook her hand. She's of course, just absolutely gorgeous. I'm like, oh my God, this is like a legit A-lister right now.
Don't freak out, Lisa, don't freak out. And I just introduced myself to her and I told her, Cindy, about you and I and our podcast and what our goal is on this podcast, and how we want to help women. And she just looked me in the eyes and she's like, this is amazing, tell me more. And so I stood there with her and her husband for five minutes in the TSA.
And I was like, right outside TSA and was just telling her all about our podcast, but I was trying to be as succinct as possible because I knew she only had a certain amount of time. Everybody only has a certain amount of time, but like A-listers or busy doctors, they ain't got no time for you.
So you better be really good, really concise. And so I'm like spinning it out. I'm like looking at my watch, I know you got to go. And I probably said that like three times, which is also like a buzzkill. But she said, nice meeting you. I said, can I have your contact information?
Can I have your email? I didn't want her cell number. I mean, I love her cell number, but I was like, may I have your email, please? I would love to email you more information on our podcast. She was like, yeah and she stood there and she typed it into my phone for me. I was like, this is amazing, and then she touched my phone.
I'm going to just pull this phone all day. She was an amazing woman, but the thing, the point is, I only had a certain amount of time to tell her, and man, I had to get it out as quickly as possible, but as succinctly as possible, without looking like a complete, like motor mouth, you know running around the crazy chicken head on fire type thing.
So it was me calming myself down. Number one, number two, remembering exactly what our purpose is on this podcast, saying it in my head, and then putting it out there and I mean, we wrote to her, so, it's just as easy as that.
Cynthia Ficara: I love that and someday I would love to have her. That's such a perfect example of what we're talking about as an elevator pitch. And so as you and I discussed before, this is something we either need to have written down or know that the next time we're in an airport or we're in an elevator or we're anywhere, you just don't know when you're going to run into these people, but you've got to know, keeping your eye on the prize, knowing what you're looking for, knowing what you want and how to communicate. That is essential because that's where you're Lisa. Had you said the wrong thing or not remembered, told her name or told her our purpose or forgotten our mission because you know, you're that little bit of nervous for being in front of somebody like that?
But you did it all right and so as we said, these steps of introducing yourself, summarizing what you do, explaining what you want, and following with the call to action. There is one more thing that is important and that's practicing.
So you know, delivering the speech to a friend, you could take out your phone and record it and you can time it and say, well, how long am I talking? Is this 48 seconds? How do I make this 22 seconds? Practice it because the next time you're in TSA, it rolls off your tongue and you're like, hello.
And you know exactly what to say, how to go into it because you practice and you know it. And you know what also happens when you practice, you become more confident. When you're more confident, you deliver a better message. And when you deliver a better message, people will hear it better.
Anneliese Rhodes: That's such a great point. I forgot all about the practice. Do you know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of when I was a little girl, well not a little, but the younger girl in high school. I sang obviously in high school and into college, and I had a lot of auditions, but I remember standing in front of my long-wicker mirror and singing Phantom of the Opera over and over again.
And it wasn't because I didn't know the words. I knew them by heart. It was so that I could hear myself, watch myself, and critique myself, but make sure that it was right where I needed it to be. I needed it to be perfect. You know, practice makes perfect. There's that good old saying.
And you're right about practicing in front of someone. I remember the very first time I gave a speech in front of about 150 women and I was really nervous. I practiced in front of my husband and he was like, you're talking too fast, you're going way too fast. I don't even understand what you're saying.
It's so important to practice in front of people too, because they can not only help you and critique you, but they can validate what you're saying. Did they do what you wanted to get across?
Cynthia Ficara: Practice makes perfect but perfect practice makes practice perfect. That's why you do it. I mean, that's what it's all about.
I just think this is so exciting and it's very simple. I really think that our message today was for all of you to have that moment that you can concisely put together what you need. It's like a ticket to opportunity because they're out there. They really are. I think I'm just going to give a quick example.
I'm just going to put together all the pieces that we said, as I said at the beginning. So I would say, when I get on an elevator, I see a tag of somebody that's like BP of a physician at an orthopedic company or speaking for the company. I walk in and I would say, hello, my name is Cynthia Ficarra, but everybody calls me Cindy. I am a new graduate and I really would love to get into medical devices. I am a competitive athlete and I know what it takes for competition. I would love to get involved in orthopedics. Is there somebody that you know of you could put me in touch with to help me with this? Is there an email or number?
I think something else that's important, let's say he says, yes. Say, thank you, again my name is Cindy, it was very nice to meet you and that's it. That's as simple as what it can look like. As Lisa said, she and I will be practicing to make sure when we run into A-listers at the TSA project, exactly our mission and how to be involved.
And it becomes personal as I said, that was probably a 15-second thing, but make it conversational and personal and laugh and smile, always smile because everything's delivered better with a smile and when you smile, your tone of voice is lighter and it's not so, oh, hi, this is my name, this is what I want to do.
I mean, it's all about that, so I'm really excited. I think this is something that we can really hope to help you all with to be credible and to be very concise and concrete in what you're trying to deliver.
Anneliese Rhodes: There's nothing wrong with changing your elevator pitch, even if you've been doing it for 25 years, like me, there's nothing wrong with always upping your game and making it the best that you can be.
I mean, truth be told, I probably need to work on my elevator pitch a little bit, make it a little bit more creative, and give them a little bit more about me. A little bit more flair. I mean, now we have the wonderful podcast, so we add that in, right? Anything that you're doing that is wonderful. You're giving back is part of you.
It shows them who you are and you're either your determination, your work ethic, or all of the above. It's important to somehow figure out what that is and put it into your pitch so that they recognize that you mean business, that you want to either connect with them, work with them, whatever your goal is, but that they know the reasons behind it.
Cynthia Ficara: We hope that this short session will really help you put out a piece of paper, put those four steps together, develop an elevator pitch, and take it with you everywhere. And again, as Lisa said, make it for multiple different things. Even when you start getting into your job, you can even make a quick one when you are just learning and cold calling.
That's a great time to have a quick elevator pitch in a hallway and know how to comfortably introduce your product, how to say something, or who to get in touch with. So we wish you all the best. We're very excited about this and we hope you'll take this little tool with you and apply it.
