I have posted before that if you are responsible for pitches, you should have three ready to go off the top of your head:
·     the no more than 30 second elevator pitch
·     the no more than 3 minute pitch, that adds a story to the elevator pitch
·     the no more than 5 minute pitch that further adds some context on you and the business or deal.

Let’s talk about The 30 Second Pitch

Commonly referred to as the Elevator Pitch (you meet someone in an elevator and you have 5 floors to explain what you do), your 30 second pitch should be limited to one or two sentences that explains the what and why of your business or deal.

To be most persuasive, try to make the pitch immediately provocative and visual and invite the listener to participate. Studies indicated you have about 4 seconds to capture attention before the listener mentally checks out.

For example, this might be my elevator pitch for Sinclair Range:

Imagine a swat team repelling into troubled situations – but for business. We buy, lend and consult to troubled businesses to turn them around, save jobs and rescue shareholder value.

That pitch asks the listener to participate – by imagining – captures attention by being immediately provocative (or strange), is sticky because it is visual and explains exactly what we do and why.