Elevator Pitch vs Value Proposition
By Jennifer Goddard
While the terms elevator pitch and value proposition are often used interchangeably in business, they both play important but distinct roles in the sales process and are applied in different contexts.
Here’s how they differ:
Elevator Pitch:
Purpose:
The primary goal of an elevator pitch is to quickly grab the listener's attention and spark interest. It is intended to initiate a conversation and lead to a more detailed discussion or meeting.
Length:
Typically brief, lasting 30 seconds to a few minutes — long enough to communicate key points but short enough to not be intrusive. It's named after the idea of delivering it within the time span of an elevator ride.
Content:
Provides a quick, concise overview of your company, product, or service, focusing on what you do and why it’s interesting or valuable.
Example: "We can enhance your productivity by 30% within 3 months.".
Usage:
Ideal in situations where time is limited, such as networking events, a chance encounter in a coffeeshop, or even a voice mail message.
Objective:
Generate the response, "That’s intriguing — I would like to hear more!".
Value Proposition:
Purpose:
A value proposition Clearly explains the specific benefits and unique differentiators that a product or service offers to customers, articulating why a customer should choose your product or service over competitors.
Length:
Typically, longer and more detailed than an elevator pitch, but still concise. A value proposition can be a few sentences to a short paragraph or even supported by bullet points.
Content:
Provides in-depth information on how your offering solves a problem and why it’s superior to alternatives.
Example: "Our equipment utilizes proprietary algorithms and AI to help businesses increase productivity by 30% within 3 months — by improving yield and quality, while also reducing scrap, downtime and rework."
Usage:
Found in marketing materials, on websites, and during more in-depth sales presentations, and used to persuade potential customers.
Objective:
Generate the response, "Wow — I can see real potential benefits for our business!".
Compelling Differentiation
Your elevator pitch and value proposition must help you stand out from the crowd, in a manner that enables the prospect to clearly understand and appreciate the differentiation and value you offer.
Businesses often tend to overestimate the value they deliver. They convince themselves that they have superior products or service, but this is not backed up by substance, clear evidence, data and research. High performance companies challenge their people to be ultra-realistic about the value they deliver- and to constantly strive to make it demonstrably better and truly compelling to customers and prospects.
Delivery
While salespeople are most often the presenters, anybody who might come in contact with or serve a prospect or a customer should be trained to deliver these messages consistently. At any moment, an executive, customer service rep, engineer or even a truck driver could have an opportunity to communicate or support the company's differentiation.
Adapt
The elevator pitch and value proposition are not static, and need to be adapted to the circumstances.
Customers and prospects do not uniformly value the same attributes — even if they look like very similar businesses. One might put more value on quality than price, another might see service or ease-of-doing business as their key priority. Salespeople need to be trained to adapt their presentations to the needs and preferences of individual prospects and customers.
The attributes that customers value can change over time — because of evolving needs, tastes or technology. A compelling value proposition today could be "ho hum" a year from now. As a result, businesses cannot rest on their laurels — and must constantly update their elevator pitch and value proposition, to ensure they remain compelling and differentiated.
Conclusion
While there are differences in how they are used, the elevator pitch and value proposition are both very important elements of a successful sales process. They must communicate compelling and differentiated value — and be adapted to the circumstances. Without this, your company could be perceived by the market as just another "me too" supplier, putting your sales team at a severe disadvantage.