Elevator pitch template: four fill-in lines and examples by situation

A seller's pitch has one job: get the next conversation. So it's about their problem, and it ends with a question they can say yes to.

Elevator pitch: [your name]

Say it out loud. If it takes more than 30 seconds, cut a line.

The four lines

1. Who you help. I work with [the kind of person or business you sell to].
2. The problem. Most of them [the problem, the way they say it].
3. What changes. We [what you do], so they [the result they get].
4. The next step. [A question they can say yes to.]

Your pitch

• Who you help: ______
• The problem: ______
• What changes: ______
• The next step: ______

On a cold call

"Hi [name], it's [you] from [company]. I work with [who you help], and most of them tell me [the problem]. We [what you do], so they [the result]. Is that something you're dealing with, or am I off the mark?"

The next step: a 20-minute call. "Would [day] or [day] suit you better?"

At a networking event

"I help [who you help] who [the problem]. We [what you do], so they [the result]. What about you, what do you do?"

The next step: "Can I take your card and email you [one useful thing]?"

After an introduction

"Hi [name], [who introduced you] suggested I get in touch and said you might be [the problem]. I help [who you help] [the result]. Would a 15-minute call help, or should I send a short example first?"

The next step: a call, or the example if they'd rather read something first.

When someone senior asks what you do

"We help [who you help] [the result]. The usual problem is [the problem]. Is that on your list this year?"

The next step: "Who on your team looks after it? I'd like 15 minutes with them."

When a customer asks you to explain it to a colleague

"[Customer] uses us because [the problem]. We [what you do], so they [the result]. Would it help if I showed you what that looks like for them?"

The next step: a short call with the colleague and the customer on it.

After you've said it

Next step agreed: yes / no. What: ______ When: ______

Mei Ling sells bookkeeping at Ledgerline, a made-up firm. Every name and number here is made up.

• Who she helps: restaurant owners with one to three places.
• The problem: they do the books themselves and still don't know what they made.
• What changes: we do the books each week, so they know what they made last week.

Mei Ling's made-up week

• Start with who you help, and leave your job title for later.
• Name the problem the way your customers say it.
• Say what changes for them in one sentence, with no feature names.
• End with a question that has an easy yes.
• Time it out loud, and cut until it's under 30 seconds.

Say it to a colleague, then ask them these five. Any no is the line to rewrite.

• Opening with your company's history.
• A list of features instead of one result.
• Words your customer would never use.
• Ending on "let me know if you're interested".
• Sending the call version as a message. Nobody reads a paragraph from a stranger.

PDPC says the Do Not Call rules cover voice calls, SMS and apps such as WhatsApp that use a Singapore number. So a pitch sent there to someone's personal number needs a Do Not Call check from the last 21 days, or their clear consent, even after an introduction. A message to a company about the company's own needs is outside the rule. Email is the simpler first move.

An admin on your team can add a tile for each thing you do, such as Calls, Meetings and Proposals, and each one is a single tap. The board shows your points with each tile's count, so dividing meetings by calls tells you whether a new pitch is working. See how logging works.

• PDPC, Advisory Guidelines on the Do Not Call Provisions, revised 1 February 2021, pdpc.gov.sg, read 2 November 2026
• PDPC, How to check numbers against the Do Not Call Registry, pdpc.gov.sg, read 2 November 2026