The Elevator Pitch
How you would describe yourself in less than a minute. The Manifesto's version is not a sales pitch; it sells you as someone to get to know or follow.
What The Elevator Pitch Is
Lasting relationships need connection deeper than a profession, so the Manifesto's pitch opens with something personal. The goal is to leave what the book calls a lasting impression of increase: the other person leaves the conversation better or more knowledgeable than they came into it.
Keep it concise and turn it into a conversation about the other person. The pitch is an intentional value exchange, not a monologue.
Your elevator pitch is not an opportunity for you to sell your products and services, rather it serves as an opportunity to sell yourself as someone to get to know or follow.
Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition, 4.3
The Structure
- A Brief, Personal HookA signature detail people remember: a habit, a quirk, a passion.
- A Sentence That Builds RapportSomething the listener can relate to or smile at.
- A Professional SynopsisWhat you do, in one plain sentence.
- Titles That Carry AuthorityThe credentials that make you worth listening to, stated briefly.
- A Call to ActionAn invitation that states your intent and makes it easy for people to approach you.
Where It Comes From
- Source
- Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition (Mashman Publishing, 2025)
- Chapter
- 4. Branding
- Subchapter
- 4.3 Elevator Pitch, page 123
- Pillar It Serves
- Seamless Branding
The Full Method Is in the Book
This page is a summary. The subchapter itself goes further, with the reasoning, the stories behind it, and the exercise that closes it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should an elevator pitch be?
Under a minute. Keep it concise and lead it into a conversation about the other person.
Should an elevator pitch sell my services?
No. In the Manifesto's method it sells you as someone worth knowing. The services come up naturally once there is a relationship.
Related
Authors and Speakers
A book or a talk is an extension of you, not the whole of you. Authors and speakers who are booked again are the ones whose name is the reason people show up.
Sales and Business Development Leaders
People buy from people they know, like, and trust. A seller with a personal brand is known before the first call, and that changes every conversation after it.
Seamless Branding
There should be no doubt who you are when someone introduces you, on or offline, and no question that you are the right person to follow.
Avoiding Clichés
A cliché teaches nothing and moves no one. In a crowded market, originality is what cuts through the noise.
The Art of Storytelling
Sharing stories from your own life is one of the best ways to build rapport. People who only hear about your profession only stay for what they can get.
Your name is already being interpreted. The question is who are they, and what are they thinking?
Engagements are accepted by application and seats are limited each quarter. Tell us who you are, what you are building, and the position you intend to hold.