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Ryan Healy graduated Penn State University in the Spring of 2006. He recently left his consulting position to start 
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Anyone interested in entrepreneurship has heard of the elevator pitch. It’s the infamous 15 to 30 second pitch of a product or service to a potential investor of some sort. The “elevator” part comes from the fact that it should be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride.
Of course, I have practiced and written down many different elevator pitches for Brazen Careerist. Including pitches to potential investors, human resource professionals, recruiters, potential advertisers or sponsors and I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting.
I won’t bore you with the details because this post is not about an elevator pitch. This post is about your casual pitch. The one that you tell people at the bar, the one that you tell your parents friends and the one that, in reality, creates “brand you.”
When someone asks what you do, do you have the right answer? I suspect you don’t.
Most people do not have a decent casual pitch. I know this, because, for one, I don’t think I have a decent one. And secondly, when someone tells me what they do, I usually nod and say “that’s cool.” But in reality, I have no idea what they really do, their casual pitch doesn’t stick.
No matter what profession you are in, everyone needs a casual pitch. In fact, everyone needs multiple casual pitches. There will inevitably be times when you need to explain to someone what you do for a living. And even in the most social or “non business” situations, you never know how the person you are speaking with can help in the future.
You’re casual pitch must be short and succinct, while still explaining what you do in a way that peeks the interest of the person you are speaking to. Depending on the audience, the pitch should never be exactly the same.
I never gave much thought to my day-to-day pitches until starting a company, moving to a new city and having to explain my job to every person I meet. But now I discuss them with Ryan Paugh all the time. So here is a list of what I typically say to four different types of audiences:
1. My pitch to old friends
I’m taking Employee Evolution full time and offering new features so we can make some money. I definitely miss the East Coast, but nothing beats working in my living room!
2. My pitch to “adults” (anyone not in Gen-Y)
I’m creating a website that is similar to Monster.com for people in their twenties. We recently partnered with an extremely popular career advice blog and we plan to introduce new features and leverage our traffic to generate revenue.
3. My pitch to girls at the bar
I’m creating a website to help people our age figure out what they want to do with their careers, and hopefully I can help you get a good job!
4. My pitch to a young person in a “non social” setting
I’m starting my own business and creating a career website for Gen-Y. The site will consist of a network of bloggers our age and a bunch of other features to help you get control of your career.
Of course, whatever actually spews from my mouth in a given situation is some variation of one of these pitches. And truthfully, I’m not totally impressed with any of them. Luckily, if you’re talking to someone worth your while, a casual pitch will turn into a casual conversation and you can then explain everything in detail.
The four pitches described above are for different social situations and different audiences where the only sale I’m really trying to make is the sale of “brand me” (and hopefully spark their interest to go to my website). The point is not to write down and memorize these casual pitches. The point is to recognize the difference between a casual pitch situation and an elevator pitch situation, to know the audience you are speaking with and to adjust your casual pitch accordingly.
If you’re serious about your career, you’ll always be aware of your surroundings, especially the casual ones, because life’s a stage.
So, what do you do?
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It seems like 4 different pitches for those groups is the reason that you have trouble having the same pitch come out of your mouth every time.
Its funny but the pitch to the young person in a non-social setting is actually the best pitch and can apply well to every one of those other situations. Use that as the basic gist and tweak it to be slightly less formal if you need it to be.
Ingraining the one pitch in your head will make it easier to deliver consistently.
If they have questions after the first pitch, then think of the other three pitches as your follow up answers…
I like the idea of a casual pitch vs. an elevator pitch. Interesting read, thanks.
Now in thinking about it for a bit, I think the problem is that they’re simply too casual and too honest. Rembering that what you say to anyone no matter who they are has an effect on your personal brand image and the image of those things you’re involved with, Why not say something like:
“I’m co-founder of an internet company that’s helping people reinvigorate the work place and take control of their careers.”
Its still true but it sounds much more polished and presents a more confident image.
I enjoyed the read and I like the necessity of this in relation to your article on discussing your career with the opposite sex. I have to continue working on my pitch since programming isn’t that exciting to most people. Oh, and Ryan, how well does “hopefully I can help you get a good job!” go over with the ladies you meet at the bar? Haha
Brad,
thanks for all the suggestions. I think you’re right about having to many pitches, but the point of the casual pitch is that its not something you memorize. Its about knowing who you are talking to and adjusting accordingly. You’re suggestion of “I’m founder of an internet company…..” is a really good pitch, but in many cases it would be way to formal, and sometimes it would go right over someones head etc. If you are defining one pitch, it should be your “elevator pitch” not a casual one.
Sushi,
Good question, I haven’t tested the “hopefully I can help you get a good job!” enough times to give you a good answer. I think, depending on the womans work situation, it could go over well. or they could just look at me like I’m crazy….
Thanks for the comments.
-Ryan
Chuckle..
“I’m co-founder of an internet company that’s helping people reinvigorate the work place and take control of their careers.”
Do people really buy into that? Sound’s like a pitch from a used-car dealer, or someone who would try to sell me ocean-front property in Arizona.
And what’s wrong with being honest? Being honest means you never have to backtrack ot cover-up your exaggerations.
Its a matter of mindset. If you start off by saying I’m co-founder of an internet company that’s “fill in the blank depending on who you’re speaking with and what you’re doing” You have a versatile pitch.
Just saying, “I’m running a website” doesn’t get you taken very seriously (teenagers run websites from their bedrooms…). A pitch is not supposed to be the whole conversation, Its about starting the conversation. You need something that elicits a response. Its my opinion that you should never really have a completely casual pitch as it gets you and what you’re doing taken much less seriously.
Be honest all you want but be more structured, not casual
I’m with Scott here, half of those pitches I read and thought “really? you’d say that?” because they do sound used car/late night infomercial-esque. Brad’s right, just be more structured/concise because the “casual” direction comes off as laughable, to me anyway.
I do know where you’re coming from, because I feel like since my corporate career has started, anytime I’m at a party/bar, work inevitably comes up (I would imagine this to be the case with most in their early/mid 20s). There’s always an interesting mix of those in school, those out, and those looking to go back. If I heard any one of those except #4 I think I’d just tone out the rest, because none of it comes off as genuine. Typically I start with something broad that sounds like your #4, and anything further is just dictated by the conversation.
Let us know how #3 goes with the ladies, my guess, not too well.
At this point in my life, my entire “brand me” casual pitch would overwhelm the living daylights out of someone. Usually I do what you suggested - tailor my response to the particular audience.
Girl Scouts: “I’m in a group with other college age Girl Scouts and we go camping, help with larger council events, and usually just eat a lot. We also run a troop of Brownies (grades 1-3) at an after-school program.”
Classes: “Oh, yes, well I’m in my fourth year (but not a senior) with plans to graduate in two semesters (because I want to study abroad) with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Sociology.”
Co-op: “I’m currently looking for another co-op similar to my last one, which was like working at an advertising agency within a larger company. I might stay in the financial industry if I can find the right job, but I’m not tied to it. I might also go back to publishing, depending on the opportunities.”