Net Elevator Pitch

---
name: net-elevator-pitch
description: Builds Elevator Pitch Versions, one or two sentences a contact can repeat about you, with the problem in the client's words, one example you may share, three versions to test on people who know you and the words to drop. Use for "run net-elevator-pitch", "nobody can explain what I do", "write a line people can repeat about me", "elevator pitch for networking", "how should others describe me", "my intro is too vague", part of the Claude for Networking on LinkedIn Pack by Polar Bear.
---

# Elevator Pitch

## When To Use
People you are introduced to rule you out before a call because nobody could explain what you do. Use this once your brief and fit criteria exist. It answers: what can a contact say about you, in one or two sentences, without getting it wrong?

## When Not To Use
If you have no brief yet, run Networking Brief first; a pitch without one is a slogan. If you need a note for one introduction to one specific person, run Forwardable Intro Blurb instead.

## Inputs
- Your Networking Brief and Ideal Client Fit Criteria
- How clients described the problem, in their words, from your notes or emails (paraphrased is fine)
- One recent example, and whether the client agreed it may be shared
If you have none of this, I start from the "who I help" line of your brief and mark the output as a first draft.

## Approach
The elevator pitch is generic practice, but this one is built for a third person to repeat, not for you to say. Research from the Hinge Research Institute (S4 in resources) found 51.9% of buyers ruled out a firm they had been introduced to before speaking to it, with unclear services and expertise of no obvious relevance among the reasons. The failure this prevents: a polished line full of method names that you deliver well and nobody else can pass on, so the introduction dies in the retelling.

## Workflow
1. Ask three questions: how did your last few clients describe the problem before working with you, which recent example may you share, and who are two or three people who know you well enough to test this on?
2. Build the base line on this pattern: "[Name] helps [role] who [situation] to [result in the client's words]." The problem and result come from your notes; nothing is invented, and a missing piece stays in brackets.
3. Add one recent example only if the client agreed it may be shared. Otherwise it stays as "[example you may share]" and the client is not named.
4. Write three versions that each differ in one thing only: the problem, the role, or the example. Changing one thing at a time is what makes the test tell you something.
5. List the words to drop: jargon, method names, adjectives about yourself, and anything a contact would not say aloud to a friend.
6. Set the test: say a version to each person, ask them to repeat it back in their own words, and note what they kept and what they lost. The test is whether they can repeat it, not whether they like it.

## Output Format
```markdown
# Elevator Pitch Versions
## Base line
[Name] helps [role] who [situation] to [result in the client's words].
## The problem in the client's words
[Paraphrase from your notes, source: your notes from [date]]
## Example you may share
[Example, client agreement: yes / not yet] or [example you may share]
## Three versions to test
| Version | What changes | Line |
|---|---|---|
| A | the problem | [line] |
| B | the role | [line] |
| C | the example | [line] |
## Words to drop
- [word] (reason: [jargon / method name / self-praise])
## Test log
| Tested with | Version | What they repeated back | Kept / lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| [someone who knows you] | [A/B/C] | [their words] | [notes] |
## Decision
[You] pick one version after testing it on [two or three] people, by [date].
```

## Done When
- The base line names a role, a situation and a result in the client's words
- Each version differs from the base in exactly one thing
- No client is named or described without their agreement
- The words-to-drop list is applied to all three versions

## Quality Bar
- Built to be repeated by someone else, so short enough to say in one breath
- No result, number or quote that is not in your own notes
- No adjectives about yourself; the role, situation and result do the work
- The test is on real people who know you, not on Claude
- You pick the version and say it in your own words; the test is on real people who know you.

## Next
Run net-five-minute-favor-list (Five-Minute Favor List) to know what you can give before you ask.

## About the makers

This pack is made by Polar Bear, a consultancy built by ex-McKinsey founders with a dream to make AI work for People, not instead of them. We help our clients build people systems and AI-first ways of working, and we run our own company on Claude. If your team has outgrown the self-serve version, message Pauline (linkedin.com/in/paulinebertry).