ParrotNotes

Elevator Pitch Template

Pick a sales, networking, job seeker or investor pitch and fill in six short parts: hook, who you help, the problem, what you do about it, proof and the ask. The template puts them together as you type, counts the words, shows how long the pitch takes to say and whether it fits 30 or 60 seconds. Copy it or print it.

The six parts of an elevator pitch

  • Hook

    The first line decides whether they keep listening. A surprising number, a question or the result you get people works better than your job title.

  • Who you help

    The people you work with, as narrowly as is true: "HVAC companies with five to fifty technicians" beats "businesses". In a job search, this is who you are and what you do.

  • The problem

    What hurts for them, said the way they would say it. If they nod here, the rest of the pitch lands.

  • What you do about it

    Your answer in plain words, one or two sentences. Leave the feature list for the meeting you are asking for.

  • Proof

    One number, customer, award or result that makes the claim believable. Use only what you can back up if they ask.

  • The ask

    What you want next: 15 minutes next week, an introduction, a conversation about a role, a meeting about the round. A pitch without an ask ends in small talk.

How to write an elevator pitch with this template

Choose what the pitch is for. The preset changes the hints and the example: a sales pitch asks for a meeting, a networking pitch for an introduction, a job seeker pitch for a conversation about a role, and an investor pitch for time with the deck. Your text stays when you switch, so you can try one pitch against two audiences.

Write each part as one sentence, out loud in your head. Press "Fill in the example" to see a finished pitch for the preset; the [brackets] mark where your own details go. Empty parts are left out, and each part gets a full stop if it needs one.

Watch the timing. The page counts the words and times them at an average speaking pace of 140 words a minute, with the range from 130 to 150 beside it, and flags whether the pitch fits a 30-second or a 60-second slot. If it runs long, cut the solution first: it is the part people overload.

To time a pitch at your own pace, or a longer talk, use the speech time calculator.

Rehearse it from the screen with the online teleprompter, then say it without one.

Would you rather have a first draft written for you from a description of what you sell? The AI sales pitch generator does that; this template is for writing it yourself.

Elevator pitch, sales pitch, cold call opener, personal introduction

Elevator pitch
Thirty to sixty seconds that says who you help, with what, and what you want next. Spoken, to one person, often unplanned.
Sales pitch
A longer, planned conversation with a buyer: discovery questions, the offer, proof, objections and next steps. The elevator pitch is what gets you that meeting.
Cold call opener
The first ten to twenty seconds of a call to someone who did not expect you: who you are, why you are calling and permission to keep going.
Personal introduction
"Tell me about yourself" in an interview or at an event. The job seeker preset turns it into a pitch with a clear ask.

Tips for an elevator pitch people remember

  • Say it out loud, then cut

    Written sentences run long when spoken. Read it aloud with a timer and cut every word you stumble on.

  • One audience at a time

    A pitch for everyone lands with no one. Keep a version per audience: a buyer, a referral partner, a hiring manager, an investor.

  • Numbers over adjectives

    "Quotes out in one day instead of four" sticks; "fast and reliable" does not. If you have no number yet, name a customer type you have helped.

  • End on a question

    Finish with the ask as a question they can answer: "Would 15 minutes next week work?" Then stop talking and let them answer.

More on pitching and first conversations: sales pitch examples, the cold call script, investor meeting notes.

Your best pitch is the one that worked on a real call.

The line that made a buyer lean in, the question an investor asked, the objection that came up twice: they are in your calls and meetings. Record them in ParrotNotes and get a transcript and a summary of each, so you can tune the pitch from what people actually said.

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