As an entrepreneur looking to "sell" your startup to potential investors, you want to wow them with your pitch. And how do you do that, you may be wondering? The answer is not with an Elevator Pitch; the answer is with a WOW! Statement.
The WOW! Statement concept was first introduced by the venture capitalist Bill Reichert in his viral article Getting to WOW!. Bill came up with this new solution to pitch a startup after witnessing countless CEOs bore potential VCs with the classic elevator pitch. So, we can say that WOW! Statements are "the elevator pitch 2.0".
In the classic elevator pitch, an entrepreneur or sales professional was supposed to have a 60-second max speech (or monologue - really) at the ready. This ensured that if he were at a networking event (or an elevator ride), he would be prepared to splurt out the over-rehearsed words to a probably less than receptive audience.
The result? One too many venture capitalists running for the nearest exit door and funding opportunities lost too soon.
The Art of Wowing the Audience
A WOW! Statement might seem like a daunting task to achieve at first, but it's nothing if simple, really - definitely easier than learning a 60-second speech word by word. The concept lies in creating interest in your audience. So, let's say you're an entrepreneur at a networking event who has just come across a willing audience.
The first thing you will need to forget is trying to show everybody how amazing your startup is and how it has the power to solve worldwide famine. Instead, the goal here is to create a natural, free-flowing conversation in which the audience ends up wanting to hear more of what you do. If you end up with a "Please, tell me more about it.", then you have WOWed them.
To get a clearer idea of what a WOW! Statement is, let's quote its progenitor, Bill Reichert:
"What are the three or four sentences that can be spoken by a normal human, and can be understood by a normal human, that really capture the essence of what makes your company so interesting?"
The 3 Key principles to create your WOW! Statement
The three keys to coming up with a dazzling WOW! statement is to keep it simple, clear, and compelling.
#1 Simplicity
You already know that the traditional Elevator Pitch approach doesn't work anymore. Robotic monologues that showcase your business like the next Superman will do more harm than good for your case. One of the keys here is to keep it simple.
By simple, we mean simple language (everybody should understand what you do, even if they don't know the niche or jargon) and straightforward explanations. There's no need to launch a full-on presentation. Sometimes, like in this case, less is more. So, the fewer words you use to describe your business, the more chances you'll have of retaining your audience's attention.
Would you like to know what Bill Reichert's WOW! statement was?
"I help startups start up".
#2 Clarity
What is it that you do? Think about answering this question as if you were talking to a random person in the grocery store. If you go too technical on them, they will not understand and probably walk away. So, whenever you're asked to reply to this simple question, try to be as straightforward as possible. Avoid technicalities and any specific jargon that may throw the listener off.
#3 Compellingness
The end goal with a WOW! Statement is to sell. Keep that in mind when you are explaining what you do. You want to instill curiosity in the listener, but avoid going too mysterious with your explanation.
To generate curiosity, you need to provide a solution to a problem that clearly stands out. What makes your business different and revolutionary? Being original with your proposal will give you the best shot to instill curiosity in your audience.
Example: Base Miami's WOW! Statement
If you're wondering how all this theory comes together, here's our own WOW! Statement to give you an idea of what yours should look like. Remember that every business is different, and you should customize your WOW! Statement to fit your business' description. Without further ado, here's Base Miami's WOW! Statement:
"The big idea with Base Miami is to help companies from Latin America land and expand into the US through Miami. Our team of hands-on entrepreneur executives has the know-how, network, and experience to get companies launched here in less than half the time and half the cost. Unlike most consulting firms that 'talk the talk', we have walked the walk. We have started and exited multiple companies, raised tens of millions in venture capital, and have decades of experience from Miami, Latam, and Silicon Valley."
Additional Tips
- Be Realistic: If you embellish your pitch to rival a poet master, you might find that it damages your credibility, and if you're looking for potential investors, credibility is vital.
- Benefit-Forward Approach: The best way to make a statement is to showcase the benefit that your business provides. What's the idea behind it? Who will it benefit? Keep in mind that you are solving a problem. So, what's your unique approach to doing it? In short: why you?
- End with a Question: Finish your statement with an opening question to engage with your audience. Make them participate by directly involving them with a question like "Does this sound good to you?".
And as Peter Cummings AKA “The Pitchman” says:
“A great pitch is always evolving. It must be pliable to the moment and audience-specific. Not just a memorized, canned speech. It is a verbal, listening, and visual interaction. No one is born a great public speaker/storyseller/pitcher. It takes dedication, practice, self-reflection, a sense of humor, and a great coach.”
So, if you are still using the traditional Elevator Pitch, now is the time to switch to the WOW! Statement strategy. Follow the guidelines and example we have provided above to create your own, and once you do, hit us up on LinkedIn to share the result! We would love to share our thoughts with you about it.
