You know what they say: You only have one chance to make a first impression. 

In our advisory practice at Spark Consulting, we hold strong beliefs in classic business principles: The value of business planning, the importance of financial literacy, and the ability to market your small biz on a small budget. Marketing on the cheap is, in fact, a popular theme for us. Our presentation at this year's Women in Biz Network Conference was "100 Ways To Grow Your Business For Less Than $100."

One of those 100 ways is to hone your Elevator Pitch.

That is, how you describe what you do, who you do it for, and where to buy it — all in the time it would take you to ride the elevator with a stranger.

Sounds simple, right? I listened to several elevator pitches at this week's conference, and it's not actually that easy to pull off — unless you practice. A perfect pitch requires a very succinct explanation of what your business does and who your ideal clients/ customers are. In an informal study, I noticed that most people omit an important detail: How/where to buy their product/service! It's great if you tell me that you run music programs for kids aged five to 12, but if you don't tell me the name of your company or your website, how can you ever close a sale?

I love the Elevator Pitch because, when delivered well, it is an extremely powerful marketing tool. It's also free. And, with some practice, it can be mastered. Thinking about your Elevator Pitch forces you to distill your business offering very succinctly. And the biggest beneficiary of that exercise will be you.

Danielle says the Elevator Pitch is very simple: "Tell me what you do and how I can buy from you — that's it!" 

She's right. But you'll need to do some thinking homework beforehand in order to deliver the perfect pitch. 

If you want to learn how to finesse the details of your Elevator Pitch, check out our post here.

There's also a comprehensive Elevator Pitch checklist on the Women in Biz network site here.