I heard her elevator pitch a 100 times before. I knew she was smart, had big ideas about her industry, and she was good at what she does.

The problem: I had NO idea exactly what she did or who she did it for.

If you threatened to set fire to my whole collection of Duran Duran memorabilia and the only way you'd stop is by telling you what this person did for a living. It would all disappear in a puff of smoke.

I wanted to refer her, to recommend her, to meet people and think  “Oh, I KNOW someone who could really help you.”

But I couldn't because I didn't know how she served people.

Frankly, she was missing out because if I – one of her business BFFs couldn't talk about her biz – no one could!

Why was her pitch leaving me so utterly confused? Heck, it's not just her – it's an epidemic at the networking events that I attend. People just don't do a great job describing their business.

There are 3 big reasons why your elevator pitch could be leaving people utterly confused.

Trying too hard to be clever

When did it become a rule that we had to be clever to capture people's attention?

There I was in NSA (not the guys that spy, but the peeps who speak), and we were tasked with coming up with a WOW opening line for our elevator pitch.

I felt pressured, stressed, and worried if I would be WOW-worthy. I didn't know what to say. WOW is a TALL order.

The good news everyone else was struggling as much as I was looking for the holy grail of opening lines. What I heard made me realize:

Clever is not conversational

Clever feels salesy.

Clever is freaking hard.

Stop being clever. Start being yourself and start a conversation.

Does your elevator pitch pass the mental rolodex test?

I was helping one business owner who said she worked with “people-centered leaders.”

I had no idea what that meant – worse I couldn't access my mental rolodex and see if I knew anyone who would be a good fit.

So I told her “Imagine your favorite client and now describe her?”

“Oh that's easy. She a newly promoted VP in a Fortune 500 company and was struggling with her leadership.”

And there it was…

She helps newly promoted female VPs in Fortune 500 companies.

Hot damn!

Now, I can access my mental rolodex and see if I know anyone who fits.

If the person you're talking to can't visualize who it is you serve, you're failing the mental rolodex test. Lose the jargon and describe who you serve in simple, relatable terms.

Curse of knowledge

It's nearly impossible to describe what you do when you're the one who does it.

You get mired in the details. What you do IS complex. There is nuance. It is hard to explain.

It's the curse of knowledge. Once we learn something it's darn near impossible to approach from a beginner's mindset. You're just too close.

This what happens with your elevator pitch.

The key is to simplify.

And the best way to simplify is to get feedback on your elevator pitch from other people. People who are NOT your best business friends, hubby, cats (their feedback sucks), but people who do not intimately know you.

Get their feedback. See if it's clear who you serve, what you do and the results you get.

If you're looking for feedback, want to craft a elevator pitch that feel 100% like you and creates conversation and connection. Join me for the Love Your Pitch Revolution. This round of Love Your Pitch has closed, but you can join the waiting list to be notified of when the course starts next.