An elevator pitch is a brief statement that explains the service your business provides and creates a desire for others to want to learn more about your business. Many folks think a formal pitch is only needed if you are a salesman by trade, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
If you own a food truck or catering business, you need to be able to communicate what your business does and is all about. In fact, your ability to communicate effectively could be the difference between thriving and just getting by in your business. This is really important stuff.
The goal of this post is to get you a working pitch script so you know exactly what to say when someone asks “What do you do?” The other enormous benefit of having a script ready is that you can use it to book more business immediately by picking up the phone and cold calling prospective business partners.
If you don’t think you’ve got what it takes to cold call someone else, practice repeating the script to yourself or a significant other until you get it right. No doubt it can be petrifying to try to pick up the phone and ask for business from someone you don’t know. But it’s a proven way to generate more business. And if you can work in a benefit for the individual you’re calling (like by offering a percentage of your total food sales in exchange for vending at a location) you may be surprised to learn how many people are happy to hear from you. For today’s elevator pitch example, we will assume that you are able to split a certain percentage of your sales revenue to donate to a charity, church or other event.
Getting Started
Joint venture with fundraising events for schools, churches, and charities is many food vendors primary mode of promotion in the early days of a business. Typical joint ventures agreements outline that a portion of the sales from these events will be used toward fundraising efforts.
Early on you will rely on old fashioned networking and establishing relationships through direct means with these organizations early on will be key early on. You will reach out directly by phone and email to schools and churches to build awareness for our brand and pitch the benefit of including you as a vendor at their event. The assumed benefit is that the church or charity will receive a percentage of the sales for their cause. This means you get the opportunity to generate business and they make more money. Win. Win.
Sample Elevator Pitch Script
Hi – This is Mr. X from Shaved Ice Business of City Name. We are an artisan shaved ice business with a mission to help organizations like yours raise money for fundraising events.
Here’s the process for working with us:
- Let us know the time of the fundraising event and date. Tell us where we can plug into an electric source. We travel to your location in our of state of the art mobile truck.
- Tell us who to make the check to at the end of the day. Your organization will get XX% of the gross sales from the event.
I’m calling today mostly to introduce myself and to make you aware of how we can help you reach your goals. With that being said, do you have any upcoming events where you could benefit from help with fundraising? (Wait for yes or no.)
No? Would it be alright if I email you my name and contact information for your records so you can reach out if something does come up. Also, do you mind if I follow up in a few months to see if there are some opportunities?
Yes? Great. Tell me more about the time and date of this event and we will see if we can make this one work.
—- End Script —
As you can see, we are getting straight to the point with this script. In the first 20 seconds the individual that answered your phone call will know who you are, what your business name is, the type of food you serve, and of course the benefit to including your brand as a vendor at their next big event.
If the caller is not interested or doesn’t have any upcoming events, you have still made a connection and increased the number of people that are aware of your business within the community. You never know when that individual will hear about the next big festival in your area and reach out to you. Remember that even if you hear a “no” to be respectful, polite, and not take it personally.
Who to Pitch
Now that you have a handy-dandy pitch script of your own. Here are a few of the common organizations you can find in any town to build relationships with.
- Schools
- Fundraising events – There are also fundraisers being held for jerseys, equipment, books, computers, travel, etc.
- Sports – Fundraisers for jerseys and other equipment. Can also vend at sporting events.
- Football games
- Volleyball
- Wrestling matches
- Baseball tournaments
- Band Events
- Speech / Mock Trial Campaigns
- Churches
- Fundraising events –
- Camps –
- Youth Group events –
- Charity
- Fundraising events
- 5K’s / Runs
- Fairs
- Carnivals
To Learn More about crafting your perfect elevator pitch, check out these awesome resources:
Crafting an Elevator Pitch via MindTools.com
4 Ways to Get Your Product on Shelves at Whole Foods via Entrepreneur.com
