Get their attention

A three-minute pitch isn’t just an expanded mission statement or the “About” section of your website. It is a short opener that tells what your company does, why it’s unique and how it serves your customers. Your goal is to encourage your audience to want to hear more. When they’re interested, you have won permission to tell them additional details about your company that might intrigue them, be it the underlying technology or the potential financial return. That’s how and why you need to customize this template for each audience and for each occasion.

At the most basic level, you should explain your concept, your target audience and how your idea solves a problem.

Tell them the right story

In a short pitch, you can grab attention with a quick story about a client experience, a breakthrough or the light-bulb moment when you came up with the idea for the company.

Brevity is key. You’re excited about your business and want to prove that you have, indeed, researched all the possibilities. But the idea of a pitch, in any format, is to start discussion and engender continued interest. Your pitch should whet the appetite, not leave your audience full.

Keep ’em on the hook

The goal of any pitch is to tee up an ongoing conversation.Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of assuming they have to cram everything about their company into a three-minute pitch. But whether you are presenting a PowerPoint slide deck or introducing yourself at a networking event, your goal is to start a relationship. Make the pitch more about the audience and less about you.

“You have to quickly figure out how your business is relevant to that exact person you are speaking with,” she says. “It’s not about sharing what’s interesting to you about the company, but what’s interesting to them about it.”

source:entrepreneur