There are no magical short cuts to the top in small business. But a killer elevator pitch can expedite the trip.

Your elevator pitch is the concise statement of the value you provide to your customers. When a prospect hears it, it has to grab their attention, and make real for them the benefits that you can deliver to their business or life.

When it really works, your elevator pitch will engage your prospect so that they want to hear more. You know it’s working when they say in response, “How do you do that?”

Now the door is open to continue the conversation, engage further with the prospect, and possibly convert them into your newest client.

How do you craft a statement like that? There’s a bit of homework involved before you sit down to write.

Start by putting yourself in the shoes of your prospect. And not just any prospect, but the one who is perfect for you. That would be the one who, upon becoming a customer is going to:

• Love what you do for them
• Come back again and again
• Not require a high level of maintenance
• Pay on time
• Refer others to you

You’re speaking directly to this person, so you want to know all about them:

• What challenges they face
• What concerns they have
• What unmet need you could fulfill for them
• The language they use to talk about their issues and concerns

You can try to intuit this things on your own. But unless you’re an accomplished mind-reader, you would do well to interview your existing customers.

Ask them what they like most about your product or service. Ask them what other products and services they like. Find out what kind of car they drive and where they live.  Really get to know them — and focus your attention on the problem you solve for them.

How does it feel to face that problem? And how does it feel to finally have it resolved?

Now you’re ready to write your pitch. My best advice for this part is to:

• Omit needless words (per Strunk and White)
• Be brief. Everyone is time-challenged.
• Write in the active voice.
• To get it right, be prepared to revise it dozens of times. No one is brilliant in the first draft.

Once you’ve got it down on paper, settle on two or three finalists. Run these draft elevator pitches past people you trust. Ask if it works for them — if it really gets to the essence of your business. Decide on a winner, and then start using it in all of your marketing materials, over and over, until everyone knows what your business stands for.

This is how you build mind-share — and market share.