Shoutout to the person who called my networking pitch 'vague'

At a meetup at the Matrix Hotel last month, I gave my usual 30-second intro about 'helping businesses grow.' Someone pulled me aside after and said, 'That tells me nothing. What's one specific problem you solved this week?' I mean, it stung, but they were right. Now I always start with a quick story, like how I helped a Whyte Ave shop fix their inventory system in three days. Has anyone else had to totally redo their elevator pitch after some blunt feedback?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly_craig12d agoMost Upvoted

My buddy had a similar thing happen at a tech mixer downtown... he used to say he "optimized workflows" until a developer just stared blankly and asked for a tool name. He started saying he set up a simple script that saved a team ten hours a month, and suddenly people got it. That blunt "what does that even mean" feedback is brutal but it forces you to get real specific.

david56212d ago

Sounds like he finally learned to speak human.

the_jordan1d ago

Oh man, this hits home. I read a blog post a while back that called generic pitches "business card fluff" because they just fill space without saying anything real. The writer said if your pitch doesn't make someone immediately picture you doing actual work, it needs more detail. That feedback you got is the best kind, even if it feels rough in the moment. It pushes you to drop the fancy talk and just tell people what you actually do.