Elevator pitch examples for plumbers
An elevator pitch fails when it describes the business instead of giving the listener a reason to ask a second question. These end somewhere the other person can pick up.
Ten of them follow, written for plumbers rather than filled in from a template. Your customer is a homeowner with water somewhere it should not be, and what they are weighing up before they get in touch is that the bill will be double the quote, and that someone unvetted is coming into their home.
The one-liner
We are plumbers in [your town] — we handle burst pipes and leaks and blocked drains for a homeowner with water somewhere it should not be.
Use this when you have one sentence and no idea who you are talking to.
Problem first
The thing people worry about with plumbers is the bill will be double the quote, and that someone unvetted is coming into their home. That is the part we deal with. We are plumbers, and we quote before we start, and the quote is the price.
Use this where the problem is instantly recognisable and the service is not.
Names who it is for
We work for a homeowner with water somewhere it should not be. Mostly burst pipes and leaks and blocked drains. If that is not you, you probably know someone.
Use this at an event where most people are not your customer, to find the ones who are.
Credential first
We are licensed and insured. Licence number on the invoice, liability insurance current, and every technician background-checked before they set foot in your house. We mostly do burst pipes and leaks and blocked drains.
Use this in a room where qualification is the thing that buys attention.
The contrast
Most plumbers [what the default does]. We are the one that turns up in the window they gave you. That is more or less the whole difference.
Use this when your market has a clear default and you are not it.
With a number in it
We are plumbers — [number] years, [number] jobs, and we give you a flat price before anyone starts work.
Use this when you have a real number. Do not invent one.
The origin
We started because the bill will be double the quote, and that someone unvetted is coming into their home was normal in this trade and it did not need to be. So that is the business: plumbers where we quote before we start, and the quote is the price.
Use this when the reason you started is short and true.
Ten seconds
Plumber. Burst pipes and leaks, mostly. [your town].
Use this when someone asks what you do and is already half-turned away.
Ends with the ask
We are plumbers doing burst pipes and leaks and blocked drains. If you ever hear someone say [the thing your customers say], that is us.
Use this when the point of the conversation is a referral, not a sale.
The warm version
[their question] — we are plumbers. The part people usually ask about is turning up when you said you would, and charging what you quoted.
Use this where the pitch would land badly and a conversation would not.
Writing for plumbers: what actually matters
What should a plumber’s website say that a generic one does not?
Three things, in this order. That you are licensed and insured. That you understand the thing people are actually worried about, which for plumbers is that the bill will be double the quote, and that someone unvetted is coming into their home. And what happens next: we look at the problem and tell you what it will cost to fix. Everything else on the page is decoration by comparison.
What does a homeowner with water somewhere it should not be check first?
The credential, then the proof. For plumbers it sounds like this. We give you a flat price before anyone starts work. We offer same-day appointments. We warranty our parts in writing. Put at least one of those above the fold rather than on a separate page nobody opens.
What is the most common mistake on a plumber’s website?
Writing about the business instead of the customer. "We have been established since 1998" answers a question nobody asked. "We look at the problem and tell you what it will cost to fix" answers the one they are actually holding. If you only fix one thing, fix that.
How long should the copy be?
Shorter than you think, except where trust is being built. An About page of 120 well-chosen words beats 500 vague ones. The exception is anything explaining that the bill will be double the quote, and that someone unvetted is coming into their home — there, specifics earn their length.
Everything else for plumbers
Elevator pitch for other trades
- Electrician
- HVAC Technician
- Roofer
- Carpenter
- Painter
- Landscaper
- Handyman
- Therapist
- Chiropractor
- Massage Therapist
- Personal Trainer
- Dentist