Presenting a new idea for a product or service in just 5 to 10 minutes brings both challenges and opportunities. The first 30 seconds are crucial. If you fail to capture the audience's attention right away, then their interest may fade, making it harder to communicate your key points and secure their buy-in. To succeed, presenters must clearly define the problem, propose a solution, and highlight the benefits of their idea. A strong, clear value proposition is essential. Without it, senior management may remain unconvinced.
Scenario
The moment is here—your opportunity to present your new project to senior management. The leadership team is attending their meeting located in another state. You have five minutes to deliver a remote pitch. Are you ready to confidently and clearly showcase the value, potential, and impact of your project? This moment is your chance to grab their attention, spark their interest, and demonstrate why your idea deserves their support.
Directions
Create an elevator pitch for your new product or service using your project outline as a guide.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
Introduction: Introduce your product or service.
How It Fits: Determine how the product or service fits into the overall strategic plan and mission of the company.
Speculate if the product or service fits within the capabilities of the company based on your research from previous modules. Use resources like GlobalData Explorer, Yahoo Finance, and investor relations pages within the company’s website.
Justification: Justify your suggestion based on the numbers.
What will be the revenue gain?
Speculate on a Return on Investment (ROI) that justifies the project for investors and senior management.
Enhancing the Mission: Explain how the new product or service enhances the company’s overall mission.
Does it project profitability?
Support your position with information and data from the company's 10K. Use resources like GlobalData Explorer, Yahoo Finance, and investor relations pages within the company’s website.
That stops today.
I'm here to present EcoRoute AI, a proprietary, machine-learning-driven platform that dynamically optimizes all road-based logistics in real-time. It analyzes weather, traffic, road gradient, and vehicle-specific load capacity to plot the absolute most fuel-efficient route, not just the fastest.
How It Fits: Strategic Alignment and Capabilities
(Time: 0:30 - 1:30) Strategic Fit
EcoRoute AI is a direct accelerator of our company's two core strategic pillars: "Operational Excellence" and "Sustainable Growth."
Operational Excellence: The platform integrates seamlessly with our existing fleet management systems—the research confirms our current telematics infrastructure is fully compatible with the API-based solution. We are not replacing hardware; we are upgrading our intelligence layer, making this a cost-effective, high-leverage software investment.
Sustainable Growth (Enhancing the Mission): Our mission is to "Deliver the world's goods with speed and responsibility." EcoRoute AI enhances this mission by tangibly and measurably reducing our carbon footprint, creating a clear competitive advantage over rivals who still rely on legacy shortest-distance mapping. This is a crucial move to maintain our industry-leading operating margins by controlling the volatile cost of fuel.
Justification: The Numbers That Matter
(Time: 1:30 - 3:30) Financial Impact & ROI
Let's look at the financials. Based on our analysis of historical fleet data and a successful three-month pilot program in the Midwest, EcoRoute AI delivers a guaranteed 7% reduction in annual fuel consumption.
Revenue Gain / Cost Saving:
Our annual fuel expense is approximately $1.2 billion.
A 7% reduction translates to an annual cost saving of $84 million.
Projected Profitability & ROI:
The initial development, licensing, and integration cost for EcoRoute AI is estimated at $25 million.
The annual operating and maintenance cost is approximately $5 million.
This project projects immediate and sustained profitability.
Net Annual Savings=Annual Fuel Saving−Annual OpEx=$84M−$5M=$79 millionReturn on Investment (ROI)=(Initial InvestmentNet Annual Savings)×100%ROI (Year 1)=($25M$79M)×100%=316%
An ROI of 316% in the first year is an exceptionally compelling justification for immediate action. This isn't a long-shot venture; it's a strategic cost-saving initiative with an investment payback period of less than four months.
Sample Answer
This is a simulated elevator pitch. To create a specific, data-backed pitch, one would need to select a real company and a concrete product/service idea, then research that company's public financial and strategic documents (10-K, investor relations).
For this exercise, I will use a hypothetical mid-sized, publicly traded logistics and shipping company with a focus on efficiency and sustainability, and a hypothetical product called "EcoRoute AI."
The Five-Minute Pitch: EcoRoute AI
(Time: 0:00 - 0:30) Introduction: The High-Stakes Problem and the Solution
Good afternoon, everyone. I know your time is tight, so I’ll be direct. Our challenge is clear: rising fuel costs and the growing pressure from investors and consumers for verifiable sustainability. In our last 10-K, fuel and operational expenses accounted for 35% of our Cost of Revenue, squeezing our margins. The $1.2 billion in annual fuel spend is our biggest controllable expense and our greatest environmental liability.