Managing Organizational Behavior 2nd Edition by Timothy Baldwin,Bill Bommer,Robert Rubin

Exercise 14

The Elevator Pitch: Making Your Case in a Very Short Time
You manage a team of writers for the local newspaper. Your staff is hard working and very willing to put in long hours to make deadlines, but they have to work with electronic equipment that is outdated and commonly crashes. While you recognize that other departments at the paper do similar work and have similar needs, you feel your team needs a little more than their standard allocation for upgrades in this year's budget. You mention this problem in a meeting with your boss, and she replies, "Well, your timing is perfect. I'm on my way to a budget meeting upstairs on the 18 th floor. Why don't you take the elevator with me and give me what I need to present to the budget committee, and I'll see if I can convince them to increase your allocation."
What key strategies should you follow in creating and delivering your pitch? Are there any "must-dos" you should consider if you want to be persuasive? What common mistakes should you try to avoid?