The Elevator Pitch is an important tool in your sales arsenal and if used properly can do wonders for getting meetings booked with the people who can get your show made. But you must treat it like the fine tool that it is; a scalpel, not a machete. The words you use to craft the 30 second story must be chosen carefully and delivered precisely.

I’ll cover all of this in more detail later in the Members Area but let’s have a quick look at what the effective elements of a successful Elevator Pitch are with some Do’s and Don’ts.

DO

- Open with your Logline. That way even if the person you are pitching to has to get off on the 2nd floor they will know what your show is about.

- Pitch in present tense.

- Tell it like you would a story. It is natural and flowing.

- Be enthusiastic. This is an exciting show.

- Stick to the basics; do not give backstory unless it is imperative. You have 30 seconds. If they decide to ask you some questions you’ll have answers but do not use your time explaining something the audience won’t see on screen.

- Know your demographic. You won’t include this in your pitch but you better know it in case they ask the simple question “Who’s going to watch it?”

- After you have wrapped it up ask if you can contact him/her or their assistant to book a meeting.

DO NOT

- Don’t give your Elevator Pitch if you aren’t ready for a meeting. This should only be done when your show is ready to take to market.

- Never ever, ever pitch anyone in the bathroom. This is one of the Executives biggest pet peeves yet people continue to do it. Don’t let it be you.

- Don’t have bad breath. Nothing can distract an Exec from the details of your pitch like Caesar Salad breath.

- Don’t say “antics ensue” or “hilarity ensues”. You cannot ask them to read between the lines. You must describe what the antics and hilarity are.

- Do not end it with, “and that’s it. That’s the end.” You must wrap it up neatly at the end. You do NOT leave them hanging; this is not the time for a cliffhanger trick.

When trying to sell something there’s almost no time good time to wing it so practice practice practice and when the opportunity arises, you’ll be ready to impress an Exec before the elevator hits the second floor.

Going up…

I just watched four (4!!!!) outstanding demos for four different shows. They were incredible. What was so fantastic about them? I’ll tell ya…

Each demo covered four vital subjects: Characters, Settings, Stakes, and Stories, and showed me how they could sustain the subject matter (inclusive of the four points above) for a season or more.

Each demo showed a TV show. Not an idea. A show.

Each one took me deep into the subject’s world, and that is what building a successful pitch is about: showing the world, drawing in the viewer, and making that viewer want more.

If you haven’t properly prepared your show, you simply cannot achieve that draw. And by “properly prepared”, I mean worked through a season of episodes to make sure it actually works as a TV show and not a one-off documentary, and answer the questions the Execs are going to ask before they get asked.

I see so many pitches that are fine ideas, but they are pitched while they are still just ideas and not shows. If a pitch is not covering those four elements and showing the ability to run for multiple seasons the pitch isn’t ready.

By doing the work and answering the questions before they were asked the person who created these show demos is separating himself from the hordes of people who are out there pitching ideas in lieu of shows.

When it’s time to take your first show to market you’re going to feel a lot of things: pride at having finished what you started, ecstatic at the possibilities in front of you, and fear: fear of being rejected, or fear that someone will steal your idea, or the big one we’re going to discuss today, fear that you’ve worked long and hard on your show and complete strangers who “don’t get it” are going to want to change it.

So what can you do about this? Cover your ass as best you can legally (of course), and then let it go.

One of the most dangerous things that fear breeds in people is anger. It is a raw emotion based on survival, thus it is completely natural for people who are scared to lash out at the person or thing they feel is a threat.

So what does this have to do with pitching? And subsequently, what do you need to do about it before you find yourself in front of the Execs?

One key to overcoming the risk of lashing out at someone who has different ideas about your show is; do not become married to your work.

If someone has thoughts or notes about your show you need to prepare yourself beforehand to respond in a professional manner. You cannot respond indignantly. You cannot respond disrespectfully, or angrily.

Before you pitch your show be prepared that you will likely need to make changes after the Execs have seen your promo material. The changes may be small, they may be big; but if your show is good enough it will go up the ladder and inevitably someone is going to want to do something differently.

Don’t forget everyone is looking for the next big show, and it can be yours. But first you need to be prepared to take the comments and notes from the Execs so that when someone in the biz offers these ideas you don’t take it as a slap in the face.

If you are married to your show and think it is the best thing ever and nothing needs to change, you are hurting yourself and your future in the business, because that just isn’t how it works.

Creating a successful TV show starts out with one idea, but eventually turns into a collaborative effort between many talented people, all of whom will have their interpretations of how your show should go, and their interpretations are based on years of experience producing television.

It is up to you to be prepared so that when the opportunity to get input from talented people in the business comes your way, you can let go of your show and let it become all that it can be.

I just read a pitch. It started with the logline; great. However, the logline said one thing, and then the pitch talked about another.

The logline was about a setting. The pitch was about a character.

When I spoke with the creator and told them the logline and the body of the pitch wasn’t congruent he said “But what’s written IS what the logline is about.” I said, “But that’s not what is being communicated in the body.”

When you ask people to proofread your material it’s a really good idea to listen to their notes. I’m not talking about notes on the idea of your show, that’s a whole other thing; I’m talking about notes on whether or not your show idea is being communicated on the page or in your Sizzle Reel.

If the person reads to the end of your promo material and you either: need to explain what your show is about, need to correct them regarding the focus of your show, or, they interpret a different vision of your show than you intended, you haven’t nailed your pitch material and no amount of explaining will help.

Why won’t it help? Because when you are asked to send in a One Sheet to a Production Company or Broadcaster you don’t get to have a conversation after they read your material. Someone will likely email to say either they are interested, or they are not. Period.

If after reading your material people are seeking clarity you need to keep working on it before you send it out: remember it’s not their fault if they don’t get it.

You only have one thing to do when writing promo material for your show; communicate what your show is about.

And a good place to start is to ensure that the logline and the body of your promotional material match.

I’m leaving on vacation in less than an hour, so what better topic to discuss than brevity.

Emails. Phone calls. One Sheets.

These all have one thing in common; they provide you with the opportunity to be loquacious; to use three words when two will do.

Emails – Write the email and then hack it to bits to be sure it is as succinct as possible. I try to make mine no more than three sentences long.

Phone calls – When you’re on the phone with an Exec (or anyone you want something from) make sure you know what you want from the call. Get it, and then provide them with an opportunity to end the call. Sure, you don’t want to end the call too early in case there is more they want to discuss with you, but don’t draw out the conversation by asking dumb questions you’ll regret later (speaking from experience).

One Sheets – These should be designed to whet the Execs appetite, not give specific detail. Those details are for follow-up calls, emails, and meetings. Your One Sheet gives the overall jist of the show’s characters, settings, and stories, not the shows episode ideas or script format breakdowns.

Got it? Good.

I. Am. Outta here…. (if anyone is in Maui this week I accept free drinks from strangers)

So what are the stakes for the characters in your show? What do they need to accomplish and what happens if they don’t do it?

A well-written show will almost always have a reason that the characters need to get something done. And they generally need to get it done by a certain time.

If the characters don’t have stakes in the game, than it makes it harder for the viewers to care. And if the viewers aren’t going to care, the Execs aren’t going to either.

Let’s look at a few examples of stakes in shows:

Man vs Wild – this is an easy one. If he screws up he dies.

Storage Wars – will they get the locker? And then, will there be anything cool in it they can make money off of to pay the rent?

Survivor – if they don’t play their cards right up they’ll get voted off the show and lose the chance to win the million dollars.

Ace of Cakes – he bakes things that have never been done, and there’s always a deadline, and I’m pretty sure he’ll go out of business if he doesn’t make it.

Dog The Bounty Hunter – if they make the wrong decision they could be in mortal danger.

As you research TV for your show(s) make note of what the stakes are in these shows and how often they refer to it.

You’ll notice that someone in every act is going to refer to something regarding one of the following: the danger they are in or how dangerous it could be, someone they know who died doing this and/or how many people die from this every year, how much money they can make or lose, how little time is left, or what happens if they do not accomplish what they are trying get done.

And take notice of how it’s usually not very subtle.

If you could be on the set of Swamp People while the show is being filmed you might hear the Director ask this if a boat motor won’t start:

“What is going to happen if you don’t get this done?”

The character in front of the camera might answer:

“If we don’t get this boat motor fixed we are in serious trouble. These waters are filled with crocodiles and no one knows where we are.”

And then you’ll hear the guy who records the Voice over say something like this: “Over the past decade gators have taken people at a pace of more than one a year. That’s more than shark attacks.”

Notice that they kind of hit the viewer over the head with a hammer? That’s because it works and it keeps the viewers coming back.

Now, you don’t necessarily need to know exactly where in the script the stakes are mentioned, but you do need to know what the overall stakes of the show are.

Knowing the stakes of your show will help you develop a better show, a stronger pitch, and put you in a better position with the Execs when they are asking questions about your show.

Now, who’s up for having some stakes?

As you research television shows that are in a similar genre to yours it’s not uncommon that you’ll have to watch some shows that you consider to be utter crap. Some of them probably ARE crap. Yet you still have to watch them so that you know the ins and outs of what’s on TV.

Doing this for hours on end can be frustrating. And isn’t one of the reasons you want to make your own show because you have a better idea than the crap that’s on TV?

Well if you want to be in the TV game you have to watch TV. And you have to take the good with the bad.

Eventually you might get fed up and decide you want to vent a little. And one of the ways some people vent these days is to tweet or write about their feelings on their social media sites.

“I just watched the “Insert Name Here” show and it was the stupidest thing I have ever seen.” (I think that’s less than 140 characters)

Tweeting or Facebook about your opinions on a show is never going to do you any good. In fact, about the only thing it can do with certainty is bring you harm.

Once you put it online it is out there. Even if you see the err of your ways and delete it later if someone has copied it, re-posted or re-tweeted it (is re-tweet seriously a word?) it’s out there, and people have a way of finding the exact thing you hope they’ll never find.

I was watching a show a while ago and it was horrible. There wasn’t a true thing to this episode. Every single scene was obviously set up, and set up poorly. It was clunky, unbelievable, and it wasn’t even shot well. And it pissed me off. I’d had some wine with dinner that night and it occurred to me to write something about it on my Facebook page.

Well I’d no sooner had the thought than I realized that the EP of that show is a “friend” (friend in quotations means facebook friend). I realized I was pissed because I have pitched so many shows to this guy and his company and he has never produced any of my shows (mind you he did want one but I took it elsewhere – but that’s not the point right now).

Yet I still felt the urge to share my disdain publicly. Even with all my years in the business I felt the need to “share”.

It was a wake up call to me, and I wanted to share this reminder with you.

The business we work in may seem vast, but it is small. And as impersonal as some people may say it is, it is still a business based on relationships. And you need these relationships to get your shows seen.

So if you are short-sighted enough to act without thinking (like I almost was) you just might find that when the time comes to pitch your show that the venting you did is blowing up in your face.

Are you bringing any talent to the table? No, I’m not being mean. I mean do you have any talent attached to your show.

If your show revolves around a specific person, it could be in your best interest to enter into a legal partnership agreement with them before you begin pitching your show.

But, like most things in life, there can be an upside and a downside to this type of deal and you need to be prepared.

The upside is it gives more control in the selling process. You are coming to the Production Companies and Broadcasters with more than just an idea; you are coming in with full access to this person’s life, business, and story.

Not only does this make it easier for the Production Company and Broadcaster to envision the show being made, it helps in all aspects of building the pitch. You have full access to any topical information you need and gains access for shooting any promotional materials. Basically, this person’s business is now at your disposal and as you build your pitch materials you will find there is huge value in that.

On the downside, if the Broadcaster likes the show idea but doesn’t like the talent attached to the show they could cast someone else. And if you don’t prepare for this, any fees rendered from the sale and/or production of the show would still need to be split with the partner, who is now doing nothing. So, your deal needs to include that if the Broadcaster wants to cast someone else, the partnership is dissolved.

You must ensure that if your partner does not end up being the talent that the show can still be made. Remember this is YOUR show, and you need to be able to sell it even if the Broadcaster wants someone else in front of the camera.

You also want to prepare for them being the talent and you losing control of your show. It is not uncommon for first time show creators to give up creative control to make the sale, and in this case, it would be a shame for the talent you brought in to be making all the money off your show years down the road while you are getting nothing.

Note: the talent will be paid appearance or hosting fees for being in front of the camera. As the creator you will generally not be entitled to any of these fees. However, any other fees (backend) he or she may make needs to be split; typically 50/50, depending on your agreement. So be sure to ask your lawyer about that.

If you decide to enter into a deal like this it is important that you get it all in writing. This is the time when you might want to spend some money to get an entertainment lawyer to draw up the paperwork.

Entering into an agreement like this can be good, especially if this is your first show, but you always need to be sure that you are prepared, in control, and calling the shots.

This is YOUR show, not the other way around. You are bringing that talent in to help sell YOUR idea, and that means you need to make sure at all times that you know more about the show and more about the business than they do.

At the end of the day, if you are attaching talent to your show, you want to make sure that you have covered your ass and have prepared for different scenarios to protect you and your show. Preparing for all these scenarios and making sure they work for you is the one of the many talents that you need to bring to the table.

Do u have a producer friend? Seems its best to have a producer on board when pitching to a network. Does the same go for a director?

To start, I’m not going to take issue in this blog with the writer’s grammar, spelling and punctuation.

But the question asked about whether it is advantageous to attach a Producer and/or a Director to a project is a good one. When I was getting started I asked it too, and the answer is pretty darned simple.

No.

You do not need to attach a Producer or Director to pitch a show. The only way it adds weight to the quality of your show is if the Producer or Director is a really heavy hitter.

And by heavy hitter I do not just mean a working Producer or Director, but a person who has gotten shows made; a person who already has a track record for producing big shows (think at a level like Survivor, Amazing Race, American Idol).

Even if they are a working Producer or Director they are still just a hired gun, and any Production Company or Broadcaster can get one of those any day of the week. Frankly, if you have $500/day you can get one too.

My business partner, for example, has a track record of working as an Executive Producer on huge shows such as 24, the CSI franchise, and most recently Hawaii Five-0. He can pretty much walk our projects in anywhere and the Execs are going to take the meeting because he makes big hit shows.

So if your Producer or Director is not big like that, there is no point attaching them. All you are doing is watering down your stake in the show and showing yourself to be a bit new.

This is a good question and this is the right place to do it, but if you’re going into meetings with someone “attached” and nobody has heard of them, you’re not doing yourself or your show any favors.

If you have any subjects you would like to see addressed simply click here  http://iwanttomakeatvshow.com/contact-us/ to send in your question and I’ll do my best to get to it.

I was sitting in an airport lounge this morning waiting to fly to LA for some meetings and I struck up a conversation with a fella sitting beside me. We were talking about the Super Bowl and gambling and the conversation eventually came around to lottery tickets. He was saying his Mother spends upwards of $300 a month on the lottery.

Apparently she always tells him, “You can’t win if you don’t play.”

I was thinking about that after he left and I compared her playing the lottery to me spending my hard-earned money to fly to LA this week to meet some Producers.

This guy’s Mother spends $3600 a year hoping she’ll win a jackpot, I probably spend around that much each year flying different places to have meetings with Producers and Broadcasters.

I know some people who have given up on their dreams of making TV. Some say the market isn’t looking for their kind of show, some say it’s taking too long, and some say it’s too expensive to keep pursuing.

I say this: If I had quit three years ago when it was difficult I wouldn’t have been flown to Washington, DC and Los Angeles to meet with TV Executives and the biggest agency in the world who all wanted to know more about me and my show ideas.

If I had quit two years ago when it was difficult (yes it was still difficult) I wouldn’t have sold a show to History Channel US last year.

If I had quit last year when it was difficult (by the way, it’s difficult every year) I wouldn’t have received an email two weeks ago asking me to come to LA this week to meet with the EP of Hawaii Five 0 and a colleague of his who has some show ideas he wants to discuss working with me on.

So I think in a weird way the random airport lounge dude’s Mom is right; you can’t win if you don’t play.

Now please excuse me but I have a flight to catch. Next stop Paramount Studios, Hollywood.