How's your elevator speech?

So, do you have the perfect elevator speech? Dan Norman, a sales performance expert and a keynote speaker at this year’s Senior Market Advisor Expo, believes he can set you on the right path.

The following is an excerpt from a recent conversation I had with Norman on the “elevator speech.”

When introducing yourself, do you say what you do or what you are? A lady walked up to me at a networking lunch recently and announced, “Hi, I’m Rhonda Andrews. I’m a financial planner.” I responded, “Whoa, so sorry – guess you need to make a cardboard sign and find a street corner!” (Okay, I thought that but didn’t say that out loud.)

The key to an effective introduction in business is to create the perfect elevator speech. Your introduction should engage people to want to know more. There are four simple steps to creating your perfect elevator speech:

Step One:
Create an interesting introduction that makes people want to ask, “How do you do that?”
If Rhonda had said, “I help people protect and grow their savings,” I am sure, given the economy, I would have asked her, “How do you do that?”