Last Updated on April 7, 2017

Every encounter with another person is an opportunity to sell or make a connection for a future referral. Your doctor, a mortgage broker, the guy at the dry cleaners are all potential clients. To make the best use of these often short encounters, you need to be ready. In my “old” life in corporate America, we called it the “elevator speech,” because it had to be short and succinct enough to be delivered during an elevator ride. An elevator speech is a one-minute commercial about YOU. The purpose is to make the other person interested in doing business with you or your company. As in any sales ad, don’t talk about your “features,” talk about the “benefits” of working with you. A good elevator speech, like any presentation, takes practice. First, write it down. Read it to yourself in the mirror. Run it by your family and trusted colleagues. Then memorize it. When you encounter a potential client, introduce yourself, hand them a business card and begin your commercial! You’ll double your clients in no time.