Does your elevator speech send the wrong message?

By Michael Gattorna

SIMA - Senior Insurance Marketing Association

You're all familiar with the infamous elevator speech. We have 30 seconds to grab the attention of the person with whom we are meeting for a very short time and get them interested in us.

As a senior market insurance agent, we know that most seniors have a need for insurance. We do not know if we can help them, but we have to convey that we can facilitate their need if they should have an insurance void to fill.

So, what should you say you do? Do you protect seniors from financial hardship due to health? Do you help seniors with the ability to live a long and healthy life? Do you help seniors create a legacy for their loved ones? Nope. Well, you may, but is that how you talk in everyday situations?

Let’s look at an example. You enter an elevator, and the person next to you strikes up a conversation. You ask what they do and they say, “I modify and calibrate internal combustion machines for maximum efficiency.” Huh? What does that mean? So you ask for clarification, and they reply, “I am a mechanic.”

Now, what happened is you have forgotten all the jargon they said in the first statement and have focused on the fact they are a mechanic. And then the question that probably pops into your head is, why didn't they just say that in the first place?The door opens, they leave and that is it. Rather than impress you, you are now erasing the encounter in your head. That whimsical string of words is not normal conversation for most. Rather than try and befriend you, they have just confused you.

A confused prospect is not one that usually becomes a client or customer. Let’s look at the same situation in “regular talk”.

You ask the person in the elevator with you, "What do you do?" They reply, “I am a mechanic.” You know what that is. You may even have a need for one. They follow up with, “If you ever have a question about your car, give me a call." This mechanic just spoke your language. They did not try and sell you something. They just offered a simple conversation in the future. This approach is more likely to get a call in the future.

Let’s apply this to the senior insurance market. If someone asks you what you do, just reply something along the lines of, “I am an insurance agent in the senior market.” Offer a conversation in the future: “If you ever have any questions about Medicare, call me.” Or, if you can pull off some humor: “If you ever need help curing the Medicare migraine, call me.”

Nice, simple, and it's easy for them to understand what you do. People want clear, concise answers. If you can't even explain what you do in such a manner, why would they call you?