About three months ago, I reluctantly decided to attach a photo to my Linkedin profile. It took me all of two minutes to sit in front on my MacBook, snap the picture, and post on my profile.

Many colleagues immediately provided feedback - none of it good. They said my picture looked unprofessional (it was fuzzy) and would hamper my networking efforts. Disbelieving, I wondered if a low quality picture could actually have that kind of effect.

As someone who believes in the value of networking and LinkedIn, I submitted to the pressure and hired a professional photographer to take a "glamour shot". For $350, he promised to make me look human. It was actually a fairly painless experience and I was happy with the result.

This experience made me wonder just how important a profile photo is for networking on LinkedIn? I decided to post the question in four separate LinkedIn Groups, each with a different focus (Sales, Marketing, HR, and Training). Here's what I learned from the post:

• 29 people responded that a photo is important, 3 people believe a photo is unimportant
• A few others made arguments that were so circular that I couldn't tell which way they were voting
• All marketing people voted yes, only two sales people voted not important
• This topic is not very interesting to the training crowd with only two voting yes and one voting no
• No HR people responded. Maybe they were afraid the question was not politically correct

I also received research data from linked in that claimed a profile with a professional picture is five times more likely to get a positive response.

My takeaway - Because so much of our current interactions are on-line, we need to be cognizant of making a good first impression. A decent picture will reflect a positive image and help you make it past the first cut. People are making snap judgments about your value - the picture is the first thing they see. Maybe this is not fair but it is the truth.

I'm willing to bet that there isn't a successful person alive who hasn't reflected on the old adage, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

If course, if you are one of those successful people, you've probably bought in to the belief that what you say or do during that very first interaction with someone (usually in the first few seconds) will often be the image that most people remember you buy, and more importantly, judge you buy. So, if it is such an impressionable time, it only makes sense to work on developing an introduction that will leave the listener with the impression most helpful to you in achieving your goal. That goal, of course, is to have a conversation, which leads you to a prospect, which intern leads you to a potential sale.

But if those first few seconds are so critical, why do so many people drop the ball? Try this informal test. Next time you're in a social situation among people you don't know, ask ten different people what they do. See how many leave you with a truly memorable impression. The results might surprise you.

I guess it's kind of unfortunate too. I've been blessed to have met so many great people through the years. But honestly, when I look back and think about the very first time we met, during those first seconds of talking, I can truly say that many of those people (whom I'm happy to now have a rich relationship with) left a less than flattering impression with me.

In other words, their response to the question, "What do you do?" was totally ordinary. They didn't distinguish themselves from every other Tom, Dick and Harriet out there who's doing the same thing. And as a result, I was naturally less curious and interested than I might have been if they had distinguished themselves. Fortunately for our relationship, they weren't trying to sell me anything...at least I hope they weren't.

The key to being remembered and having impact it to set yourself apart! And it doesn't really matter if I'm meeting someone who works in a field that I'm not particularly interested in. If they effectively distinguish themselves as someone who appears to warrant the term "professional" and they leave me with the impression that they're an "authority" in their particular field, then I'm naturally more likely to be interested and curious about them.

First off, the best introductions, regardless of the industry, contain a degree of enthusiasm and interest, and you should be able to see it in the person's body language. Because a person is talking about something that they're good at and enjoying doing, their body is more alive and their posture is more fluid. The reason that matters is because studies have shown that up to 55% of the information we interpret from others comes from their body language. Think about it, how often do you see someone who's really excited stand completely still and motionless? You don't. Of course, you don't want to appear as though you just had ten cups of coffee, but you do want to appear genuinely interested in what you're talking about. If you can come across this way, then they'll biologically be more receptive to you. I don't think we have to break it down any more than that.

The second thing you see in an effective introduction is a clearly defined audience or target market. You want the person you're speaking with to understand exactly who you are able to help or provide a product/service to. For example, saying "I'm a tax specialist" does nothing to communicated who you can help. You have to get specific. It's important to say who you can help and what benefits you can provide. For example, by saying, "I'm an adviser who helps retirees manage their tax liability," you communicate who you are trying to help and what you can provide.

But the key to a great elevator pitch is grabbing the person's attention by communicating the solutions you have for the target market. Going back to our first example of the Tax Specialist, it would sound like this. "I'm an adviser who specializes in helping retirees maximize their income by reducing the amount of taxes they pay." It communicates who you are, what you do and how you can help. Sprinkle in some confidence and positive body language and who wouldn't start to think about the retirees in their family who might need to pay less in taxes.

You may find it necessary to tailor you elevator pitch for a specific situation to be more relevant; just make sure you keep these two points in mind: (1) who you are trying to help (your target audience) and (2) what problem/worry/issue do they have (their need).

The goal of your evaluator pitch should be to close for a second conversation. Of course, you want to be prepared to talk more about you solutions in case your elevator pitch sparked interest in listener. It's always helpful to have ready one of two specific examples of your best work and how it helped your client solve their problem. At the least, try to get their business card so you can follow up as they'll probably be pressed for time.

Here are some best practices for developing your winning elevator pitch:

• Always describe your business in non-jargon terms (this is hard but will set you apart)
• Focus on your customers and their needs
• Communicate the solutions you provide (what helps your clients overcome their problems)
• Finish on a positive note (i.e. who doesn't like to pay less in taxes)
• Practice writing and rewriting you pitch to sharpen its focus and remove unnecessary words
• Be warm, friendly, confident and enthusiastic
• Maintain good eye contact
• Practice in front of a mirror to analyze your body language ( you might be surprised by what you see)
• Don't ramble. Your goal is to be so familiar with your speech that you never get off track