|
|
|
Crunch Time: Don't Forget the Upfront Stuff
Crunch Time: Don’t Forget the Upfront Stuff What time is it… if you have two minutes to go and your team is down by 10 points? What time is it…if your presentation to the biggest possible client and sale you’ve ever had is due in two days? What...
How to Leverage Your Strengths for Peak Performance
Ask almost any business leader how to most effectively develop people and build teamwork and you’ll hear, “tap into employees’ strengths.” Yet when it comes to their own careers, many managers still focus the majority of their personal development...
How to Stay Motivated - Part 1
As a "Motivation Trainer" for over 20 years, I have researched the subject of "Motivation." It is talked about a lot, but not very much is taught or written about it. It seems to be a word that eludes us. I often here people say: "Can you...
Master Card Merchant Account Providers
As your company begins to grow, you may be ready to undertake
some credit risks by opening an account with MasterCard merchant
account providers. A merchant account will provide the means of
securing electronic equipment to upgrade your business...
Surviving Corporate Politics Part 3
Opportunities Are Made, Not Created In the business of corporate politics, one thing has become very clear: Most business decisions are grown from the grassroots level. Sure, it may all seem likes it’s coming from corporate HQ, with announcements...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Powerful Presentations Build Your Business
*Article Use Guidelines*
Use in opt-in publications, or on Web sites, but please include
the resource box.
Please send me a copy, if possible. Many thanks.
**
Summary: Take the time to create presentations for your meetings, and sign up more business.
Category: Small Business
Words: 1050
Powerful Presentations Build Your Business
Copyright (c) 2003 by Angela Booth
You've set up a meeting with a potential client. You've dressed
appropriately, your shoes are shined. You've got your portfolio
and your business cards, and you have an idea of what you want
out of the meeting. In a word: you want business.
This is the way 95 per cent of small business people approach
meetings. However, if you spend a little more time preparing your
presentation, you'll make a more powerful impact and will get
more work.
The major rule is: when you've landed a meeting, always make a
proposal. Have a clear idea of exactly what you want. You present
your proposal via a carefully scripted, and rehearsed,
presentation. This is not the time to leave anything to chance,
or to wing it.
Before you can create your presentation, you need to know what
your proposal is. For example, let's say you're a freelance
copywriter approaching a graphics design agency, with a view to
being considered as a sub-contractor.
Remembering "WIIFM", (What's In It For Me), you realize that you
will need to create your presentation's proposal from the view of
the agency.
Before you do anything else, make a long list of What's In It For
Them. Why does it make sense for them to sub-contract work out to
you?
What's In It For Them is the heart of your proposal. On your
notes, make sure you put WIIFT on each page, so that it stays at
the front of your mind. It's easy to make the mistake of talking
about what you want, but please don't. You can leave a CD copy of
your presentation with the prospect, but again, it MUST focus on
how you can help them.
==> Preparing your presentation
The easiest way to prepare your presentation is to use
presentation software. If you own Microsoft Office, then you also
own Microsoft PowerPoint, it's part of Office. It's worth taking
the time to learn to use PowerPoint. It makes creating an
effective presentation easy.
What do you put into a presentation? Your proposal, and
supporting material. Remember the agency wants to know what's in
it for them --- how you can help them make money, save money, and
make their lives easier and more pleasant. Everything you include
in your presentation --- the kind of work you do, items from your
portfolio, testimonials from satisfied clients --- must relate to
*them*.
Think of the presentation as being a combination of a speech, an
advertisement for your services, a showing of your portfolio, and
a proposal, all rolled into one. Aim to make it around 10 to 15
minutes long. Have some fun with creating the presentation.
Include plenty of slides with bullet points, and graphics.
You can get double-value out of your presentations. Just copy
your basic all-purpose presentation onto a CD, and send it to
prospective clients. You can also make your basic presentation a
download on your Web site.
It's also a good idea to print out some of the slides
from any
presentation you give personally, so that you can leave the slide
copies with the client after the meeting. (Note: don't hand out
copies before the meeting. You need to make sure that everyone is
paying attention to your presentation.)
==> Control your nerves: rehearsal is everything
Many people hate public speaking. However, if you prepare
yourself, you'll be just fine, and each presentation you give
will enhance your confidence.
Write your speech out completely. Ask someone else to read it and
help you brainstorm ideas. Then leave the speech for a week for a
gestation period. You'll find that other ideas will come to you,
and you can incorporate these.
As you prepare your speech, you can also prepare the slides in
PowerPoint. Use photographs and other graphics, to bring your
presentation to life.
When you're happy with the speech, learn it. Practise giving the
speech in front of a mirror, then practise giving it as you click
through the slides in PowerPoint.
If you don't have a notebook computer to take with you, take your
PowerPoint file along on a disk or CD. You may be able to borrow
a computer. If you can't, then give the presentation without the
file, but leave the presentation CD and notes with the decision
maker.
==> Who will be at the meeting? Pitching to decision makers
Before you set a date and time for the meeting, ask who will be
attending the meeting. You need to be sure that you'll be making
your presentation to a decision-maker in the company. If you
can't get an assurance that the decision maker will attend,
postpone the meeting until she can attend.
==> Get an agreement before you leave the meeting
You've given your presentation. You've made your proposal. Now
what?
Now you get an agreement.
This is the "close" in sales-speak. It's the most important part
of your presentation, aside from the WIIFM aspect. Many otherwise
competent people skimp on the close, because it makes them
nervous. However, no matter how nervous you are, you must ask for
the sale.
So, in our scenario, as you wind up your presentation, you would
ask to become a sub-contractor for the agency. This will lead to
discussion, but unless you get an immediate agreement to sign you
up, make sure that you attempt to close at least three more times
before you leave.
In the best of all possible outcomes, you won't leave the
business before you have a check in your hand. This is your aim.
So when the decision-maker says: "Yes, that sounds fine, we'd
like to put you on our books as a sub-contractor", you say:
"Great, can we make a deal now? I'd like a retainer, and _______
(mention the terms of your services agreement). A deposit of $X
would be fine."
Good luck with your presentations. They're a sure-fire way to
build your business in a hurry.
***Resource box: if using, please include***
Veteran multi-published author and copywriter Angela Booth crafts
words for your business --- words to sell, educate or persuade.
E-books and e-courses on Web site. FREE ezines for writers and
small biz: http://www.digital-e.biz/
About the Author
Writer, author and journalist Angela Booth has been writing successfully for print and online venues for 25 years. She also writes for business.
|
|
|
|
|
| Oral Presentation Advice |
| Your presentation should not replace your paper, but rather whet the ... Below I consider goals for academic interview talks and class presentations. ... |
| www.cs.wisc.edu |
|
| Presentation Skills |
| This site contains annotated links to resources concerned with presentation and communication skills. |
| lorien.ncl.ac.uk |
|
| Presentation Helper - Free PowerPoint templates, help, advice and ... |
| Resources on how to make effective presentations. Includes tips on PowerPoint and topic ideas. |
| www.presentationhelper.co.uk |
|
| Neurobehavioral Systems, Inc. |
| Neuroscience stimulus delivery software can be used for cognitive psychology, fMRI, erp and single unit research (Windows). |
| nbs.neuro-bs.com |
|
| Why tables for layout is stupid: problems defined, solutions offered |
| Why tables for layout is stupid:. problems defined, solutions offered. Tables existed in HTML for one reason: To display tabular data. ... |
| www.hotdesign.com |
|
| The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation |
| This presentation prepared with the help of Microsoft Powerpoint Autocontent Wizard. ... Permission is granted to use this presentation in any course or ... |
| norvig.com |
|
| Presentation Zen |
| I love the clear presentation of the ideas in the book and the fact that the ... In the context of presentations, moving info away can help you and the ... |
| www.presentationzen.com |
|
| Presentation Tips for Public Speaking |
| Better Public Speaking & Presentation - Ensure Your Words Are Always ... On the Job: Public Speaking Tips - Twelve Steps to Great Presentations by Elise ... |
| www.aresearchguide.com |
|
| Presentation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Presentation is the process of presenting the content of a topic to an ... You should plan to rehearse your presentation out loud at least four times. ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| OSCON 2005 Keynote - Identity 2.0 |
| “A barn-burner of a presentation. I loved this.” - Cory Doctorow. “I watched it twice, and greatly enjoyed it both times.” - Jon Udell ... |
| www.identity20.com |
|
| Presentations - Effective Communication - Public Speaking |
| Tips and tools for creating and delivering presentations: text, techniques and technology. |
| www.presentations.com |
|
| Presentation Information Resources - Presentation Technology News ... |
| Presentation Information Resources - Comprehensive presenter's resource providing instant access to up-to-date information on technology and techniques for ... |
| 199.249.170.231 |
|
| Effective Presentations homepage |
| In addition, the skills needed to prepare an oral presentation can be used ... A spiffy presentation discussing Effective Teaching with Powerpoint from the ... |
| www.kumc.edu |
|
| Impress |
| Your presentations will stand out with 2D and 3D clip art, special effects, animation, ... Slide show Animation and Effects bring your presentation to life. ... |
| www.openoffice.org |
|
| PRESENTATIONPRO - experts for Microsoft PowerPoint |
| A series of products and services to help enhance PowerPoint presentations with templates and backgrounds. |
| www.presentationpro.com |
|
| Leadership - Presentation Skills |
| Presentation, PowerPoint, and Leadership. ... Presentations and reports are ways of communicating ideas and information to a group. But unlike a report, ... |
| www.skagit.com |
|
| Presentation: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with presentation on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
|
| Secretary of State Addresses the U.N. Security Council |
| My friends, this has been a long and a detailed presentation. And I thank you for your patience. But there is one more subject that I would like to touch on ... |
| www.whitehouse.gov |
|
| Rubric |
| Organization, Audience cannot understand presentation because there is no sequence of information. Audience has difficulty following presentation because ... |
| www.ncsu.edu |
|
| Presentation Skills |
| Presentations are one of the first managerial skills which a junior engineer ... This article looks at the basics of Presentation Skills as they might apply ... |
| www.see.ed.ac.uk |
|
|