Three parts every new business pitch needs to prevent chaos
Congratulations! You or your firm made it to the short list. It’s between you and who-knows-how-many other folks who do the voodoo you do. Woo-hoo! Let the fun begin. Or maybe not? You may have anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours to give your presentation. Ugh. How do you convince anyone of anything in 30 minutes? You may have anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks to create and rehearse your presentation. Rehearse? You mean “talk about it in the car on the way over.” Input? If it’s a team presentation, and you’re in charge of pulling the pitch….
Posted in Advertising, AEC, Business, Communication, Marketing, Presentation Skills, Sales | No Comments »
How To Give Facts and Logic the Power to Prove Your Point
Don’t get me wrong. Despite my rants about the power of emotion, I don’t hate facts and logic. Facts, studies, numbers, step-by-step logical explanations and reasons are the go-to, default tool we all use whenever we need to support a recommendation, make a point, justify a decision, sell an idea. Facts are my friends, honest. However–you knew that was coming, right?–facts are not necessarily the slam dunk, double dog sure way to get the response you’re looking for. Why? Because facts can be cold and preachy. Numbers, percentages–even when presented as pie charts–can be mind numbing. Statistics? Don’t get me started…..
Posted in AEC, Business, Communication, Presentation Skills, Writing | No Comments »
The Worst (and Best) Way to Close a Presentation or Pitch
“Are there any questions?” That’s how most people close a presentation, pitch or meeting. It’s seems perfectly natural. If there was something that wasn’t quite clear, the Q&A is the perfect time for you to clarify. You don’t want to leave them confused. No way, not you. Or, perhaps a question might spark more discussion. They want you to go into more depth. That feels good, doesn’t it? You get to show off a little bit right there at the end, speaking extemporaneously about things you didn’t have time to include in the first part. If you’re presenting at a….
Posted in AEC, Business, Marketing, Presentation Skills, Sales | 7 Comments »
Benchmarks are better than resolutions, and get better results.
Just days after New Year’s, my daughter and I were talking about making and breaking resolutions. She said hers would be easy to keep. She wanted to cook-in more. Kelsey is in her last semester of graduate school and races between school, internship, work and the gym, eating or munching on the run, or standing at the kitchen counter in her apartment. I took a deep breath, pondering whether I should just say, “That’s a good one, sweetie,” wearing my Mommy Hat, or tell her what I really thought, wearing my Business Hat. I managed both. “That’s a good one,….
Posted in Business, Goals, Random Thoughts, Observations, Work Life Balance | 1 Comment »
