Last week I shared a recent conversation with a client about increasing his company’s hit rate by just 10% would gross them millions over the coming years. This got me thinking about the opposite side of things – what is the cost of a bad presentation. Lower Hit Rate – Most professional service firms present to win bids. This allows the prospective client to get to know the team that will do the work and discuss their project more in detail. Companies with seasoned, strong presenters easily have a stronger closing rate over weaker presenters because strong presentation skills represent knowledge and professionalism to prospects. Less Speaking Opportunities – Strong presentations perpetuate into more presentations, media interviews, and opportunities to write articles in your clients’ trade publications. A poor presentation can eliminate future chances of each of these PR (pubic relations) opportunities. Fewer Opportunities from Speaking Engagements – Most B2B (business-to-business) firms do
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I was talking to one of my new “New Year Resolution” clients yesterday and I asked him why he decided to improve his presentation skills this year. He said it had been something on his mind for a few years now, but it finally “clicked” with his boss after his team lost another project in the presentation round. They realized that they were getting to Round Two of the bid process often with their proposals, but they we’re only getting 20% of the projects after the presentation round. When they tabulated that low percentage, they instantly decided to start improving their presentations to increase their hit rate. I then asked what would a 10% increase in their closing rate mean to their firm. He said, “Millions!” His excitement energized me and he added that the millions will be over time. He and his boss realize that the investment in improving
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With the New Year upon us, I expect to get busy again. Each new year brings new inquiries and clients, which just delights me because I love helping people. Many people choose to lose weight, some want to save some money this year, while others want to better themselves professionally, including being better presenters. This may not be something you’ve thought of as one of your New Year’s resolutions. Here are a few reasons why my clients decide to improve themselves, (maybe a few will ring true for you): New leadership or managerial position that requires speaking to a team and other executives Starting content marketing strategy so presenting educational topics to prospective clients and at client associations Planning a career change and want to be well spoken for job interviews Moving to a public role in the company that involves media interviews and presentations Increase their closing rate by
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I’ve written blogs before about the pitches on “Shark Tank”, but there are continuous lessons to be learned. On this past week’s episode another entrepreneur gave a pitch to win investment money from the sharks. He seemed like a knowledgeable individual and his speaking tone and volume were appropriate. So what went wrong you ask? The one blatant flaw was on his body posture and how he carried himself, in particular, his head. I’m sure he still never realizes that he speaks with his chin down at his chest and his eyes looking up. For the entire pitch, even from the other side of the television, I felt like I was being talked down to, and it felt wrong. This is bad form because he is asking for money. Especially when presenting to such powerful business people, this can make them subconsciously feel inferior and not want to partner with
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After reading my last blog post about not reading your notes when presenting, my husband shared a story with me of a famous presenter that always kept his notes close by. Actually, he isn’t a presenter, but go with me on it. Billy Joel, the world-renowned pianist and singer, always has a binder of sheet music on top of his piano. He admits this crutch during his concerts and says it is a security blanket for him. Billy Joel writes his own music and he has sung many of his songs for decades now, but he still has the sheet music available to him. He also says most of the time he doesn’t use it and you’ll catch him periodically flipping through numerous pages because he didn’t use it for the past few songs. So, is it okay to have your presentation notes in hand? Why am I sharing this
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Sometimes it is hard for me to show proof that simplicity works on a large scale. The other day, I was reviewing my book and reread one of my favorite quotes, “Everything should be as simple as possible…but not simpler” by Albert Einstein. It hit me that the reason Einstein was famous was because he believed in and practiced simplicity. Many famous thinkers and inventors have come before and after Einstein, but he is arguably the world’s most famous thinker because his simplicity made him accessible to the everyday man. He didn’t talk down to people less intelligent than him. That in itself is proof simple works! Other great quotes on simplicity from Einstein include: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its while life believing it is stupid.” “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t
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My husband and I began watching “Shark Tank” about two years ago and we were both immediately hooked. Of course with me being a presentation coach, my attention is two-fold because I critique every pitch, even when I just want to enjoy the show. There are things to be learned from watching the good and bad pitches on “Shark Tank” and this past week I had a revelation that there are certain aspects of presentations that can have TOO MUCH! 4 Ways You Have a TOO MUCH Presentation: Too Much Energy- Believe it or not there is a such thing as too much energy. On this past weeks episode, there was a pitch where the entrepreneur has too much energy and it showed more because his partner didn’t have enough. Watching him almost scream, it was almost like he was at a pep rally and it was just annoying. Even
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Developing Great Team Presentations from Erica Olson
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Preparing a Presentation from Erica Olson
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I had read an article a while back written by a dentist about the patient-doctor communication gap. Kristin Nickells states, “A lack of communication gets in the way of a positive patient experience.” Light bulbs went off in my head as I realized that this was true not just for doctors or dentists, but for the entire business world if client or prospect were substituted for the patient. In other words, a lack of communication gets in the way of a positive client experience. Complaints of “lack of communication” often occur when the client doesn’t understand what one is talking about and/or when too much jargon and high-level vocabulary is present the message is often unclear leaving a “Lack of Communication”. Clearly, professionals have a miscommunication problem. Technical presenters much avoid communication crises to ensure their audience understands them and to gain a strong ROI. The article by Kristin Kickells goes
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