Okay. So you're on the 39th floor of a major CBD building, 25 minutes into an important sales meeting where you're presenting your solution to a potential client. You've got your power suit on, the cufflinks in place, the rock star crucifix hidden under your collar and the newly applied henna tattoo safely out of sight.
You've done your planning, investigation, and now you are ready to present your solution or credentials. Both how and what you present will have a significant impact on the outcome. Here are six tips for ensuring your presentation is lean and purposeful:
Just because you hear everything the client said without interrupting doesn't make you a great listener. Listening without interrupting is often simply waiting for your turn to talk. Listening is more than just hearing the words.
"Whenever players in the top 10 face each other on court, it's not about skills. Winning or losing at this level is a mind game" - Andre Agassi, Australian Open 1998
Are you on the same wavelength as a prospective customer?
You're sitting at your desk, working like crazy, trying to catch up on things that you were supposed to look at a week ago. You're due to leave for another meeting in two minutes, (which you'll manage to stretch to 15), then you won't be able to get back to the office for at least three days. Who cares that you have just sent an e-mail to the guy who sits in the workstation next to you, when you could have simply stood up and spoken to him in person? Nobody worries about the fact that your desk phone is switched through to your mobile, your mobile is diverted to your pager and your boss, who has an office 10 metres down the hallway, keeps sending you text messages! And, like many of your colleagues, you've got 15 voicemails, 120 e-mails, an in-tray full of junk mail to get through, and everybody needs you yesterday. Sound like a typical day?
Let's talk about first impressions: making the right one and making sure you don't make the wrong one. First, a few don'ts.
The CEO of a large corporation recently asked me how to judge the best IT company from a series of presentations that were bidding for his company's business.
Following some basic but important points can help snare that major new client
