Finally I am actually using something they taught me is school . . . . PowerPoint (probably not what my professors wanted my biggest takeaway to be, but you gotta take what you can get).
After attending a truly awful webinar yesterday with a truly awful PowerPoint and after spending a good portion of the morning updating one of our sales presentations, I just couldn't help myself. Plus somehow I got stuck being the presenter/PowerPoint builder for every presentation I had in college.
Here are my top 5 PowerPoint presentation do's:
5. Do practice (please)! Even when you are speaking over the phone, have an idea of what you are going to say (don't memorize), take notes, make sure you have plenty of (interesting) stories and examples and make sure everything technical is working.
4. Do use lots of visuals! Unless you are sending the PowerPoint for someone to read, forget the text and pay attention to your visuals. Until I see it, I don't understand it.
3. Do cut your text in half! Do not put everything you are going to say on your slides. Why in the world would I listen if I can read everything on the slides? Also if there is too much on your slides you will be tempted to just read off of them.
2. Do look professional. This goes for your PowerPoint (and you if you are presenting in person). Don't do one of those crazy PowerPoint presentations with things flying in from all over the place and dancing graphics. I will get so caught up in those special effects that I will stop paying attention (or I will be so annoyed by them I will stop paying attention.
1. Do keep on track. If I give you an hour, all you have is an hour and please make that hour count. If you are doing something over the phone, please be careful of awkward pauses because they are especially awkward when I can't see you.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
One Good Apple.
I traveled this weekend and once again was reminded about how there is nothing glamorous about traveling and how just one customer service experience can make all the difference.
US Airways was experiencing some major problems on Wednesday which as far as I could figure out was brought on by a domino effect of late flights and lots of rain.
I was unlucky enough to have my first flight delayed, which caused me to miss my connection (the last one of the day) and then I was put on standby to the nearest airport, Ft. Lauderdale. By some miracle I made it on the flight to Ft. Lauderdale. So did everyone else on standby as well as a mother and her three daughters who had to run from their earlier flight and just made their connection.
As I was waiting for my sister to come off the plane, I listened to a discussion this mother had with the airline representative at the gate in Ft. Lauderdale. They had made the flight but had lost their seats, so while they got on the plane they were scattered about the cabin. The woman was expressing her upset and concern about this situation. The airline rep. handled it like a pro explaining the procedure: yes if you aren't there 10 minutes prior to your flight your seats are opened up. The woman was particularly upset at how rude the airline representative had been at the previous gate. The Ft. Lauderdale representative listened, expressed her concern, and essentially talked the woman down. She made the woman feel like someone cared about her dilemma. She wasn't condescending, she didn't make any promises she couldn't keep, she even at one point defended the other representative. The woman was happy though, all she needed was someone to care about her hectic travel experience.
No one talked me down, but after listening to that conversation I was impressed. I had pretty much written off US Airways as completely incompetent, but this representative was an impressive example of their organization. It really didn't take much, just one good apple. She impressed me and this other traveler, imagine how many others she had impressed that day.
US Airways was experiencing some major problems on Wednesday which as far as I could figure out was brought on by a domino effect of late flights and lots of rain.
I was unlucky enough to have my first flight delayed, which caused me to miss my connection (the last one of the day) and then I was put on standby to the nearest airport, Ft. Lauderdale. By some miracle I made it on the flight to Ft. Lauderdale. So did everyone else on standby as well as a mother and her three daughters who had to run from their earlier flight and just made their connection.
As I was waiting for my sister to come off the plane, I listened to a discussion this mother had with the airline representative at the gate in Ft. Lauderdale. They had made the flight but had lost their seats, so while they got on the plane they were scattered about the cabin. The woman was expressing her upset and concern about this situation. The airline rep. handled it like a pro explaining the procedure: yes if you aren't there 10 minutes prior to your flight your seats are opened up. The woman was particularly upset at how rude the airline representative had been at the previous gate. The Ft. Lauderdale representative listened, expressed her concern, and essentially talked the woman down. She made the woman feel like someone cared about her dilemma. She wasn't condescending, she didn't make any promises she couldn't keep, she even at one point defended the other representative. The woman was happy though, all she needed was someone to care about her hectic travel experience.
No one talked me down, but after listening to that conversation I was impressed. I had pretty much written off US Airways as completely incompetent, but this representative was an impressive example of their organization. It really didn't take much, just one good apple. She impressed me and this other traveler, imagine how many others she had impressed that day.
Friday, March 4, 2011
A B2B Lifestyle
I was just reading an interesting story about lifestyle brands in my most recent issue of "marketingnews" from the American Marketing Association. Lifestyle brands are those brands people are desperate to associate themselves with . . . brands like Apple, Nike, JCrew, Ralph Lauren, Harley Davidson. They are the brands marketers drool over. According to the article they are brands that take customers' way of life into consideration when marketing themselves.
Obviously lifestyle brands are geared to the B2C world of marketing . . . but it got me thinking, could lifestyle branding play a part in B2B marketing?
The makeup of lifestyle brands is complex, but one common thread is they all have a distinct look, a distinct feel, a distinct presence that makes the consumer eager to purchase and flaunt them! Not to be too cliche but they look the part (whatever part they are trying to be).
So why can't B2B brands use look the part? Every business has some unique and fascinating aspect to it (really, I promise). And businesses are made up of people, correct? People who respond to the unique, the fun, the colorful, the cool and want to be part of it. So make your business something other businesses want to be part of and show off. Infuse some life into your business and others will want to be part of it.
Obviously lifestyle brands are geared to the B2C world of marketing . . . but it got me thinking, could lifestyle branding play a part in B2B marketing?
The makeup of lifestyle brands is complex, but one common thread is they all have a distinct look, a distinct feel, a distinct presence that makes the consumer eager to purchase and flaunt them! Not to be too cliche but they look the part (whatever part they are trying to be).
So why can't B2B brands use look the part? Every business has some unique and fascinating aspect to it (really, I promise). And businesses are made up of people, correct? People who respond to the unique, the fun, the colorful, the cool and want to be part of it. So make your business something other businesses want to be part of and show off. Infuse some life into your business and others will want to be part of it.
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