What’s the worst horror story you can imagine for a presenter giving a marketing presentation? Falling in love with his or her story!

Recently, I coached a presenter. He was ‘all over’ stories. And truthfully, his storytelling ability was great. If you wanted to sit around the campfire for hours and hours on end.

But, for a business setting, his commitment to ‘storytelling’ was a death sentence. During his presentation, I looked around the room. People were staring at the ceiling. Others were examining their watches as if they contained hidden gold. No one wanted to hear one more colorful word. Not one more elaborate metaphoric example.

Know what I’m talking about? It’s the storyteller syndrome. Gone overboard.

In every part of presenting, there is a risk. You can take a good thing and drag it into the ground by overdoing it.

Clearly, this does not have to happen. Use these 3 tips to make sure you use storytelling to your advantage in marketing presentations.

Tip 1: Stick To The Point

In business presentations, unlike campfire stories, you have to stick to the point. Many audiences are filled with people who are already overloaded and overwhelmed with information.

If you want to keep their attention, you must stick to the point. Watch out for any tendency to drift off topic with your favorite colorful examples.

Hint: if this is a problem for you, work with a colleague. If they notice you are going off track, establish a hand signal to mark the moment. Then, be sure to use this signal to refocus your message and stay on point.

Tip 2: Read Your Audience

Read your audience the same way you read the gauges in your car. Are you running on empty? Does your audience need a bio-break? Are they getting fidgety and restless? Are people edging to the door or fixating on their watches?

Watch for the signs and symptoms of disengagement. If you notice these, switch to a more focused delivery style.

You can win your audiences’ attention if you keep their signals at the forefront of your awareness.

Tip 3: Let Your Audience Speak

Storytelling is not a one-sided activity. Ask questions. Get people talking. Use their comments and questions to infuse energy and creative spark into your story.

Nothing is as exciting as spontaneous interaction. When you use this in your storytelling you will not be at risk of talking to a bored or restless audience.

In addition to participants having a change to speak, other people in the audience often connect with comments made by peers. These comments provoke interaction, discussion and collaboration.

Professional presenters often use storytelling to express ideas, emphasize key points, and engage audiences. With persuasive storytelling, you can inspire creativity and collaboration.

Effective storytelling is the mark of a distinguished leader and presenter. If you want to connect with your audiences, get familiar with planning, preparing and performing with stories.

As one of my clients puts it: “you get better results with better planning.” This is smart business and a smart storytelling practice.

Develop your business storytelling skills so you can communicate effectively to your audience. Persuasive visual stories can help you reach more customers and grow your business.

Do you often give PowerPoint presentations? Does it bother you to go to the computer or laptop and use it to change a slide or play a video? Does it make you feel you’re losing the control of your presentation? Well, there is a solution.

Having full control of your presentation can be very productive and it will affect your presentation in a positive way. It’s good for your confidence too.

One of the important factors of a presentation is what is displayed on the screen. Mostly, it is a PowerPoint file, consisting of some slides made of texts, pictures and videos. So, if you want to give your PowerPoint presentation while you are standing and explaining what is on the screen, returning to the computer or laptop for changing the slide can seem a little bit awkward and it can have a negative effect on your confidence. The solution for this problem is very simple. You just have to control it remotely. Do you want to know how? Using your smartphone.

Thanks to technology, smartphones have brought a solution for a lot of our problems. You can use your smartphone to control your PowerPoint presentation with your smartphone with a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection to the source device. You can change the slides and advance, jump to a specific slide and skip the slides in between and use a virtual laser pointer right from your Android device…

After you install a Presentation Remote App on your Android device, you will have full control of your presentation from your phone, and you are just a few steps away from a perfect speech.

Office Remote which is an app developed by Microsoft, turns your phone into a smart remote that interacts with Microsoft Office on your PC. The app lets you control Word, Excel, and PowerPoint from across the room, so you can walk around freely during presentations.Yet, Presentation Link is another app for this purpose, developed by ASUS.

The main advantage of Presentation Link over the Office Remote app is the option to choose Wi-Fi connection, and unlike the Microsoft app, the ASUS Hit Team app is not limited to just Bluetooth. But on the other side, the Microsoft app supports PowerPoint, Excel and Word applications and your Android device can function as a remote app for all these productivity services.

So, you can give a perfect speech. You just need to learn how to use these apps.

Close More Sales On The Spot

Would you like to know exactly how to win virtually – giving effective presentations and closing more sales?

Imagine for a moment, the thrill of success when close more sales on the spot in your online presentations.

Think of the rewards including:
- The bonus paycheck you so deserve
- Public praise from your boss
- Recognition from your team

With skills training you’ll know precisely how to close more sales.

Recently, I worked with a highly experienced sales team. They were smart people, experts in their field. But their boss was never satisfied. He was constantly breathing down their necks. And it seemed as if when they hit one target, he only demanded more and more.

Just to give you a taste:

These folks were giving both virtual presentations and in-person pitches. But the boss insisted on raising the bar.

The new standard: 10 virtual presentations per week. Plus a radical increase in closings during the early meetings.

Huge change. Most of the folks were nervous. They were used to giving face-to-face pitches and consultations. They didn’t know if they had the right presentation skills to succeed in an all-virtual world.

Whether you are giving sales presentations in person, virtually or a combination, here a few tips I shared with this team. It helped them get top results and it will help you too:

Tip 1: Identify The Most Important Issues
Focus on the needs your clients are most concerned about. Look to their most pressing, urgent needs and hot issues.

To do this you must put your boss, your desired bonus and your organization’s timeline to the side. Focus only on your client’s needs and you’ll have a recipe for success.

Tip 2: Speak With Passion
Choose dynamic words and speak with enthusiasm. It’s very important to let your customer know how much you care about them and their issues. Share your excitement about how they will benefit from your products and solutions.

Tip 3: Captivate Every Crowd
Tell fascinating and relevant stories. Show colorful photos to illustrate value with pictures. Engage your audience with whiteboard sketches to solve problems, share ideas and get participants involved.

If you are using PowerPoint or Keynote slides, design with care. Simplify your message so every slide is focused and clear. Pay special attention to visuals so your slide has a powerful impact.

By focusing on whiteboard interaction plus slide impact, you will radically boost results. No matter what your topic, this is a mark of highly effective presentation skills.

Tip 4: Show the Facts to Win Results
Many people make buying decisions based on a combination of technical insights, facts and data.

No matter how complex your topic, simplify the statistics so you can communicate to your audience. People connect with simple stories much more than tons of statistical information. Show the facts – and keep the story simple.

Tip 5: Invite and Encourage Question and Answer Sessions
In both face-to-face sales pitches and virtual meetings, invite questions. Do this before, during and after your presentation. Audiences love to contribute questions, share issues and tell you what’s on their minds.

By encouraging questions, you’re getting a head-start to success. That’s why lively exchanges are the most effective kind of presentations.

Whether you are seeking to win customers to get your boss’s recognition, a bigger paycheck, or to achieve sales targets in your organization’s strategy, using these 5-tips it’s easier to close sales on the spot.

Use this 5-part system to simplify presenting. When you give engage participants with a lively exchange, you’ll see how easy it is to attract new customers.

By creating a compelling presentation, your customer knows one thing: working with you is their best choice!

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.

All presenters have their own styles and preferred delivery methods, yet, when pondering public speaking in academic and corporate environments, it is almost impossible to hark back to life before PowerPoint. This ingenious invention has transformed the way in which presentations are both given and received. However, PowerPoint presentations, just like old school lectures and speeches, run the risk of audience disengagement if you are not well versed in a few common sense and easy to follow tenets:

1) Definition

Never fail to keep the essence of the subject matter you hope to convey at the very forefront of your mind. Your audiences, after all, look upon you as the authority. Any ‘wishy washy’ glossing over of aspects you do not intrinsically understand can expose your lack of definitive knowledge. You can, however, give your PowerPoint presentations enhanced definition by using complementary handouts and visual representations.

2) Style

Getting your style and tone spot on is key to unlocking the engagement and respect of your audiences. If you are public speaking to students or young professionals working in a trendy sector, acknowledge that one cap does not fit all. Use different PowerPoint animations, colours and templates than those you would select when giving presentations to traditional sectors and senior personnel.

3) Animation

You will be aware of the cliché appertaining to pictures painting a thousand words. The same adage applies to all presentations and can be executed particularly effectively in PowerPoint presentations. Take the time and trouble to source relevant images, soundtracks and video clips. They confirm and amplify your subject matter and additionally entertain your audiences.

4) Minimalism

The overstuffing of slides is a cardinal sin of PowerPoint presentations, albeit a trap that it is all too easy to fall in to. Too much animation is as tedious as too little and too many points and words are nothing short of a bore. As a rule of thumb, try including between three to seven points per slide and encapsulating each point in between three to seven words.

5) Rehearsal

When preparing for any types of public speaking, including the delivery of PowerPoint presentations, practice is king. Carry our informal rehearsals in front of trusted confidantes, take their constructive criticisms on board and amend your PowerPoint presentations accordingly.

Dependent upon individual circumstances, you might be required to distribute your PowerPoint presentations amongst your audiences, either before or after delivery. There are a variety of different ways of successfully doing so, each befitting to various scenarios:

1) Laptop Storage

Many presentations that you give for a broad spectrum of reasons often require you to simply save your PowerPoint presentations on to your laptop before ultimate delivery. If so, you might consider erring on the side of caution and having alternatives on standby to safeguard yourself against unexpected file corruption, viruses and internet connection problems.

2) Email Distribution

Pre or post emailing your presentations is a great way of electronically sharing. Yet it is worth having a back up plan in mind for recipients who may be unable to open up your presentations. Not everyone will have the same version of PowerPoint on their computers as you – or any version at all. If sounds and videos are included in your presentations, check and double check that your have safely zipped them in to your folders before emailing, to ensure that you send comprehensive versions.

3) Video Conversion

The giving of online presentations is an evolving phenomenon. Likewise, you can share your PowerPoint presentations either before or after you have delivered them publicly by using the same methods. You will need to buy in to relevant software, such as PowerPoint to Video Converter, but will then have the luxury of uploading your presentations on to your blog or website, MySpace or YouTube.

4) DVD Burning

Burning on to DVDs effectively offsets any of the potential issues you might encounter by the simple saving your PowerPoint presentations on to your laptop. DVDs additionally offer you an alternative way to share your presentations, and your audiences a simple and efficient way to view and refer back to your work.

5) PDF Conversion

Hard copy printing of PowerPoint presentations is much less laborious and stressful when you print from PDF files rather than directly from PowerPoint. PDF files are also often easier to transmit via email, although your recipients will only be able to access your PDF files if they have Acrobat Reader or PDF Viewer on their computers.

This month I received an email from a client who frequently hosts Karrass In-House negotiation seminars for their employees. They asked me to elaborate on what happens when, in the negotiation process, you agree to “split the difference” to finalize an agreement.

This is an interesting negotiating topic. My research shows that “splitting the difference” can provide a simple, quick way to reach agreement. Many people use this approach all the time. After all, people are used to giving and getting equal shares at home, at restaurants, and at birthday parties. Splitting in the middle is simple. Not splitting in the middle is full of problems. It brings up a tough question: “If not in the middle, where else?”

Think about it. When someone offers to split the difference, haven’t they just offered you half the difference as a concession? Rather than saying “OK,” your next thought should be: “How much of the remaining difference do I need?”

In professional negotiating “splitting the difference” can be a mistake. This is true if you are negotiating prices, hours a job will take, development costs, determining which department does what, scope-of-work issues, skill too much. If a buyer suggests a spilt, sellers should respond, “I can’t afford to.” Then provide more levels of people required to work on a project, ownership of intellectual property or software code, and a multitude of other negotiating situations.

Things that are equal may not necessarily be equitable. Splitting the difference is certainly equal, but it may not be equitable or fair. And, it may end up leaving both parties to the negotiation unsatisfied.

I know buyers who use the spilt approach. They make a low starting offer, raise it only slightly, and then say, “Okay, let’s split the difference.” These buyers know it’s hard for a salesperson to say no to such a reasonable request. The salesperson gets sucked into the split and then discovers they give away information to justify why a simple split is not equitable and use this as an opportunity to explore other options.

What about the buyer? What happens in the buyer’s mind when a salesperson quickly says, “OK you’ve got a deal,” to a request to split the difference? The buyer suddenly realizes they could have done better. It was too simple. They should have asked for more.

My research proves that the best agreements come when both parties are satisfied. In this example, chances are both parties have lingering doubts about the agreement. Both think they could have done better. Neither is fully satisfied.

You have a better opportunity to reach a mutually satisfying agreement if you resist the urge to “spit the difference.” The first person to suggest a split immediately establishes a benchmark which the other person, even if they think the split is reasonable, should resist accepting. Take more time – remember the value of time and effort we discuss in the Karrass negotiating seminars. Take the time to explore other options, other ways to look at the split, re-define what will be split up and what cannot be split up, see if there is a way to “expand the pie” before you start dividing up who gets what. Your time and effort in this discussion may reveal options neither party had thought of before, and open a route to a truly “both-win” agreement. Even if you end up agreeing to the originally suggested split, this extra time and effort will help raise the satisfaction level of both parties. “We got the best agreement that was available.”

The process of hair removal is a great way to keep some areas of your body free from unwanted hair. The methods of removing hair from the body can vary depending on the areas that it will be performed. The most common techniques include plucking, threading, shaving, and waxing. In other facilities that incorporate modern technology, you can also avail of laser removal. Depending on the intensity of the process, you can be hair-free for several days or you can constantly enjoy the perks of being hair-free because of the permanent effects of some methods. Most of the processes mentioned above can be done in salons for specialized removal of hair, or you can also have the option of doing it by yourself at home. If you’re planning on doing the process by your own, the best way to go through with this activity would be to shop for hair removal products.

Basic hair removal can be performed in two different methods and the products that will be used will also vary.

• Epilation removal products. Epilation products for removing hair are known for their ability to remove hair from the body from its roots, which means that they have long-lasting or even permanent effects. The components of epilation products normally include strong chemicals which help in efficient removal of unwanted hair. Salons that offer electrolysis or laser removal normally use this type of product. You can also make use of epilation hair removal products by yourself through home electrolysis.

• Depilation removal products. The effects of using depilation products provide more temporary effects since the action of the components only allow the removal of hair from the surface. You can use this type of hair-eliminating product when shaving or when using creams that you can brush off to remove hair.

Although a lot of people prefer permanent hair removal processes since it is more convenient and needs almost zero-maintenance, and the effects help make the skin finer and lighter in color. However, these hair removal products will not suit everyone. Some people develop allergies due to the strength of the chemicals while others do not observe any adverse reactions on their skin. On the other hand, depilation products such as creams and lotions offer lesser strength which is ideal for sensitive skin.

If you are unsure of which products to use, it would be best to conduct a research first so you are aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the hair removal products. You can also try a patch test which normally runs for 24 hours so you know what to expect from the reaction of your skin on the product that you plan on using. Keeping your body from unwanted hair is not only pleasant to the eyes. It is also a process of maintaining your body’s hygiene in check. If you’ve been constantly battling with hair growth in your body, seek for the best hair removal products now and yield the benefits of smooth, hairless, and more appealing skin.

Debt negotiation is a process which as a technique is beneficial for both the individuals and the businesses big or small irrespective bearing the loss of money and are recurring huge debts. In fact, in the recent times Business Negotiation has emerged more and more as a popular option in the market to deal successfully with the financial difficulties. The only thing which people should keep in mind applying for this negotiation is to get correct information about these processes, so they trust these programs. Business negotiation is a process through which the businesses reduce their debts by negotiating with the creditor

The firms which are dealing with the cash crunch have a very good option in the form of negotiation as it can help in reducing their debts a certain amount. Bankruptcy is one of the options that the companies can opt for, as it comes out to be an easier option. But the companies can prevent that state by opting for negotiation timely and the companies should prefer negotiations as it can help in giving the professional counseling which can be of great help. The companies get the advices for their future businesses as well as through the businesses debt reduction. The debts can get reduced to as low as 40 to 50 percent,on negotiation with the creditors. This can be very beneficial for the businesses, a the negotiation can take place in a few days time and hence save your time. Negotiation can reduce the interest rates also.

So, those businesses which are facing a financial crunch can go for a debt negotiation and get their finances settled. This year due to recession, big and small businesses faced a huge loss which had a direct impact on the economy of the country. So, to curb this problem, and give a fresh start to the stumbling businesses and delinquent accounts, debt settlement is the option.

Marketers have numerous tried and tested methods for developing successful new product marketing strategy, many of which include some kind of social media element. This means that a new product marketing strategy is now largely reliant on the Internet. Success always starts with a strategy, and for your new product, this is a necessity.

Internet marketing has become so vast that marketers need different strategies for marketing products through different online platform. A Pinterest strategy will not look like a Facebook strategy; therefore, it is important to determine what kinds of Internet marketing are most appropriate for your product. However, there are some general practices that should always be applied.

Finding Your Demographic

When developing your new product marketing strategy, start by compiling a list of the kinds of people who will be most interested in your product. Be as specific as possible. It might be helpful to take your description of your target market and identify real people on social networks who represent your target customer.

Generate a Buzz

Offering freebies is also a great way to generate a buzz about your product online. Ask people to share or Retweet a photo of your product for a chance to win one for free. Freebies and promotional offers can also help to brighten up your everyday press release to bloggers. Find a blog that has a niche that relates to your product and offer them free samples in exchange for writing a review of your product.
If there are celebrities or industry influencers that fit your target market, offer them freebies. If they like your product, chances are they’ll send a “Thank You” tweet or post that will drive loads of online traffic to your product’s social media accounts or website.

Use SEO

New product marketing strategy should also include Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Analyze your target audience and create a list of keywords they might use to search for similar products. If possible include SEO in your product description or any press releases you submit online. Implement SEO through developing a blog as a part of your product’s website. Your blog’s content determines the success of your SEO strategy. Chances are competitors are using the same words, so providing useful content for your target market is important.

Use blogging and other forms of social media to become an expert in your product’s industry. Use websites like MeetUp and Eventbrite to create powerful events surrounding your product and press releases to tell people about the events. Examples include gallery showings, tastings and fashion shows. Also, join or create LinkedIn groups where you can share information about your product on discussion boards. Sharing and linking back to your website through these social media outlets will also help to build your SEO profile.

Creating a new product marketing strategy is necessary for launching a new product in any market, online or in brick and mortar stores. While not every plan is successful, it is almost impossible to be successful without first developing a plan. A new product marketing strategy is key.

Amongst all the activities that each us partake in on a daily basis, two things that everyone does nearly every day that will generally determine how effective and successful we inevitably will be, are sales/ selling and negotiating. These two things are intricately associated because everyone sells either themselves, a product or a service, and nearly every significant discussion begins with some sort of negotiations. It is important, therefore, to look more deeply and examine what negotiating is all about and how to do so better, so the purpose of this article is to review the basics and essentials, and thus to mnemonically look at the KEYS to effective negotiating.

1. Exemplary negotiating skills begin with a professionally trained and developed negotiator that possesses a keen insight into both the needs of the group he represents, as well as those priorities and needs held by his negotiating counterpart. One must know what his objective and priorities are, and must be able and willing to properly use this knowledge to its best advantage. The best negotiator understands the necessity of keeping things in perspective, and under control, rather than over – reacting to every up and down during the process. Knowing the deal – breakers and prioritizing these, invariably brings about the best results!

2. Unless a negotiator begins by earning the respect of the person across the table, by clearly demonstrated his integrity, as well as empathy, he limits his potential to maximize the communication process, and better discuss the needs, priorities, and alternatives. Demonstrating that one is discussing in good faith will create an atmosphere of working together towards a win – win philosophy. Focus on the priority of enriching both sides through the agreement, so that you can work together, rather than as adversaries.

3. Don’t get caught up in the easy traps of focusing on yesterday, but rather look more deeply at how you can best understand, know and communicate your needs and what you want and seek.

4. Great negotiating only occurs when it is approached in a professional and prepared manner. Therefore, create and develop a step – by – step system, so that you can achieve your desired results. Consider the contingencies, and have backup plans. Remain sincere throughout the process, and never come off as if you are begging, but rather realize that there is a need to demonstrate your proficiency on an ongoing basis by learning how to, and then proceeding to negotiate from strength.

The better the negotiations, the better the chance for meaningful success and achievement. Understanding nd using these KEYS is a good first step!