The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 45: Oct/Nov 2019 | Page 30

BUSINESS ADVICE Delivering a pitch or presentation? Remember to add the sizzle to your steak! If you’re preparing for a presentation or pitch, or are about to do some public speaking, then here is some advice from expert Chris Dawes, of Swindon-based Open Dawes Training: don’t forget to add the sizzle to your steak. We know that when we make a purchase we are driven by emotion and we justify that purchase by logic. Just relying on logic and fact can leave the potential customers thinking “Hmm, OK I get what it does but it doesn’t inspire me.” By the same token, appealing only to the emotion can leave the potential customer thinking “Wow, I’d like that... but hang on, do I need it?” The same applies to any presentation, pitch or speaking opportunity. To get a message across successfully, you need to use a combination of logic and emotion - what we like to call having the steak with the sizzle. The ‘steak’ is the logic or facts; the ‘sizzle’ is the wow factor. SELLING YOUR MESSAGE Whether you are working in a corporate or SME, public or private sector, you are selling all the time. We’re not talking here just about selling to prospects or customers. We’re talking about ‘selling’ your message; this may indeed be to clients, but equally, this could be to colleagues, your manager, your employees or across departments. Whenever you are ‘selling’ you need to appeal both to the logic and the emotion of your audience – the sizzle with the steak. HOW TO BALANCE YOUR STEAK AND SIZZLE By using our method of ‘tell – show – tell’ you can perfectly balance your facts and your emotional appeal. Break your information into small sections, and apply ‘tell – show – tell’ to each section: tell your audience what you are about to show them, to give them context; show them; then remind them why it is important/relevant. The ‘show’ is the steak the ‘tell’ before and after is the sizzle. In this way, you combine emotion with logic, and avoid what we call ‘feature dumping’. If you are not delivering a formal presentation, but are in a conversation or meeting, then listen all the time – remember, we’ve got two ears and one mouth, so we should use them in that order. Pay attention to the person you’re ‘selling’ to and adapt your tone and words to suit their needs; listen to what they want, make mental and physical notes, and then you can talk about a solution to their problem or requirements. By taking on board what they need, you can manage to sell the steak and the sizzle. I love it when I am sold to effectively; when someone has really listened to what I want or need and come up with a solution that solves a problem for me, and appeals to both the logic and the emotion of the purchase. Remember, a joke isn’t funny without the punchline and the punchline alone doesn’t make a joke. You need both – the steak and the sizzle. Chris has more advice on presentation and public speaking on his website and in his popular Facebook Live posts, at: www.opendawestraining.co.uk/blog/ audience-interaction-facebook-live/. Open Dawes Training runs CPD accredited public speaking and presentation training on a one-to-one or group basis, either inhouse or at the Swindon training centre. To contact Chris call 01793 238259 or email: [email protected] SEEING A CLIENT’S HARD WORK STARTING TO PAY OFF IS THE GREATEST MOTIVATION By Paul Holmes, PCH Business Support The summer has, for me and I suspect for many others, been a chance to take stock, update our websites and make preparations for the rest of the business year then BAM! Before you know it, the autumn is coming and, for me, new and existing clients are already clamouring for attention! Earlier this year, PCH Business Support launched scalable monthly support packages for smaller and medium sized businesses to help them thrive and grow. The impact has been amazing and I’m steadily working with new clients, after an initial free one to one session. This provides an opportunity to show how a business consultant can achieve significant results, even in that first session by actually starting to evaluate, make suggestions, challenge and generate a to-do list. Recent clients have said, “Paul was extremely articulate and after some probing questions had a good grasp of our business and the challenges we are facing. I was amazed that after such a short amount of time he was able to offer valuable strategy insights and recommendations.” 30 www.tbeswindonandwilts.co.uk The six-month programme begins with a detailed review, exploring the business model, services, products and finding out what makes the business tick. In every case there are challenges to be overcome, growth to be planned or help needed to implement change. This is already transforming established businesses, saving hundreds of thousands of pounds, as well as enabling new businesses to launch and flourish. The review generates a series of actions, through prioritisation, this creates a development plan and with month by month accountability and implementation, real progress begins to be made. It has been an amazing feeling to see clients start to get the recognition they deserve, to launch new products and services, to not be afraid to charge fair prices and get the messaging right to find new clients and grow their businesses. To find out more about my monthly support packages and other services visit: www.pchbusinesssupport.co.uk email: [email protected] or call: 07715008521 If your business needs help to ensure success from an early stage or if your business just feels like you are constantly firefighting, then a free one- to-one session might be the way to start taking control. “The six month programme begins with a detailed review, exploring the business model, services, products and finding out what makes the business tick. This is already transforming established businesses, saving hundreds of thousands of pounds, as well as enabling new businesses to launch and flourish”