13-0827 Tell your story sell your story webinar_

2013 Cleantech Open | 1

Tell Your Story, Sell Your Story Presenting Your Business with Impact Maia Nilsson & Hollie Rogin Posit Partners 8/27/13


Agenda

• Introductions and objectives • Communication vs. content • What makes a strong story • Three rules to remember • Examples and tips • How PowerPoint differs from print • What makes a great slide presentation • Applying the three rules to your slides • Q & A



Who We Are

• Hollie Rogin and Maia Nilsson

• Posit Partners: positioning strategy and messaging

• Backgrounds in business-to-business technology marketing (IBM, SAP, Cisco, CDW, Covidien, Agilent Technologies)

• Cleantech clients include Silver Spring Networks, PARC, Advanced Energy Industries, Firefly Power, Next Hydrogen and Colorado Cleantech



Your Job

Use your 10 minutes to get:

• Interest from the judges

• Opportunity to answer questions

• Feedback to improve next time



You Know the Content

• Product/Market Fit

• Technology/Product Validation

• Business Model

• Market(s) and Getting to them

• Finances and Funding

• Legal

• Management Team

• Sustainability



Know Your Audience


CONTENT

+ CONNECTION (with your audience)

= COMMUNICATION


Know Your Audience



Why We’re Here

This session is not about: Public speaking or podium skills Graphic design PowerPoint wizardry



Why We’re Here

This session is not about: Public speaking or podium skills Graphic design PowerPoint wizardry

This session is about: What you present How you present it Why it matters



Communication vs. Content

• Three hallmarks of an effective presentation:

1. Effectively establishes a competitive position – how you situate your business in the reader’s mind

2. Effectively communicate your key messages – the point(s) you want people to walk away with

3. Effectively convey a distinctive point of view – what you choose to emphasize, how and why

• Bottom line: pitching your business is storytelling.

• A positive response has as much to do with the way you present your business as it does with the business itself.

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The Elements of a Strong Business Story

WHERE you stand in the marketplace relative to competitors

“For upscale American families, Volvo is the family automobile that offers maximum safety.”

POSITION (context,

intention)

1




WHAT you say about your company and your offering(s)

“Preventive Safety” … “Protective Safety” … “Child Safety” … “Security”

POSITION (context,

intention)

MESSAGES (content,

inflection)

2




POSITION (context,

intention)

3

MESSAGES (content,

inflection)

HOW you say it — and from what perspective

“There’s more to life than a Volvo. That’s why you drive one.”

POV (point

of view)



From the Horse’s Mouth

“Challenge yourself to deliver an 'easy-to-understand' story. Could I, your listener, replay to another person the very basics of your venture and how your target customers will benefit from using your product?” “Infuse passion throughout your delivery. Engage me with your story.” “Focus on the benefits to customers of acquiring/using your product. Does it simplify? Make money? Save money? Open new markets?” “Differentiate your business in some way from the competition - market channel, service, technical features, etc.” “Don't give me unclear, irrelevant, or unnecessary information. It is extremely important to your success that you winnow the full amount of information into the particular subset that is required for this presentation.” “Don't try to impress me with a lot of jargon.”

—Angel Investors




“Challenge yourself to deliver an 'easy-to-understand' story. Could I, your listener, replay to another person the very basics of your venture and how your target customers will benefit from using your product?”

“Infuse passion throughout your delivery. Engage me with your story.” “Focus on the benefits to customers of acquiring/using your product. Does it simplify? Make money? Save money? Open new markets?” “Differentiate your business in some way from the competition - market channel, service, technical features, etc.” “Don't give me unclear, irrelevant, or unnecessary information. It is extremely important to your success that you winnow the full amount of information into the particular subset that is required for this presentation.” “Don't try to impress me with a lot of jargon.”

—Angel Investors




“Challenge yourself to deliver an 'easy-to-understand' story. Could I, your listener, replay to another person the very basics of your venture and how your target customers will benefit from using your product?” “Infuse passion throughout your delivery. Engage me with your story.”

“Focus on the benefits to customers of acquiring/using your product. Does it simplify? Make money? Save money? Open new markets?” “Differentiate your business in some way from the competition - market channel, service, technical features, etc.” “Don't give me unclear, irrelevant, or unnecessary information. It is extremely important to your success that you winnow the full amount of information into the particular subset that is required for this presentation.” “Don't try to impress me with a lot of jargon.”

—Angel Investors




“Challenge yourself to deliver an 'easy-to-understand' story. Could I, your listener, replay to another person the very basics of your venture and how your target customers will benefit from using your product?” “Infuse passion throughout your delivery. Engage me with your story.” “Focus on the benefits to customers of acquiring/using your product. Does it simplify? Make money? Save money? Open new markets?”

“Differentiate your business in some way from the competition - market channel, service, technical features, etc.” “Don't give me unclear, irrelevant, or unnecessary information. It is extremely important to your success that you winnow the full amount of information into the particular subset that is required for this presentation.” “Don't try to impress me with a lot of jargon.”

—Angel Investors




“Challenge yourself to deliver an 'easy-to-understand' story. Could I, your listener, replay to another person the very basics of your venture and how your target customers will benefit from using your product?” “Infuse passion throughout your delivery. Engage me with your story.” “Focus on the benefits to customers of acquiring/using your product. Does it simplify? Make money? Save money? Open new markets?” “Differentiate your business in some way from the competition - market channel, service, technical features, etc.”

“Don't give me unclear, irrelevant, or unnecessary information. It is extremely important to your success that you winnow the full amount of information into the particular subset that is required for this presentation.” “Don't try to impress me with a lot of jargon.”

—Angel Investors




“Challenge yourself to deliver an 'easy-to-understand' story. Could I, your listener, replay to another person the very basics of your venture and how your target customers will benefit from using your product?” “Infuse passion throughout your delivery. Engage me with your story.” “Focus on the benefits to customers of acquiring/using your product. Does it simplify? Make money? Save money? Open new markets?” “Differentiate your business in some way from the competition - market channel, service, technical features, etc.” “Don't give me unclear, irrelevant, or unnecessary information. It is extremely important to your success that you winnow the full amount of information into the particular subset that is required for this presentation.”

“Don't try to impress me with a lot of jargon.” —Angel Investors



What You Say: Three Rules About Using Words



Rule #1 You’re selling a business, not a technology.



You’re selling a business, not a technology. What We Mean by This

• Don’t get so caught up in the technical innovation that you fail to make the business case.

• Focus on building confidence in the viability of your business plan in addition to the feasibility of your technology.

• Always establish context — using reference points valued by investors, as well as technologists.



You’re selling a business, not a technology. DON’T

“Reverse osmosis (RO) involves the reversal of flow through a membrane from a high salinity, or concentrated, solution to the high purity, or ‘permeate,’ stream on the opposite side of the membrane. Pressure is used as the driving force for the separation. The applied pressure (P) must be in excess of the osmotic pressure of the dissolved contaminants to allow flow across the membrane. “Our technologies use spiral-wound membranes to desalt and demineral-ize process water. The membrane's operating conditions are fine-tuned to balance the flux with the specific rejection rates of contaminants to achieve up to 99.8% salt rejection at low pressures and high flux rates.”



You’re selling a business, not a technology. DO

“Reverse osmosis separation technology is used to remove impurities from water through the use of a semi-permeable membrane. It is effective in the removal of dissolved solids, bacteria, pyrogens and organic contaminants. “Our technology is used by municipalities and industrial facilities to ensure a consistently pure drinking water supply and to transform drinking water to high purity water for industrial use in the production of microelectronics, food and beverage, power, and pharmaceuticals.”



You’re selling a business, not a technology. The Cheat Sheet

Would someone without a Ph.D. understand it?

Would someone without an MBA understand it?

Have you used colorful language? What color? • Go through your talking points and circle every feature of your company’s

core offering in purple. • Now go through the same text and circle every business benefit you

mention in green.

Are you talking “how” or “why”? • Have you explained how your technical advantage (how your innovation

works) translates into business value (why it’s worth investing in)? • Is it credible?



Rule #2 Net it down. Net. It. Down.



Net it down. Net. It. Down. What We Mean by This

• Use as few words as possible to say exactly what you mean.

• Define your main points, and make them clearly and concisely. Remember: no one remembers everything.

• Stick to the facts; judges will form their own opinions.



Net it down. Net. It. Down. DON’T

“Company X’s charging stations provide unique benefits when compared to non-networked charging stations. Those benefits include: • A charging infrastructure open to all drivers without requiring subscriptions • A revenue stream to pay for electricity, capital equipment and maintenance • Ability for drivers to find unoccupied charging stations via web-enabled cell

phones • Notification by SMS text or email when charging is complete • Authenticated access to eliminate energy theft • Authorized energizing for safety • Remote monitoring and diagnostics for superior quality of service • Smart Grid integration for utility load management with future V2G

capabilities • Green House Gas savings calculation per driver and per fleet • Fleet vehicle management”



Net it down. Net. It. Down. DO

“Company X’s charging stations provide many advantages over non-networked charging stations, including:

Convenience for drivers, thanks to an existing infrastructure that lets drivers use their cell phones to find unoccupied charging stations and find out when charging is complete—all without requiring a subscription;

Easy operation for station managers thanks to remote monitoring and diagnostics, smart grid integration and greenhouse gas calculators and fleet vehicle management capabilities; and

Low cost of ownership, given a revenue stream that pays for electricity, capital equipment and maintenance.”



Net it down. Net. It. Down. The Cheat Sheet

What’s the big takeaway? • Ask five people to read through your deck and tell you in a single sentence

what your greatest strength is as a business. • If you get five answers, you’re in trouble.

Are your ideas snugly nested? • Are your thoughts organized in a coherent hierarchy? • Are main points clearly supported by secondary information?

Could you cut your word count by 10%? 20%? 50%? • If so, do.



Rule #3 Tell them a story.



Tell them a story. What We Mean by This

• Open with a “grabber” – a statement or scenario that is provocative, surprising or both.

• Keep it moving; don’t belabor your point. Keep the energy up and the momentum going.

• Remember: It’s a story, but it’s still nonfiction. Make sure your story can stand up to scrutiny.

• Leave them with a memorable touchstone. The goal is to introduce the audience to an idea that sticks in their minds long after you’re done talking.



Tell them a story. DON’T

“Quantitatively, spending on security-related systems and services to which the Company's products will be applied exceeded $22 billion in 2007. This spending was entirely on legacy systems, which did not offer the new solution elements being introduced by Company X. It is the Company's belief, that as considerable as the market for legacy, security-only systems is, an entirely new, even larger, supply-side driven set of market metrics will come to bear when Company X’s emergency response solutions are introduced into the marketplace. The Company's products and technologies will allow it to expand the market with its new paradigm of true emergency response technologies. The Company measures the markets for its vertically integrated markets to be in excess of $1.5 billion per year annually. The Company estimates…”



Tell them a story. DO

“A hiker heads back to the trailhead after a five-mile trek on a remote path ten miles from her suburban home. As the sun begins to set, she sees a man she doesn’t recognize sitting on the trunk of her car. She pushes a button on the cell phone in her pocket. A signal is sent to the closest cell tower and to a GPS satellite, activating the local authorities’ emergency response protocols. Within minutes, squad cars and an EMT unit are closing in on her location, which they can track live thanks to her System X mobile security subscription.”



Tell them a story. The Cheat Sheet

Does your introduction have stopping power? • Circle every statement in your talking points that could start a water

cooler discussion. If there are more than two or three, rethink your approach. If there are none, rethink your approach.

Can we connect the dots? • Could we scan the slides in your deck chronologically and get the gist of

your story? • Would we want to? I.e., are they interesting?

Are you conveying facts or opinions? • Go through your pitch with a red pen. Circle every statement that

expresses an opinion. • Either delete the sentence, or revise it to state a fact.



It’s As Difficult As…

Sell the business, not the technology.

Net it down.

Tell a story.

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Your Presentation = Words + Pictures (And that probably means PowerPoint)



PowerPoint doesn’t kill presentations. People do.



How PowerPoint Differs From Print

REAL ESTATE There is limited space in which to

convey ideas and information




FONT SIZE Text must be visible

from a distance






TIME People have about a

minute to absorb what’s on screen

FONT SIZE Text must be visible

from a distance





What Annoys People About PowerPoint

Speakers who just recite the text on the slide




Text too small to read from the back of a room




Long sentences rather than bullet points (i.e., people who feel compelled to type out their thoughts in granular detail (in complete sentences, punctuated perfectly) when a short phrase would actually be easier to absorb and comprehend while the presenter is speaking)




Text superimposed over imagery




Slides that are hard to see due to color choice




Overly complex diagrams or charts

(“I know you can’t read this, but…”)



What Makes a Great Slide Presentation

It’s “show and tell,” not “write and read”



Before

151 words



After

A picture




Conveys lots of information in a short time


http://www.gizmag.com/go/6840/picture/31247/



Makes concepts, trends and patterns visual, so they’re more memorable

Infrastructure Spending by State and Sector



What You Show: Three Rules About Using Pictures



Rule #1 You’re selling a business, not a technology.

How graphics vs. why graphics

Deciding what kind of data to show

Making your case—not someone else’s



You’re selling a business, not a technology. How Graphics

This diagram shows us how energy is lost as power goes from

generation to consumption.



You’re selling a business, not a technology. How Graphics vs. Why Graphics

This graphic shows why energy

efficiency matters.



You’re selling a business, not a technology. Deciding What Kind of Data to Show

This table shows the growth in the

number of solar towers over the

course of 30 years.



You’re selling a business, not a technology. Deciding What Kind of Data to Show

This line graph uses the same data to

show us the financial implications of this

trend.



You’re selling a business, not a technology. Making Your Case — Not Someone Else’s

This slide makes the case for an industry

category. Solar Hot Water: 20 Panels



You’re selling a business, not a technology. Making Your Case — Not Someone Else’s

This slide makes the case for the presenter’s

particular business.

Aquasola™ Solution: 20 Panels



Rule #2 Net it down. Net. It. Down.

Too many key messages = no key messages

Visual hierarchy and organization

Saying more with less



Net it down. Net. It. Down. Too Many Messages = No Message

Follow the 7/7 rule, or you’ll wind up

with too much text on a slide.



Net it down. Net. It. Down. Too Many Messages = No Message

Here’s a slide about being succinct. It is

succinct.

Identify your core message 1

Structure your presentation 2

Use fewer, shorter bullets 3

Use simple, relevant visuals 4

Successful slides are succinct.



Net it down. Net. It. Down. Visual Hierarchy and Organization

This graphic does not tell us what is

most important. There is no Big Idea because there are 3

big ideas, 2 medium-sized ideas and 2

smallish ideas.



Net it down. Net. It. Down. Visual Hierarchy and Organization

This graphic makes it very clear what the

big idea is, and how the other points

support that idea.



Net it down. Net. It. Down. Saying More With Less

Two graphs, lots of data.

Total World Energy Consumption by Source

(2010)



Net it down. Net. It. Down. Saying More With Less

Same data, one graph. Total World Energy Consumption by Source

(2010)



Rule #3 Tell them a story.

Identifying the star of the drama (Hint: It’s not you.)

Signaling a turning point

From vision to conclusion



Tell them a story. Identifying the Star of the Drama

This slide talks about an impending

humanitarian crisis.



Tell them a story. Identifying the Star of the Drama

Same information, different impact.



Tell them a story. Signaling a Turning Point

If the problem looks like this,…

97% = landfill



Tell them a story. Signaling a Turning Point

…then the solution looks like this.

90 days biodegrades completely in



Tell them a story. From Vision…

Recap the big picture to remind them of

your credibility…


2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017


Tell them a story. From Vision to Conclusion

…and to provide both confidence

and context. Close strong.


2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

$2M will enable us to scale production in 2016 and double margins in 2.5 years.


It’s As Difficult As…

Sell the business, not the technology.

Net it down.

Tell a story.

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2

3



Q & A Anybody?



Resources

• Tips the Space Telescope Science Institute’s put together to help scientists prepare PowerPoint presentations for colloquia and webcasts: www.stsci.edu/ts/webcasting/ppt/PowerPointCalibration2.ppt

• Slide:ology: The Art & Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte: http://www.amazon.com/slide-ology-Science-Creating-Presentations/dp/0596522347/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252471858&sr=8-1

• Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas for Presentation Design & Delivery by Garr Reynolds: http://www.amazon.com/Presentation-Zen-Simple-Design-Delivery/dp/0321525655/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252471934&sr=1-1


http://www.stsci.edu/ts/webcasting/ppt/PowerPointCalibration2.ppt

http://www.amazon.com/slide-ology-Science-Creating-Presentations/dp/0596522347/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252471858&sr=8-1












http://www.amazon.com/Presentation-Zen-Simple-Design-Delivery/dp/0321525655/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252471934&sr=1-1













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13-0827 Tell your story sell your story webinar_

Technology

Transcript of 13-0827 Tell your story sell your story webinar_