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Tools for presentations

by Alessandro Brunelli
11 replies
Hi!

When you are in front of a customer, face-to-face, do you use a laptop or maybe an iPad for a presentation? How do you show what you do?

Thanks! Just starting out in offline marketing....
#presentations #tools
  • Profile picture of the author Web Junkie
    Originally Posted by Alessandro Brunelli View Post

    Hi!

    When you are in front of a customer, face-to-face, do you use a laptop or maybe an iPad for a presentation? How do you show what you do?

    Thanks! Just starting out in offline marketing....
    I always bring my laptop with me. If you're building mobile stuff, you'll need a smart phone too.
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    • Profile picture of the author Vanessa Reece
      It depends what stage we're at. If it's the first meeting - no I bring nothing but my ears and a notepad. I rarely use the notepad (only because I'm good at remembering points - well in geek cases )

      But seriously I really don't like to play the show and tell with brand new prospects. I prefer to sit there and listen. Offer observations. It's not until I actually get home and then arrange a second appointment that I would think about bringing my notebook.

      What's interesting is that I find also that when prospects bring laptops to meetings with me they never use them either.

      It makes relationship building a lot more fluid.

      V
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      • Profile picture of the author Doug Terry
        Originally Posted by ITS-V View Post

        It depends what stage we're at. If it's the first meeting - no I bring nothing but my ears and a notepad. I rarely use the notepad (only because I'm good at remembering points - well in geek cases )

        But seriously I really don't like to play the show and tell with brand new prospects. I prefer to sit there and listen. Offer observations. It's not until I actually get home and then arrange a second appointment that I would think about bringing my notebook.

        What's interesting is that I find also that when prospects bring laptops to meetings with me they never use them either.

        It makes relationship building a lot more fluid.

        V
        Agreed 100%, I take a printout (because my memory is shot) of my research on their business / website or GP result etc and from there I ask questions to draw them out on what it is that is important to them, what they have experienced in the past, where they want to go with the online part of their business.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alessandro Brunelli
        Originally Posted by ITS-V View Post

        It depends what stage we're at. If it's the first meeting - no I bring nothing but my ears and a notepad. I rarely use the notepad (only because I'm good at remembering points - well in geek cases )

        But seriously I really don't like to play the show and tell with brand new prospects. I prefer to sit there and listen. Offer observations. It's not until I actually get home and then arrange a second appointment that I would think about bringing my notebook.

        What's interesting is that I find also that when prospects bring laptops to meetings with me they never use them either.

        It makes relationship building a lot more fluid.

        V
        It makes a lot of sense. I am not quite sure how to get to that first meeting, though. Calling and especially emailing is seen quite bad over here and there are very strict rules withing the European Community on what you can do. For some countries you can't even keep a list of prospects without notifying it to a control office because it would break the privacy law.
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        • Profile picture of the author cuttingedge
          Most first meetings are going to be a fact finding meeting. So the first question to find out is what is their target or goal. This could be anything from more sales and customers to a better way to communicate with clients and employees.

          After you find out the facts, get the appointment for a second meeting. This will help in the like, trust, and doing business with phase as you asked what they are trying to accomplish first before giving them solutions.

          You can even do your presentation with a folder with the information you want to present as the solution. Most businesses will never ask you why it wasn't presented with a laptop, all they want is a solution to their challenge a "whats in it for them.
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          • Profile picture of the author Web Junkie
            I agree that the first meeting should be about fact finding. But to be honest man...I prefer to close people on the first meeting. Planning to go back..making multiple follow ups...constantly tracking them down...that's just too much work for me..

            I say:
            • Presell them before the initial face-to-face meeting
            • Know your market so that you already have an idea of goals (bottom line, most small business owners care much more about more sales than "better ways to communicate with clients/employees". Unless you're marketing for big companies or doing PR work, show them how they can make more money).
            • Ask for the ink right away...get the contract signed & get paid
            • If you don't close them on the first contact..THEN..follow up.
            BUT - ALWAYS expect to close on the first point of contact. That's something I learned years ago as a real estate investor. You'll close many more deals that way.

            Originally Posted by cuttingedge View Post

            Most first meetings are going to be a fact finding meeting. So the first question to find out is what is their target or goal. This could be anything from more sales and customers to a better way to communicate with clients and employees.

            After you find out the facts, get the appointment for a second meeting. This will help in the like, trust, and doing business with phase as you asked what they are trying to accomplish first before giving them solutions.

            You can even do your presentation with a folder with the information you want to present as the solution. Most businesses will never ask you why it wasn't presented with a laptop, all they want is a solution to their challenge a "whats in it for them.
            Signature

            1. How I Generated Over $75,000 and 246 New Patients For One Of My Offline Clients
            2. Here's Exactly How I Got One Of My Offline Clients On TV Using Only $17
            3. Using Money Saver To Get Offline Clients

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  • Profile picture of the author Doug Terry
    Also, i listen for signals to determine my pricing and if i want to work with the client. For example, the client says; I had a company doing SEO and they charged me $150 a month which i thought was a lot for what they did. Straight away alarm bells should start ringing, I would not proceed until i found out what it was that they were supposed to do for that amount and what his problem is. Maybe you don't need this client if they are a cheap skate.

    i try to work by the rule that i have 2 ears and 1 mouth and i should use them in that proportion. ie listen twice as much as i talk when in a meeting.

    Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author Dexx
    I treat first meetings like a first date.

    Listen for their goals and watch for red flags.

    Best case scenario is our two businesses are compatible partners to work together, worst case scenario--I save myself a lot of future problems and walk away.

    Keep in the mind your first meeting shouldn't be to "pitch" or sell anything, it should be to determine what THEY already want to buy...and then return with a solution that they've already shown interest in.

    ~Dexx
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan B Rusu
    Some tips on what to bring with you:

    -MANY FACTS. For whatever you're selling. If you're selling SEO, bring them numbers for searches for their keywords. If selling a mobile site, bring numbers showing increase in mobile internet usage (this is a great resource for mobile facts - Mobile By The Numbers [INFOGRAPHIC])
    - YOUR PERSONALITY - It's your personality, not the pitch that sells. Come in excited about what you can do for them and they'll go with you.

    I usually bring a laptop and notepad to take notes on. Smartphone for mobile site. A great resource if you dont have a smartphone and want to sell mobile - google IBBDemo 2
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  • Profile picture of the author RCwriter
    I've done presentations with or without the computer. Lately, I have come to understand that whatever method used that creates value for the prospect is what I want to use. After the rapport building that has to take place first, and after some sort of needs assessment, delivering value is what I mean to do. That can be with our without a computer. Hope that makes sense.
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  • Profile picture of the author beamup
    When you do the presentation with a iPad, then they you know you really are a tech fan. However, laptops can go well too. Marketing has always been a big challenge for me. Whenever you go meet them, I think it is better to meet them after lunch hour or maybe early in the first hours of business. When I did few presentation for the first time, I added music which was a mistake. You can do simple slideshow + few videos to make it better.
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    Glad to be back again!

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