Tweet

Presentation Warriors: Sales & Marketing Executives Versus 12-Year-Olds

Guest post by: George Torok

Article Overview: Who delivers a better presentation and why? Recently I listened to a group of senior sales and marketing executives speak at a networking meeting. I also served as a judge at a speech contest for 12-year-olds. These two unrelated events prompted me to compare the presentation skills of each group.

Presentation Warriors: Sales & Marketing Executives Versus 12-Year-Olds

Who delivers a better presentation and why? Recently I listened to a group of senior sales and marketing executives speak at a networking meeting. I also served as a judge at a speech contest for 12-year-olds. These two unrelated events prompted me to compare the presentation skills of each group. 1. Guess who was more engaging, attention grabbing and memorable? 2. Guess who was boring, uninspiring and easily forgettable? The answer to question one is - the 12-year-olds. They were good. The answer to question two is - the sales & marketing executives. They needed improvement. Why did 12-year-olds deliver better presentations than senior sales and marketing executives? Competition The 12-year olds were competing in a speech contest. Many of their parents were there. Money and prestige were on the line, so they were well rehearsed. Focus Each presenter had a focused message. Their presentation was designed to deliver that message. Some were deep and serious while others were light and whimsical. In all cases the message was clear and easy to summarize. Relate The presenters spoke to the interests of the audience. The topics ranged from "the influence of the media", "tourism in third world countries", "the family van", "peculiarities of the English language", and "homework". Yet each speaker related the topic to the listener. Stories Each speaker told colorful stories. That sparked images in my mind. Many said things that were funny and made me laugh. Some statements challenged my opinion. I was impressed by the carefully selected words and phrasing. All were simple and understandable. Passion Each speaker conveyed passion for their message. Each radiated that they were happy to be speaking to us. Bold These speakers were bold. They stood before the audience, looked people in the eye, delivered their statements and performed. What did the Sales & Marketing Executives (SME) do poorly? Winging it The SME seemed to be winging it - even though they were competing for attention, memorability and jobs. These SME were between jobs but seemed reluctant to compete and rehearse. Yet, clearly a lot of money was on the line. If their family had attended, would they have prepared better? Vague There was no focus or purpose evident. It almost seemed that they first were reciting their resume and then what they had for breakfast. Okay, I'm exaggerating the breakfast part - but it seemed as boring as porridge. Pain Each speaker seemed to be caught in their own self-centered world. Most didn't relate to me or how they might fix my pain or that of my contacts. How could I help them if I didn't know what they were offering? Stating "who you worked for" tells me little. They needed to speak of pain and solutions. Blah Facts, history and blah, blah, blah. Some related recent experiences but none that were worth remembering. Many used filler, self-sabotaging and jargon words. I was bored, confused and unimpressed. Passion? I didn't feel it. The emotion that I felt was remorse. "Why am I here?" Timid You might think that Sales & Marketing Executives would be anything but humble. You might think that Sales & Marketing Executives would grasp the difference between benefits and features. I thought so too. All of the SME sat while speaking, crunched in their chairs some with an arm draped over the back of the chair. It was as if this was a family picnic instead of a possible career defining meeting. I found it curious that none of the men wore a tie. Did they want to be taken seriously? Or was this just a social club? Presentation Skills Contest Results What's the score? 12-year olds -1. Sales & Marketing Executives - 0. Some of you might think that I'm too hard on the Sales & Marketing Executives. That I'm expecting too much from them. Maybe - but I bet that I'm not the only one.

Related Articles
  C-Level Sales Training Tip 2 – The Prospect Seemed Interested, but the Sales Cycle Is Stalled
  You Can't Hire Great Sales People - So Stop Looking For Them
  C-Level Selling Tip 10 - Executives Are too Busy and/or Have No Reason to See You
  Jumpstart Your Presentation Skills Training At a Click of a Button
  Presentations - Easy as 1 - 2 - 3
  C-Level Relationship Selling – 3 Steps to Handle the “Too Busy” Selling Objection
  Isn’t it Time to Add Teleseminars to Your Marketing Mix?
  AoM Presentation: Studies on Developing Leadership / People Skills
  Professional Presentation Skills
  Presentation Skill
  Did we forget how to sell?
  The "Cold Call Presentations" Myth
  Nine Ways To Jazz Up Your Sales Presentations
  Questions Every CEO Should Be Asking His Sales Managers
  The 4 P’s of Presenting Persuasively
  Selling Strategies for the Scared
  Presentation And Writing Skills Training Yields Effective Business Communication Skills
  Business Speaker is a Thief
  A CEO No More
  Tips to Reduce the Headaches of Being An Entrepreneur

Article Tags: Business presentations, presentation coach, presentation skills, presentation tips, public speaking



Related Forum Posts
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
niche forum categories - I think Kevin just touched on the point that I was going make... and that is developing 'categories' that stick. Sales and Marketing may be too broad for example. However I can almost guarantee you that you would see many more sign-ups if you tailored a category to 'internet marketing' for newbies. I've seen this work on other forums, however, [i:1i903wkn]it can get a little frantic[/i:1i903wkn]... Fine tuning the categories, or expanding the scope should be effective. I think a lot of IM folks are surfing right on by because they're not finding what they're looking for here... Just a few thoughts: Better Blogging Developing Info Products Internet Marketing Presentation Skills More How to's Another point is... a lot of people don't know that they can benefit from participating in forums. The signature links to their site - if they have one - can / should be motivation enough to get more involved. The more internet savvy members that have signatures seem to stick around more... Don't you think?
Re: Essential Leadership skills - Vision Values Mission Strategic Thinking Decision Making Communication Team Bonding People Development Coaching / Mentoring / Guiding / Grooming Presentation Thanks Robert
Different Hats - CEO Sales & Marketing & Leadership Development Company Strategic Vision 10 Alliances & Growth Strategies 10 Hiring & Managing People 8 Mentoring 8-9 Strategic Planning for Clients 10 Execution of Marketing Campaigns 9-10 (i have great people who do the nitty gritty) Financial Management 9 Bookkeeping 3 (outsourced as I really hate the fine details like GST0 Administrative Follow Up 6-7 (again have great staff) Writing & Publishing 9 (getting better all the time!) Speaking 10 (so I have been told) Self Promotion 9-10 Web development & Promotion 6-7 (learning more and have brought on players who are 10+) Babysitting Employees (1 - wont do it, that's why I work so hard to hire and motivate the people I have) Great topic Kevin!! Jude


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Sales Courage and Resilience

Ready for a Fresh Image?

Leader's Success Secret: Celebration

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.