Presentation Tips From Shark Tank (1)

By tybennett | Published: May 23, 2013

Shark Tank logoMy favorite show on TV is Shark Tank. If you haven’t ever seen it – it is a reality TV show where hopeful entrepreneurs pitch their business/product ideas to millionaire and billionaire investors – inviting them to invest in their companies with their own money. These investors include Mark Cuban (Owner of the Dallas Mavericks), Daymond John (Creator of FUBU) and others.

I am an entrepreneur at heart. I love seeing innovative ideas and people who are creating something from scratch. I love the sacrifice and the passion. I love the negotiations and the valuation process of a pitch.

But the thing that I love the most about Shark Tank is what we can learn about giving presentations from the entrepreneur’s presentations.

When I was in High School I competed in an entrepreneurship competition against 10,000 other kids. In the competition we had to conceive of a business, write a business plan and then present it to judges who were acting as venture capitalists, trying to convince them to invest in our business. It was a high school, non-TV version of Shark Tank. Over the course of several months and many pitches to judges – I ended up taking second in the competition.

Then at age 21, I started a business in direct sales with my brother Scott. Over the last 10 years I have presented (pitched) our products and opportunity to tens of thousands of people and we have built a very successful business. (Our business does over $20 million in annual revenue)

So what is my point is sharing this background? I know what it feels like to be in the tank – to give the pitch. And now as the author of The Power of Storytelling, I work with sales professionals, speakers, executives and politicians to help them hone their presentation skills.

There are Seven Presentation Tips From Shark Tank. Over the next seven posts I am going to break them down one by one.

They are:
1. Personalize Your Presentation
2. People Buy You
3. Know Your Numbers
4. Samples Sell
5. Tell A Good Story
6. Be Decisive
7. Make The Complex Simple

The first take-away from Shark Tank is to personalize your presentation. The entrepreneurs who are most successful are the ones who go into the presentation having already done their homework. They have researched the sharks and know specific information that allows them to personalize the presentation to those receiving it. This may sound like a basic concept but it is a common mistake that most presenters make. They don’t do their research before and they don’t tailor their presentation to who is in front of them.

We live in a world of personalization. Think about it. Our world today is customized to individual needs/wants. When you go to Starbucks you can get your coffee anyway that you want it. (I’d like to have a Venti, sugar-free, non-fat, vanilla soy, double shot, decaf, no foam, extra hot, Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with light whip and extra syrup…Please.”)

Here are a few other things you can customize:
 Your shoes at www.converse.com
 Your car (mustang) at www.ford.com/cars/mustang/customizer
 Your clothing at http://www.customizedgirl.com
 Your computer http://www.shopping.hp.com

So do you think a canned presentation is going to move your prospect forward in a customized world?

I would suggest that you take a look at The Mackay 66. http://www.harveymackay.com/pdfs/mackay66.pdf
This is a questionnaire that was developed by my good friend Harvey Mackay. Harvey is the bestselling author of Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.. It is an incredibly thorough questionnaire that is designed for a sales person to learn all they can about the prospect before meeting with them. I don’t think you need to know everything on the Mackay 66 – but it wouldn’t hurt you if you did.

Once you do your research – you are in a position to personalize. When you personalize a presentation you change the wording, approach and examples so that it speaks to your audience. Many of the entrepreneurs on Shark Tank will tie their product or idea to the personal interests of the Sharks or they will reference past investments the Sharks have made and point out the similar opportunities. These little pieces of personalization go a long ways because they show that you did your research, that you want to connect and work with them, and that you aren’t just like everyone else.

Here are 7 Simple Ways You Can Personalize Your Presentation:
1. Change the title of your presentation to fit your audience
2. Use first names of audience members to draw them into the presentation
3. Add the audience name or logo onto your slides
4. Use an example or metaphor that the prospect will relate to
5. Use insider language that shows the audience you speak their language
6. Vividly describe the audience’s problem so they know you understand
7. Reveal the mutual enemy (put yourself as a partner in us vs the world)

Tip #1 from Shark Tank – Personalize Every Presentation.
-Remember, as a presenter – it is all about the audience.

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Needs, Fears and Victories

By tybennett | Published: May 12, 2013

Last Friday I had a chance to mastermind with a group of amazing speakers. I came away inspired and empowered with new ideas and strategies.

One of the philosophies that was shared by Chad Hymas is something that everyone who is in business should consider.

Chad asked the question – What Are The Needs, Fears & Victories of Your Clients?

Think about what you do and ask yourself these three questions:

1. Am I successfully meeting the needs of my clients?
2. Do I know what my clients fear and can I help them overcome it?
3. What victories have my clients had in the last year that we can build on?

It is in the needs, fears and victories of our clients that we find ways to add value. It is in the needs, fears and victories that we find ways to be relevant by providing unique solutions and results.

If you are not in high demand – then you are probably not addressing the needs, fears and victories.

Within the needs, fears and victories of your clients lie the secrets to your success.

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How To Tell A Story That Moves People

By tybennett | Published: April 29, 2013

(Book Excerpt From The Power of Storytelling – http://bit.ly/17T5ctj)

Great storytellers focus on the audience. They have done their homework, they know who they are speaking to, and they pay close attention to how the audience is responding, whether through their words, their laughter, or through their eyes and body language.

Only when you truly know your audience can you make your message about them. That is what creates influence, and the most important facet of making it about them is to tie your message into their primary motivations. If you find out what drives them, what their hot button is, and make your message align with that drive, you are golden.

Researchers have identified four primary categories that motivate people. I call them the four P’s: Pleasure, Prestige, Payoff, Productivity. As we examine them, it’s easy to see how each has universal appeal.

Pleasure – People naturally seek enjoyment. They want to be happy. They want their life to be fun. Is the benefit you’re presenting to them going to provide it? If so, people will be driven to buy your product, follow your strategy, or subscribe to your ideas.

Prestige – Status and power are tremendously appealing. Show people that they will be viewed as more credible, looked up to, seen as leaders, and they will respond readily to your message.

Payoff – This is the money motivator. When what you are presenting offers the potential to affect a person’s bottom line—it will make them rich!—you will definitely have their attention.

Productivity – When you show people how they can accomplish more in less time, with increased output, you not only open the door to a more attractive lifestyle but to myriad ways for them to increase their pleasure, prestige and payoff.

Take care to tailor your stories so they appeal to the four primary motivations and watch what happens. You will see your audience engage and respond at a whole new level.

(Book Excerpt From The Power of Storytelling – http://bit.ly/17T5ctj)

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How To Engage Your Audience/Prospect

By tybennett | Published: April 23, 2013

(Book Excerpt from The Power of Storytelling – http://bit.ly/17T5ctj)

As an influencer your purpose is to do one thing: engage the audience.
What do you think it means to engage?
According to Webster’s, to engage means to cause someone to be involved; to attract their attention; to engross them.

If you are teaching, leading, selling or speaking, your purpose is to engage your audience. Above all, you want to grab their attention and get them involved. Your prospect, client, customer, employee, team member, or student has to be engaged or they won’t buy your product, act on your idea or implement your plan. Without engagement, there is no influence.

In the spirit of engagement, I believe that we should move from giving sales presentations to having sales conversations. There’s a huge difference between the two. A sales presentation, by definition, is a monologue, while a sales conversation is a dialogue–it involves both parties and the emphasis is on the buyer, not the seller.

I know we have all done this before. We give a sales presentation (a monologue) and then at the end we ask, “Do you have any questions?”

There is nothing about that model that makes it about the audience; nothing that makes them part of the conversation. For an actual conversation to take place, there needs to be interaction, back-and-forth talking, and listening. Remember, a great storyteller is first a great story listener

I’m sure that many of you who speak, lead or teach don’t view yourself as being in sales. The truth is, however, we are all in sales. Whether it’s a product, a service, a vision, an idea, a strategy or ourselves that we are trying to promote, it is all sales. Embrace that principle, learn to sell effectively, and watch your influence grow exponentially.

Not long ago, I had a chance to attend a conference of The National Speakers Association. While I was there I met many other speakers and the typical conversation started by someone asking, “What do you speak about?”

I replied to one particular lady, “I speak on influence to sales and leadership organizations.”

She said, “So are you a sales speaker or a leadership speaker?”

And I said, “Both.”

She looked puzzled and responded, “You can’t be both.”

I laughed and said, “Then I guess I’m in trouble because I am.”

So how does this pertain to sales presentations versus sales conversations? I think that sales has changed. The old school approaches of push strategies, arm-twisting, and high pressure don’t work anymore–if they ever did.

Sales today is about influence. It’s about moving people.

Lisa Sasevich, a top sales trainer, said, “In today’s world, people are looking to be inspired. Encouraged. Taught. Heard. It’s no longer about simply selling. It’s about becoming a trusted advisor. You’re now learning to influence. And that, my friends, is where you begin to make the biggest impact and attract dedicated, highly committed, highly invested clients and contributors.”

I completely agree with Lisa.

They say that leadership is influence. But here is the insight–so is sales. And while we are on the topic, so is speaking, marketing, teaching, and coaching. If you are in the people business (which we all are) then you need to learn to influence people.
Push strategies don’t influence others, they turn people off and drive them away. They achieve the exact opposite of our purpose of engagement: grabbing their attention and getting them emotionally involved.

And that brings us back to stories.

The reason that stories are an influencer’s best friend is because they are the ultimate pull strategy–the polar opposite of push. A pull strategy is about attraction, and stories naturally draw people in, causing them to listen, learn, and respond. When you share the right story, in the right manner, your message will become magnetic and you will increase your influential pull.

(The Power of Storytelling – http://bit.ly/17T5ctj)

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The Touchdown Of A Lifetime

By tybennett | Published: April 7, 2013

In the world of college football – it is time for spring games.
It is a chance to show off their skills and give their fans a little show – but for those attending the Nebraska spring game – they got more than their money’s worth.

Jack Hoffman – a 7 year old brain cancer patient has been adopted by the football team. He has been their inspiration over the last two years and at their spring game – they decided to let him suit up.

Not only did he suit up in the scarlet and cream – he ran the ball for a 69 yard touchdown!
I love it when people think beyond themselves to do something significant – because that is when the magic happens.

Take a minute to watch this touchdown of a lifetime.

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Presentation Recovery: What To Do When You Forget Your Place

By tybennett | Published: April 2, 2013

We’ve all had the experience. You are presenting, going from your first point to your second and your mind goes blank. What do you do? How do you recover?

Here are five ways to recover and save your presentation.

1. Pause – remember a pause is a good thing (allows your audience to reflect on the information) and chances are the audience won’t know what is going on.
2. You can repeat the last line that you just said in order to gain momentum and find your train of thought.
3. You can laugh and ask the audience for help. – Keep in mind that the audience wants you to win and will be more than willing to help if you are genuine.
4. You can make light by saying something like, “I was thinking of a great point to share with you and I forgot where I was – were any of you paying attention – and if so can you tell me where I was?” ☺
5. You can refer your notes. Have a cheat sheet prepared with bullet points and you can say something like, “Let me quickly look at my notes because I want to make sure I covered everything on this point before we move on.” – then ask if there are any questions on that point.

No matter how good you are and how many times you have presented – there may be times that you lose your train of thought. Be prepared by having notes that you can refer to in an emergency and have a saver line or two ready for recovery.

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8 Tips That Will Make Your Presentations Great

By tybennett | Published: March 27, 2013

I spent one day and a half with eight executives from a national association helping them develop their presentation skills. We dissected every aspect of presenting from how you open to how you close. We worked on storytelling, creating engagement and adding humor. I had them speak in front of their peers and we filmed them, critiqued them and improved together.

Here are the Top 8 Tips (according to the executives) That Will Make Your Presentations Great.

1. Focus on the audience. Forget perfection in your presentation and aim for connection with your audience.
2. Develop your presentation and then your power point. Remember your power point is meant to support your message – it is not your presentation.
3. Turn you presentation into a conversation by adding “You” focused questions. (Questions that contain the word “You” making it about the audience)
4. Craft stories that are struggle to solution. Hook them with the struggle (emotionally) and help them with the solution.
5. Remember this rule: If it’s not necessary to say, it’s necessary not to say.
6. Anchor your points with metaphors and analogies – comparing the unknown to the known.
7. Add appropriate gestures and movement that enhance your message – making it more visual and memorable.
8. Rehearse; record yourself and videotape yourself. Practice makes perfect.

As you apply these tips you will make your presentations more engaging, more memorable, and more persuasive.

Knock em dead!

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Four Reasons Leaders Are Readers

By tybennett | Published: March 20, 2013

I was recently in the CEO’s office of a billion dollar company and on his desk were a stack of books. I asked him what he was reading and with excitement he grabbed a book and told me all about it.

Then on a plane ride home, I was seated next to the Vice President of an international business and we discussed the book she was reading and her favorites she had read recently. As we are talking she said a phrase that I have heard over the years – Leaders are readers.

I have also heard it said – Earners are learners.

Regardless of how you say it, I have found that a great habit of the highly successful is that they are always reading and growing. There are four main reasons that leaders are readers.

1. Leaders read for Enlightenment. Books can be an amazing source of wisdom, insight and ideas. To have at your fingertips the distilled intellect and experience of the world’s great leaders, inventors, businessmen and women – in the form of a book, is an amazing thing.

2. Leaders read for Enjoyment. Reading stimulates your mind and engages your imagination. It causes you to think, imagine, break-down and apply. I love to read biographies and auto-biographies of great people – they are educational and very enjoyable.

3. Leaders read for Enrichment. What if you could sit down one on one with the world’s brightest minds and have them mentor you – would you be interested? You can if you read their books. Over the last ten years I have read more than 1000 books and the growth and learning I have received has been immesureable.

4. Leaders read for Enablement. Reading helps you to learn new skills, gain new understanding, and change your mindset. I believe what Jim Rohn said, “Formal education will make you a living but self-education will make you a fortune.” Developing the habit of reading will allow you to continue to grow and develop – making you relevent and empowering you to succeed in life.

In your pursuit to become a stronger leader – don’t forget this basic habit – Leaders are Readers.

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Be Interested, Not Interesting

By tybennett | Published: March 11, 2013

If you have read my book The Power of Influence or heard me speak you have heard me share the idea that we should focus on being interested, not interesting. Influence comes from making it about them and when we are genuinely interested in someone else they will love us for it.

My friend John Milton Fogg (Author of The Greatest Networker in The World) told me a story the other day that illustrates this idea.

Years ago the Editor of Psychology Today was writing a book. As part of his research, he purchased a first class ticket from New York City to Los Angeles.

He knew he would sit next to someone on this six hour flight and his task was to only ask questions. He wouldn’t volunteer any information about himself, instead he would do his best to make the conversation all about them.

When they landed in LA, he had a research assistant interview the person he sat next to on the flight.

Two interesting things came out of the interview.

1. The person didn’t know the editors name, which meant that he did a good job of making it about them.
2. The person said he was the single most interesting man he had ever met in his life.

This editor, who divulged no information, left a lasting impression. He asked questions, listened and showed genuine interest.

If all of use would focus on being a little more interested and stop worrying about trying to come across as interesting – we would be amazed at the impression we would make.

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An Everyday Hero

By tybennett | Published: February 26, 2013

I love when I find examples of Leadership in everyday life. People who are willing to do what is right and make a real impact.

Here is an incredible example of an everyday hero. Please take a few minutes to watch.

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