This is the 2nd Installment in a series on making BIG LEAGUE PITCHES, powerful, persuasive presentations, it is loosely based on Jerry Weissman's book "Presenting to Win" from which I put together a 10 Step Checklist for Presentations. I am explaining these 10 steps through the phases of a sales Model - KNOW YOUR PRODUCT, KNOW YOUR MARKET, PRESENT OPPORTINITIES, CLOSE SALES. Part 1 is available here.

In Part 1 we talked about KNOWING YOUR PRODUCT and looking at all the information you have to present to determine what ACTIONABLE Point you want to convey, and to distill out the most important clusters of information for getting your audience to this conclusion.

Now we will talk about KNOWING YOUR MARKET. Who are you presenting to, and more importantly, WHY DO THEY CARE? Jerry talks about building in WIIFYs - that's "What's In It For You" where YOU = The Audience. If you understand what the reward for the audience is, you're able to motivate them to stay focused on you and your presentation and persuade them to your conclusion. With each of the clusters of information you have selected as the main points of your presentation you should apply the following tests.

SIX “WHATS IN IT FOR YOU” (WIIFY) TRIGGERS
1. This is important to you because… (presenter fills in blank)
2. What does this mean to you? (presenter explains)
3. Why am I telling you this? (presenter explains)
4. Who cares? (This is why YOU should care)
5. So what? (Here’s the implications of these facts)
6. And…? (Here’s What’s in it For YOU)

DO NOT Assume the audience can put it together for themselves. They probably can, but that's work, and if they work they aren't focused on YOU, and they can't put it together as fast as you're talking. EXPLAIN in SIMPLE TERMS the Benefit to the audience as you present facts. "This software is very user friendly..." the WIIFY seems pretty obvious, but why not take it one step further. "You will find this software easy to use, eliminating frustration with the interface." In sales we talk about Features vs. Benefits, and this is the same concept, explain how the features translate into benefits for the audience.

Step3 is Testing your clusters with WIIFYs - combined with the first 2 steps: Determining your Point B and Distilling your information you have successfully solved MOST of the problems with MOST presentations...you have a clear point, you have clear audience benefit, it's not too detailed, and you can end in an appropriate amount of time. PHEW!

This is all done before you really even begin putting together your presentation. In fact the primary key to success with presentaitons is PLANNING, doing your work in advance...this checklist will help you to do that.

Next we'll talk about PRESENTING OPPORTUNITIES and the meat of your presentation, the Opening, the Body, and the Closing. Leave comments on some examples of advertising (clearly meant to be a persuasive presentation) that made the mistake of presenting FEATURES and not building in a WIIFY to make it a benefit...in radio I can't help but think of the example of the HD radio commercials that spent lots of time talking about different things HD radios could do, but they left it to the audience to translate that into a real benefit, and as such, HD radios have gone NOWHERE. What examples can you think of?

Although this blog is typically just about my quest for the Million Dollar iPhone App, I'm going to branch out and start discussing other Marketing, Sales, and New Media topics...




Too many times, people confuse selling, persuading, communicating, and negotiating. Professional Selling is a process, involving many, many steps and many, many skills.

Persuasion is a skill. You can cajole someone into a one time transaction, but you didn't sell them anything, you just tricked them. If you sell someone something they feel good about the transaction and look forward to buying from you again in the future. If you are overly persuasive, your customer will make a bad decision, and blame you for it. There are many points in the sales process where persuasion is helpful and even neccessary, however simply eliciting an emotional "buy" may work for candy in the grocery check-out lane, but isn't the basis of a professional transaction. Too much persuasion makes you slick, like a revivalist stealing from the offering plate or a used car salesman peddling lemons.

Communicating is also a skill. Good communication is often a part of persuasion, but you can communicate without being persuasive. Good communication is usually part of the sales process as you educate a client on the benefits of your product or service. However, the most valuable part of communication in the sales process is LISTENING. Understanding a clients needs makes a salesperson better able to address them. Meeting needs is the key to a successful sale. The fast talking salesman belongs with the overly persuasive huckster.




Negotiating should only take place after a sale has been made. Too many times sellers try to negotiate on price as a way of selling thier product. If you buy a product simply because it was a low price you still feel like you got ripped off , because you weren't SOLD on the fact that you needed it to begin with! You still feel tricked! Professional sellers know that price is not the only aspect of the deal that can be negotiated. Length of contract, perks, add-ons, billing arrangement, customer support plans etc. are all opportunities for negotiation.

Next time your selling something - even if it's trying to sell your friends on a particular restaurant for dinner, think about the process. Communicate first, listening to find out thier needs, be persuasive in explaining how your solution fits thier needs, then negotiate once you've reached an agreement in principle. You'll win more often and wind up with happier customers in the process!