Propose, Prepare, Present

Chapter 5. But How Do I Make Money?

If you’ve read this far and you’re in corporate marketing, you probably have one big objection: all of this is great and makes things interesting, but it doesn’t accomplish your business goals—generating leads, closing sales, and making prospects aware of your product.

Engaging Before, During, and After

Presenting is inherently a one-way, one-to-many medium, more like television or newspapers than personal interaction. You can make it personal, however. Turning a monologue into a dialogue is the first step in turning interest into a sale.

The first rule of selling from the stage is to leave them wanting more. The audience feels like part of a special group and gets privileged access; you seem less motivated by self-interest and more by a genuine desire to share. So find a way to tantalize and tease, then end by telling them how they can get what they’re after.

• If you’re putting your slides online, include extra ones that offer more detailed facts and figures, and mention this. Put in speakers’ notes that have extra information or recap your speech. This way, regardless of where the slides are posted, your message goes along with them.

• When you post the content, do so on a site that offers email updates or a mailing list for folks who are interested. It’s not generally a good idea to force people to register in order to download content—this kind of registration has poor conversion rates, and it feels like you’re breaking the promise you made from the ...