On Marketing

How do you manage the end of your presentation? This is what lots of people do:

• They drop the end if they run out of time
• They treat the end as a final exhausted/desperate hurdle
• They fade away with a weak comment and pleading smile
• They stop suddenly

You are going to do better: you are going to make your conclusion a triumphal exit! This is what will happen as a result:

1. The end becomes the part your audience remembers with satisfaction
2. It crowns a good presentation or rescues a weak one
3. It becomes the focal point, the punch line, the clincher, zinger that you look forward to

In fact, it becomes the goal around which you build the whole presentation, and intuitively you start aiming everything at it – it changes your whole approach!

Here are some ideas:

1. Choose a great ending slide and cue it into your second last sentence, e.g.
• a great photo/illustration (or return to your opening slide – which better have been good)
• a pithy statement or quote ppt slide
• a witty (and positive) cartoon
2. If you started with a question – answer it punchily
3. If you offer a solution – tell them to think how much time/trouble/expense they will save
4. If you offer an advantage – tell them to think what an impact it will have on their bs/sales
5. If you offer a choice – ask them (rhetorically) what it will be (recap with benefits)
6. If you’re reporting on something you’ve done – urge them on to the next step

Now – here’s what’s in it for you:
When people listen to a presentation, they remember the beginning and the end best. If they are going to make a fairly immediate decision, studies show that the most recent input is the most persuasive – so if you want to make sales, make a triumphal exit!

Tags: marketing //