TL;DR 3: Presenting

Presenting is not PowerPoint. A good presentation might use it, but it is never made of it.

I have always been a presenter: I started in the classroom as a secondary school chemistry teacher. No child wants PowerPoint decks; they seek enthusiasm, clarity of explanation and relevant stories to reinforce. A decade later, my audiences at Microsoft, Google and corporations around the world were no different.

PowerPoint tempts you to let one deck do three different jobs: notes (for you), visuals (for them) and takeaways (for them). But putting your notes on a slide is crazy: the audience reads ahead of you, faster than you can speak. The smart ones will ask, why are we all in this room or on this call? This could have been sent in an email or delivered by an AI!

Plus, PowerPoint doesn’t do energy. And it will not ask for the decision at the end.

Losing PowerPoint liberates you. I have never used PowerPoint in training or consulting. My audiences love that, and, importantly, it allows me to be me. PowerPoint, if not used with care, removes the soul of your presentation.

TL;DR 2 Negotiation.

Do not confuse selling and negotiating.

The former is winning the sale in principle; the latter is deciding on what terms.

There comes a point where you should be able to ask: ‘Are we there in principle?’ If they say yes, now you can start talking price and other details.

Do not give unless you get. ‘If you are looking for an extra 5%, we would be looking for a guarantee of next year’s business.’

Keep calculating your margins: imagine your cost is 50 and your usual price 100. Give 25% off, and the price becomes 75, but your margin has fallen from 50 to 25. You have given away 50% (not 25%) of your profit.

Give small. Decide your limit, then start well below it. Give slowly. Take weeks if necessary. Slow builds value. Give odd. Offer 3.75, not 5. An odd number looks calculated. A round one suggests a number plucked from the air. Go back to zero each new contract. Last year’s discount is not this year’s starting point.

Summarise and agree what you have settled before leaving the meeting or call. If you are in the same room, a shared whiteboard (which you later photograph) is superb.

It is one thing to win business; it is another to win that which is profitable.

TL;DR 1: Selling

Do not sell on price.

If price is the only difference the buyer can understand, they will push for a discount, and you lose margin, the lifeblood of your business.

Sell value. Convince the client that you offer unique, measurable value that they need, and they will be willing to buy from you at the price you offer.

And so, before you pitch, ask questions to discover what they value.

Uniqueness means showing something that only you or your firm can offer. Perhaps you are the only supplier who will keep stock on site for them. Measurable is quantitative rather than qualitative; do not just say ‘we have excellent service'; say that 98% of calls are answered at once and 95% of emails within the hour.

For over a decade, I ran a simple workshop: Brilliant at the Basics of Selling. The first morning was head-spinning for 90% of the audience as they realised their everyday practices (the template pitch, the aggressive discounting, the formulaic conversations) were hindering long-term profitable relationships.

Price is what they pay; value is why they pay it.