Time is Precious Make an Impact Immediately

As a marketing director at a multinational food company I have agencies and suppliers pitching ideas to me all the time, most of the time I don’t listen until they tell me what benefit it is to the company and what the cost will be and what the risk is. They go through long-winded sales pitches before they get to what I actually want to know.

We all like to make a case for our conclusion. Building up to a crescendo, and this is the same format for every splendid story ever told. Describe the background, the lay of the land, and the characters. We learn about the characters as they build into the story, and they themselves build the story. They play different roles.

It can tempt us to do the same in life when discussing something or when presenting in a business scenario.

But business life is different, things happen fast and the pace of progress and technology is just getting faster all the time.

The information overload we have at our fingertips clearly defines our age as the information age. Having a lot of information but little time to understand or digest it.

We run around thinking we know everything, when what we have is a very top level surface knowledge or a headline of a much deeper pool of knowledge.

But we decide on the go, and take little time to think in depth about many of the decisions we make.

People no longer have the time or patience for the building of an argument, from the thinking behind the conclusion, to the paths of thinking that lead you to that conclusion. Unless, of course, you have some first in the world technology like the latest Apple smart device or something, then you can take all the time in the world telling your story.

Most of us will not be that lucky in a business context. Our captive audience will be fleeting, so we need to apprehend their attention while we have it.

I am proposing what I learnt at a time poor multinational company that I used to work for.

Why not immediately state the conclusion in any presentation or discussion? Rather than the big reveal, or the reasoned thinking that got you to the point of the big reveal. Why not start with the big reveal?

For instance, if you are presenting to a client and you know what they really want to know, is how much money the opportunity that you are presenting will make them. Their attention will not be on your amazing build up story or sales pitch. They will want to know when they can start earning and what they need to do to make the opportunity a reality. Second, they will want to know the cost, if it will cost them anything, and third, what the risk is.

We have heard the saying ‘start with the end in mind’ I am proposing ‘start with the end if you don’t mind’. People are time poor. Sell them on your idea within the first few seconds. This is road sign stuff. Think of everything that is competing for their attention.

A presentation like this would start with the statement. “I am going to show you how we can both make XXX Dollars, and this is the idea…..”…. You get straight to the point, no buildup to the idea, rather let the discussion go where it needs to go after you highlight the opportunity and what’s in it for them right up front. Using this method should secure you more quality time with your potential client. It will intrigue them. Anything that opens with what’s in it for them usually gains their attention. This happens online everyday millions of times around the world.

After you tell them what they can gain from the opportunity. They will want to know what your thinking was, to get you to that point, because it may sound too good to be true. And you may even use that as tool too. Perhaps you can start with something that sounds too good to be true to gain their attention, and then wind it back a little, once you have them interested. This is a little dishonest, so I don’t recommend it, but it may help if you have to do a ‘hard sell.’ Or when trying to convince a difficult client.

There is a difference depending on what kind of discussion or presentation you are engaged in. If the news is good or you are presenting an opportunity or something that is potentially positive, then this tactic can work, however you shouldn’t use this tactic in every circumstance.

For instance, if you have bad news to deliver, then it is best to do a slow revelation. Slowly sketch the news in stages so that acceptance can occur over time rather than all at once. Drip feeding bad news is far better than blurting it out in a single flood of information.

Bad news comes with emotional shock, so just diving in and jolting someone into a new reality with bad news is not a good idea and can be very heartless, and career limiting in a business context.

Bad news requires more time, and with bad news, the reception thereof will be a lot more intense, so there will be no need to gain the attention, to the extent necessary for good news or a business opportunity.