Story

EVERYTHING is a story. It’s up to you to LEAD the story for the organization, for your team, and for your prospects.

Story

On Altitude: For Your Presentation

Here is a deeper explanation of the power of ‘ALTITUDE’ for your presentation:

  • Get ‘buy-in’ at the highest level. As you make your case, the prospect/ potential investor needs to understand and acknowledge their acceptance of the VISION and PRIORITIES. Sometimes this is “You had me at hello.” Other times, it may take the entire first visit to get them to understand and agree that this is an important cause and case. Regardless, it doesn’t make any sense to talk about the Plan or How They Can Help if they don’t ‘get it’ at the highest level.
  • Dissent on the descent. To put this in another way, there can be no ‘dissent’ on the descent! I think of this as kind of the opposite of getting the ‘bends’. If a diver ascends too quickly, they get a case of the ‘bends’. It’s painful and many times life-threatening. During a presentation, the prospect can get the ‘reverse-bends’ if you descend too rapidly. “Hello. Thanks for seeing me. Here’s our campaign. Can you give $100,000?”
  • ‘Permission to proceed’. We have actually incorporated this specific terminology into the presentation. “It seems like you’re fully engaged with Purpose and Vision. Would it be okay (permission to proceed) to go deeper and talk about our Strategic Priorities and our Plan to make all this happen?”
  • Always go (back) up. When in doubt… when challenged… when questioned… ALWAYS GO (BACK) UP TO 30,000’! (The Vision…The Message…The Purpose.)
  • Altitude is not always top-down or hierarchical. You can ‘enter’ at any level. You can focus on any level. You can travel up and down and even side to side, especially when you’re using an Engagement Tool.
  • Use Altitude to think through your Engagement Questions. Again, since this is all about ENGAGEMENT, CONVERSATION and DIALOGUE, the presentation should allow for multiple ways to ASK QUESTIONS!!!

    3 GREAT QUESTIONS:

    1. The ‘Blue’, 30,000’ Question:
      “What do you know about… our Organization/our Current Vision/New Goals?”
    2. The ‘Red, 14,000’ Question:
      “Which one of these 3 Priorities is most important to you and why?”
    3. The Green, 3’ Question:
      “Based on your understanding of the Purpose, Priorities and Plan… would it be okay to talk about how you can help with our Funding Plan?”