A few weeks ago we published “10 Action Steps to Help you Engage in 2016.” Over the next 10 weeks, we are going to use each action step as a week long theme to help you get it done!
This week’s theme is: Create a simple, powerful PRESENTATION and ENGAGEMENT TOOL.
Most organizations and sales teams don’t have ENGAGEMENT tools. They have brochures, binders, or pitch decks. What are you using to DRIVE engagement on a visit?
Is is simple? Visual? Does it SUPPORT the conversation or constrict the conversation?
In a later video we will show you ways to use an engagement tool.
We’ve designed an Engagement Tool (see: What is an Engagement Tool?) to help STOP ZOMBIES NOW. There’s also a short (10 min) teaching video that’s worth a watch — it offers a serious explanation of story, simplicity, altitude, message, case, and the funding rationale to ERADICATE ZOMBIES FOREVER.
In this video we cover the ‘Last 3 Feet’ tied to Creating Great Funding Rationales (hint: “Unrestricted” does not make a great Funding Rationale!)
Create a Funding Rationale tied to a Unit of Impact if possible – “Our goal is to underwrite all 3000 of our families each year at $1500 per family. How many families can you help support?”
Package up your Programs – “Here is the Impact we’d like to have in each community and it will take about $100,000 per community to make it happen.”
Use a Leadership Circle membership goal as it relates to the Opportunity to Save, Change and Impact Lives – “When we have 50 members in our Leadership Society (@$10,000+ per year) it allows us to innovate new programs and provide core support to existing impact. It also allows us to move quickly when needed – To save and change more lives.”
I suspect we will film many more videos around this topic. I could offer 50 examples / tips.
In this video we cover three things:
The engagement tool is not the presentation.
It’s a tool. It’s not meant to be used (necessarily) in a linear and ‘unabridged’ monologue / delivery.
In order to illustrate how little we ACTUALLY need to support a conversation we use a placemat drill in some of our trainings. Try walking through your story and an ask using a blank piece of paper or a placemat. Draw on it as you communicate. When you finish, you will be surprised to see that you made your complete presentation using only 5-6 words, a terrible picture and a lot of scribbles.
No prose paragraphs!
Only prompts or framing devices are placed on the tool, as well as figures or words that CREATE engagement.
Use the whitespace, listen and write to create engagement.
The best message in the world begins in the prospect’s head. Use THEIR words (when you can). This isn’t a sales device, it’s a relationship and communication device!
Note: stay away from dark back grounds or gloss on the paper. Go with white space so you can write!
