Instructor: C. Mike Jousan

Presentation Skills For New Companies

Your most important sale is
always the selling of yourself.
We buy you first,
then we buy what you are selling!
If we don't buy you,
we won't buy your company!

When you make a presentation, you are making impressions and creating perceptions.

These impressions and perceptions are "moments of truth." Audiences will make major decisions about you - and your company - based on these "moments." If you have a new business idea, we will decide whether or not to invest our venture capital with you. If you own a small company and want to take your company public, we will decide whether or not to recommend that others buy your stock. If you are an executive of a large company, you will be engaged in a constant "selling of yourself" as you reassure analysts and the public about your company, your plans, and your strengths.

Years of work and thought are often judged by one presentation. You may get only one opportunity! A presentation is like the tip of the iceberg, but that's what others see! Of course you must pay careful attention to all of the factors below the water which support that visible tip. Your business plan must make sense. Your numbers must add up. Your strategies must meet a need in the market. But all of these factors will be nullified if you make a bad impression.

• How to make a great first impression.
• How to get their attention early and keep it.
• How to tell the story of your company in five minutes.
• The two major questions you must answer if you want to gain confidence and get their money!
• How to project professional stature and self-confidence.
• How to present with enthusiasm and optimism.
• How to be clear and direct with your ideas.