Like some songs that you can’t get out of your head, I heard a phrase last week that keeps repeating itself in mine. Erika Karp, CEO, Cornerstone Capital Group, used it at a Financial Women’s Association program I attended at Bloomberg. She said, “Be the signal, not the noise.” Although a quick Google search shows that that is not a new phrase, it was the first time I had heard it and it strikes me as a great metaphor on many levels when it comes to selling your ideas.
Think About Signals
1.They communicate a clear meaning quickly to cause a specific reaction. Red light: stop. Green light: go.
- The best presenters present a brief, clear and well-thought out message of value to a listener that is designed to move the listener quickly to a next step vs. someone who produces a cacophony of forgettable endless features, processes, and past successes in the hope that something positive will resonate with listeners and lead to closure.
- Buyers are more likely to heed the former presenter and confuse the latter
one.
2.They capture attention. Dimming lights gets people to stop talking and sit down. A whistle stops play in sports.
- The best presenters capture attention by making novel contributions so that buyers think, “That’s a very good point. I hadn’t thought of that before!” vs. the presenter who goes through predictable ho-hum statements.
- Buyers perk up in a positive way with the former presenter and snooze with by the latter one.
3.They are often visual. Traffic signals. Facial expressions. Gestures. (Thumbs up, you live. Thumbs down, you die.)
- Great presenters color their presentations with strong actual visuals as well as with visuals of the imagination: metaphors and analogies to drive points home, simplify complexity, or create distinctions. (like signal vs. noise). These evocative and memorable images shape thinking and decisions vs. the presenter who induces boredom with clinically correct, but unembellished, information.
- Buyers are more inclined to respond to the former presenter’s ideas and default to no decision on the ideas of the latter one.
Think About Your Presentations & Demos
Be the signal, not the noise. Love it.
Anne Miller
Words Matter – Make What You Say Pay!
Random Recommendation: Latest Issue of Fast Company “Secrets of the Most Productive People.” Interesting to see how the best, brightest (&richest) manage their lives for maximum productivity.
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2. I discovered a new sales tool that is a time-saving godsend for anyone who needs to find telephone numbers and email addresses for prospects. What can takes hours to research now takes only seconds (!) with Capture, a plug-in created by Ringlead. Capture does this and more. Check it out. www.ringlead.com/capture
3.I keep finding really useful online services. This one is for firms that want to show online demos that are tailored to potential customers. Check out Demochimp.Very clever.
Words Matter – Make What You Say Pay!
