13-0827 Tell your story sell your story webinar_

2013 Cleantech Open | 1
Tell Your Story, Sell Your Story
Presenting Your Business with Impact
Maia Nilsson & Hollie Rogin
Posit Partners
8/27/13

Agenda
• Introductions and objectives
• Communication vs. content
• What makes a strong story
• Three rules to remember
• Examples and tips
• How PowerPoint differs from print
• What makes a great slide presentation
• Applying the three rules to your slides
• Q & A

Who We Are
• Hollie Rogin and Maia Nilsson
• Posit Partners: positioning strategy and messaging
• Backgrounds in business-to-business technology marketing
(IBM, SAP, Cisco, CDW, Covidien, Agilent Technologies)
• Cleantech clients include Silver Spring Networks, PARC,
Advanced Energy Industries, Firefly Power, Next Hydrogen
and Colorado Cleantech

Your Job
Use your 10 minutes to get:
• Interest from the judges
• Opportunity to answer questions
• Feedback to improve next time

You Know the Content
• Product/Market Fit
• Technology/Product Validation
• Business Model
• Market(s) and Getting to them
• Finances and Funding
• Legal
• Management Team
• Sustainability

Know Your Audience
CONTENT
+ CONNECTION (with your audience)
= COMMUNICATION

Know Your Audience

Why We’re Here
This session is not about:
 Public speaking or podium skills
 Graphic design
 PowerPoint wizardry

Why We’re Here
This session is not about:
 Public speaking or podium skills
 Graphic design
 PowerPoint wizardry
This session is about:
 What you present
 How you present it
 Why it matters

Communication vs. Content
• Three hallmarks of an effective presentation:
1. Effectively establishes a competitive position – how you situate
your business in the reader’s mind
2. Effectively communicate your key messages – the point(s) you
want people to walk away with
3. Effectively convey a distinctive point of view – what you choose
to emphasize, how and why
• Bottom line: pitching your business is storytelling.
• A positive response has as much to do with the way you
present your business as it does with the business itself.
1
2
3

The Elements of a Strong Business Story
WHERE you stand in the marketplace relative to competitors
“For upscale American families, Volvo is the family automobile that offers
maximum safety.”
POSITION
(context,
intention)
1

WHAT you say about your company and your offering(s)
“Preventive Safety” … “Protective Safety” … “Child Safety” … “Security”
POSITION
(context,
intention)
MESSAGES
(content,
inflection)
2

POSITION
(context,
intention)
3
MESSAGES
(content,
inflection)
HOW you say it — and from what perspective
“There’s more to life than a Volvo. That’s why you drive one.”
POV
(point
of view)

From the Horse’s Mouth
“Challenge yourself to deliver an 'easy-to-understand' story. Could I,
your listener, replay to another person the very basics of your venture
and how your target customers will benefit from using your product?”
“Infuse passion throughout your delivery. Engage me with your story.”
“Focus on the benefits to customers of acquiring/using your product. Does it
simplify? Make money? Save money? Open new markets?”
“Differentiate your business in some way from the competition - market channel,
service, technical features, etc.”
“Don't give me unclear, irrelevant, or unnecessary information. It is extremely
important to your success that you winnow the full amount of information into
the particular subset that is required for this presentation.”
“Don't try to impress me with a lot of jargon.”
—Angel Investors

“Challenge yourself to deliver an 'easy-to-understand' story. Could I, your listener,
replay to another person the very basics of your venture and how your target
customers will benefit from using your product?”
—Angel Investors

“Focus on the benefits to customers of acquiring/using your product.
Does it simplify? Make money? Save money? Open new markets?”
—Angel Investors

“Differentiate your business in some way from the competition- market
channel, service, technical features, etc.”
—Angel Investors

“Don't give me unclear, irrelevant, or unnecessary information.
It is extremely important to your success that you winnow the full
amount of information into the particular subset that is required for
this presentation.”
—Angel Investors

“Don't give me unclear, irrelevant, or unnecessary information.
It is extremely important to your success that you winnow the full amount of
information into the particular subset that is required for
this presentation.”
—Angel Investors

What You Say:
Three Rules About Using Words

Rule #1
You’re selling a business, not a technology.

What We Mean by This
• Don’t get so caught up in the technical innovation that you
fail to make the business case.
• Focus on building confidence in the viability of your
business plan in addition to the feasibility of your
technology.
• Always establish context — using reference points valued
by investors, as well as technologists.

DON’T
“Reverse osmosis (RO) involves the reversal of flow through a membrane
from a high salinity, or concentrated, solution to the high purity, or
‘permeate,’ stream on the opposite side of the membrane. Pressure is
used as the driving force for the separation. The applied pressure (P) must
be in excess of the osmotic pressure of the dissolved contaminants to
allow flow across the membrane.
“Our technologies use spiral-wound membranes to desalt and demineral-
ize process water. The membrane's operating conditions are fine-tuned to
balance the flux with the specific rejection rates of contaminants to
achieve up to 99.8% salt rejection at low pressures and high flux rates.”

DO
“Reverse osmosis separation technology is used to remove impurities
from water through the use of a semi-permeable membrane. It is
effective in the removal of dissolved solids, bacteria, pyrogens and
organic contaminants.
“Our technology is used by municipalities and industrial facilities to
ensure a consistently pure drinking water supply and to transform
drinking water to high purity water for industrial use in the production
of microelectronics, food and beverage, power, and pharmaceuticals.”

The Cheat Sheet
 Would someone without a Ph.D. understand it?
 Would someone without an MBA understand it?
 Have you used colorful language? What color?
• Go through your talking points and circle every feature of your company’s
core offering in purple.
• Now go through the same text and circle every business benefit you
mention in green.
 Are you talking “how” or “why”?
• Have you explained how your technical advantage (how your innovation
works) translates into business value (why it’s worth investing in)?
• Is it credible?

Rule #2
Net it down. Net. It. Down.

• Use as few words as possible to say exactly what you mean.
• Define your main points, and make them clearly and
concisely. Remember: no one remembers everything.
• Stick to the facts; judges will form their own opinions.

DON’T
“Company X’s charging stations provide unique benefits when compared to non-
networked charging stations. Those benefits include:
• A charging infrastructure open to all drivers without requiring subscriptions
• A revenue stream to pay for electricity, capital equipment and maintenance
• Ability for drivers to find unoccupied charging stations via web-enabled cell
phones
• Notification by SMS text or email when charging is complete
• Authenticated access to eliminate energy theft
• Authorized energizing for safety
• Remote monitoring and diagnostics for superior quality of service
• Smart Grid integration for utility load management with future V2G
capabilities
• Green House Gas savings calculation per driver and per fleet
• Fleet vehicle management”

DO
“Company X’s charging stations provide many advantages over non-
networked charging stations, including:
Convenience for drivers, thanks to an existing infrastructure that lets
drivers use their cell phones to find unoccupied charging stations and find
out when charging is complete—all without requiring a subscription;
Easy operation for station managers thanks to remote monitoring and
diagnostics, smart grid integration and greenhouse gas calculators and
fleet vehicle management capabilities; and
Low cost of ownership, given a revenue stream that pays for electricity,
capital equipment and maintenance.”

The Cheat Sheet
 What’s the big takeaway?
• Ask five people to read through your deck and tell you in a single sentence
what your greatest strength is as a business.
• If you get five answers, you’re in trouble.
 Are your ideas snugly nested?
• Are your thoughts organized in a coherent hierarchy?
• Are main points clearly supported by secondary information?
 Could you cut your word count by 10%? 20%? 50%?
• If so, do.

Rule #3
Tell them a story.

Tell them a story.
• Open with a “grabber” – a statement or scenario that is
provocative, surprising or both.
• Keep it moving; don’t belabor your point. Keep the energy
up and the momentum going.
• Remember: It’s a story, but it’s still nonfiction. Make sure
your story can stand up to scrutiny.
• Leave them with a memorable touchstone. The goal is to
introduce the audience to an idea that sticks in their minds
long after you’re done talking.

Tell them a story.
DON’T
“Quantitatively, spending on security-related systems and services to
which the Company's products will be applied exceeded $22 billion in
2007. This spending was entirely on legacy systems, which did not offer
the new solution elements being introduced by Company X. It is the
Company's belief, that as considerable as the market for legacy, security-
only systems is, an entirely new, even larger, supply-side driven set of
market metrics will come to bear when Company X’s emergency response
solutions are introduced into the marketplace. The Company's products
and technologies will allow it to expand the market with its new paradigm
of true emergency response technologies. The Company measures the
markets for its vertically integrated markets to be in excess of $1.5 billion
per year annually. The Company estimates…”

Tell them a story.
DO
“A hiker heads back to the trailhead after a five-mile trek on a remote
path ten miles from her suburban home. As the sun begins to set, she
sees a man she doesn’t recognize sitting on the trunk of her car. She
pushes a button on the cell phone in her pocket. A signal is sent to the
closest cell tower and to a GPS satellite, activating the local authorities’
emergency response protocols. Within minutes, squad cars and an EMT
unit are closing in on her location, which they can track live thanks to
her System X mobile security subscription.”

Tell them a story.
The Cheat Sheet
 Does your introduction have stopping power?
• Circle every statement in your talking points that could start a water
cooler discussion. If there are more than two or three, rethink your
approach. If there are none, rethink your approach.
 Can we connect the dots?
• Could we scan the slides in your deck chronologically and get the gist of
your story?
• Would we want to? I.e., are they interesting?
 Are you conveying facts or opinions?
• Go through your pitch with a red pen. Circle every statement that
expresses an opinion.
• Either delete the sentence, or revise it to state a fact.

It’s As Difficult As…
Sell the business, not the technology.
Net it down.
Tell a story.
1
2
3

Your Presentation = Words + Pictures
(And that probably means PowerPoint)

PowerPoint doesn’t kill presentations.
People do.

How PowerPoint Differs From Print
REAL ESTATE
There is limited space in which to
convey ideas and information

FONT SIZE
Text must be visible
from a distance
REAL ESTATE

TIME
People have about a
minute to absorb
what’s on screen
FONT SIZE
Text must be visible
from a distance
REAL ESTATE

What Annoys People About PowerPoint
Speakers who just
recite the text on
the slide

Text too small to
read from the back
of a room

Long sentences
rather than bullet
points
(i.e., people who feel
compelled to type out
their thoughts in
granular detail (in
complete sentences,
punctuated perfectly)
when a short phrase
would actually be easier
to absorb and
comprehend while the
presenter is speaking)

Text superimposed
over imagery

Slides that are hard
to see due to color
choice

Overly complex
diagrams or charts
(“I know you can’t read
this, but…”)

What Makes a Great Slide Presentation
It’s “show and tell,”
not “write and
read”

Before
151 words

After
A picture

Conveys lots of
information in a
short time

Makes concepts,
trends and
patterns visual, so
they’re more
memorable
Infrastructure Spending by State and Sector

What You Show:
Three Rules About Using Pictures

Rule #1
How graphics vs. why graphics
Deciding what kind of data to show
Making your case—not someone else’s

How Graphics
This diagram shows
us how energy is lost
as power goes from
generation to
consumption.

How Graphics vs. Why Graphics
This graphic shows
why energy
efficiency matters.

Deciding What Kind of Data to Show
This table shows the
growth in the
number of solar
towers over the
course of 30 years.

Deciding What Kind of Data to Show
This line graph uses
the same data to
show us the financial
implications of this
trend.

Making Your Case — Not Someone Else’s
This slide makes the
case for an industry
category.
Solar Hot Water: 20 Panels

Making Your Case — Not Someone Else’s
This slide makes the
case for the
presenter’s
particular business.
Aquasola™ Solution: 20 Panels

Rule #2
Too many key messages = no key messages
Visual hierarchy and organization
Saying more with less

Too Many Messages = No Message
Follow the 7/7 rule,
or you’ll wind up
with too much text
on a slide.

Too Many Messages = No Message
Here’s a slide about
being succinct. It is
succinct.
Identify your core message1
Structure your presentation2
Use fewer, shorter bullets3
Use simple, relevant visuals4
Successful slides are succinct.

Visual Hierarchy and Organization
This graphic does
not tell us what is
most important.
There is no Big Idea
because there are 3
big ideas, 2 medium-
sized ideas and 2
smallish ideas.

Visual Hierarchy and Organization
This graphic makes it
very clear what the
big idea is, and how
the other points
support that idea.

Saying More With Less
Two graphs,
lots of data. Total World Energy Consumption by Source
(2010)

Saying More With Less
Same data,
one graph. Total World Energy Consumption by Source
(2010)

Rule #3
Tell them a story.
Identifying the star of the drama (Hint: It’s not you.)
Signaling a turning point
From vision to conclusion

Tell them a story.
Identifying the Star of the Drama
This slide talks about
an impending
humanitarian crisis.

Tell them a story.
Identifying the Star of the Drama
Same information,
different impact.

Tell them a story.
Signaling a Turning Point
If the problem looks
like this,…
97%= landfill

Tell them a story.
Signaling a Turning Point
…then the solution
looks like this.
90 days
biodegrades completely in

Tell them a story.
From Vision…
Recap the big picture
to remind them of
your credibility…
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Tell them a story.
From Vision to Conclusion
…and to provide
both confidence
and context.
Close strong.
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
$2M will enable us to
scale production in
2016 and double
margins in 2.5 years.

It’s As Difficult As…
Sell the business, not the technology.
Net it down.
Tell a story.
1
2
3

Q & A
Anybody?

Resources
• Tips the Space Telescope Science Institute’s put together to help
scientists prepare PowerPoint presentations for colloquia and
webcasts: www.stsci.edu/ts/webcasting/ppt/PowerPointCalibration2.ppt
• Slide:ology: The Art & Science of Creating Great Presentations by
Nancy Duarte: http://www.amazon.com/slide-ology-Science-Creating-
Presentations/dp/0596522347/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=12524718
58&sr=8-1
• Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas for Presentation Design & Delivery by
Garr Reynolds: http://www.amazon.com/Presentation-Zen-Simple-Design-
Delivery/dp/0321525655/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252471934&sr
=1-1

positpartners.com
What do you say?™
hollie@positpartners.com
maia@positpartners.com

13-0827 Tell your story sell your story webinar_

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