Joshua Vasquez

I would make sure to inform my potential stakeholders the advantages of the case, timeline of implement and future potential profits. The majority of stakeholders really care about how it will affect them and the bottom line.

German Posada CHEP

I think that it is important to mention the financial aspect, because money is extremely important. I think that customer satisfaction is extremely important, retention is key in our industtry. I also believe that employee satisfaction is very important, to avoid turnover from key employees.

Jay Hollowell

German,

Thanks German, suffice it to say that positive employee satisfaction yields better student customer service which in turn can have a positive effect on student retention. This, of course, leads to a better financial picture as long as an institution has its costs under control.

Jay Hollowell

Steven Hess CHEP

I have four items I’d consider:

- Culture: I would do my best to make sure the culture is compatible with the pitch. If I pitch to a culture that’ll reject me, then I made a huge mistake.

- Assert: I’d have to ask myself whether the culture I am pitching to has asserted a need for what I am proposing. If so, great. If not, then I am in trouble. Trying to sell to the wrong group is a very bad feeling and leads to problems.

--Resources: If it’s a very early address of the pitch, then we would have to discuss and explore human, financial, and other resources. If it’s in a later stage, then more of a focus on obtaining the pledged resources. No matter the audience, a talk about some aspect of resources always seems to appear.

--Demonstration: I’ve noticed many audiences want to see how you know when you hit a milestone or achieved some aspect of the plan. I’ve always benefited from presenting a simple visualization of “how to see” the achievement. Somehow it joins the audience and the presentation into some kind of mutually shared appreciation of the proposal. When that happens, they can feel the proposal turn into something concrete and real.

(I call it my CARD method. It has come in handy on more than one occasion.)

The course also made great points about the appeal, look, and format issues involved. For example, things should be visual yet tailored to the audience. (This implies a pitch may take on numerous forms depending how the audience embodies measures and perspectives.) Also, the seven slide trick is a neat idea and I am betting that’d work in most cases. I’ve noticed people like the nitty-gritty approach to the proposal as to quickly grasp the big picture. Overall, the ideas mentioned in presentation and preparation are really good ideas I hope I can work into my methods over time.

I also like to include the idea that what’s being presented comes from a robust team wanting to achieve. It’s important for stakeholders to see a proposal is not a “one man show”, but rather, a coordinated effort of experts who want to realize the project. That emotional appeal taps into people and gets them thinking about a proposal. In addition, it demonstrates a maturity of “we’re in this together and we’ll make it work”. It may sound corny, but I’ve seen it work during my and other presentation.