I was eating lunch with the new president of a large manufacturing company. She was well aware of the work I’d done with their sales organization. So when I asked about her biggest challenge, I assumed we’d be talking sales. Instead, she answered, “Waste.”
Recently I interviewed Luke Goetting, Director of Puffingston Presentations for an Engaging Presentations video series I did with Prezi. His expertise is in "transforming stale business presentations into visually engaging stories." That's why I asked him to share his thinking with you.... here's what said.
The first time I heard the call-in radio interview with the "deer crossing lady," I couldn't believe it. Tears of laughter were streaming down my face. The more she talked, the worse (or perhaps better) it got.
I was standing on a ledge, facing a rock wall. The path at Water Canyon ended there; we couldn't go any higher. Looking down over my right shoulder, I saw a bottomless pit. One that I was supposed to descend. My stomach was churning, my head was spinning. Fear owned my body and I was at its mercy.
I trudged into the coffee shop, ordered a large mocha and sat down in the corner. I was dripping professional discouragement. It's been five months since I published my weekly newsletter—something I've done religiously for over a decade.
When Todd called me, he was worried. His company was growing. Over the past few years, they'd steadily acquired their toughest competitors.
They were now the dominant player in a fragmented market, setting the benchmark against which all other vendors are compared.
So what could possibly be going wrong? It turns out, a lot!
I was psyched. My goal? To set up a meeting with the SVP of sales at a targeted software company. I’d researched his company, knew their objectives and strategic initiatives and uncovered some game-changing trigger events.
It was my last day at the Sundance Film Festival. After waiting for way too long, Shari Levitin and I finally entered the virtual reality experience that people were raving about.
How do you get a targeted account if all your previous attempts have failed? If you want to catch a big fish, perhaps the sports fishermen of New Zealand can give you some ideas. After all, they face a very difficult, if not insurmountable, challenge that would stop most fisherman entirely.