talking too fast<\/a>, lack of expression, poor posture, lack of eye contact.<\/span><\/p>\nBut both men were personable, warm, and genuine. They were very proud of the business that they had built, and rightly so. It had grown to be the largest player in the industry.<\/span><\/p>\nThey had already developed a presentation, and I wasn\u2019t going to start picking that apart. \u00a0It was a standard deck that potential buyers would be accustomed to.<\/span><\/p>\nSo, after addressing some of the non-verbal issues, I asked them to deliver the presentation. \u00a0Again, to put them under performance-like pressure, I asked them to stay in character no matter what happened, and then, once again, I turned the camera on.<\/span><\/p>\nThe CEO started the sales pitch with a personal introduction, and his second-in-command did the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe CEO then opened the pitch book and began to articulate what was on the first page. I did not have a pitch book in front of me for two reasons. (1.) They had not printed one out for me. \u00a0And (2.) I didn\u2019t want one. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI was more interested in the overall impression they created, and how capable they were of creating a vivid, memorable portrait of their history, accomplishments and future goals.<\/span><\/p>\nThe CEO covered a couple of pages and then his colleague did a couple. \u00a0They went back and forth twice–it was only an 8 page document–so it was over in about 20 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\nI congratulated them on their detailed description of their infrastructure and some of the language they used–proud, excited<\/em>–words that emotionalized the slides. I particularly liked one section where they pointed out that they had “out-Amazoned Amazon” in terms of the speed at which they deliver goods to their customers.<\/span><\/p>\nBut I had to confess that I was concerned. \u00a0They had developed a presentation that was packed with information, but it was a presentation that made no claims.<\/span><\/p>\nThe opening consisted of an admittedly impressive blizzard of numbers and data–revenue goals exceeded, CAGR of 9%, EBITDA outstanding, and numerous acquisitions that were accomplished seamlessly. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI suggested that before they got into the details, they establish the key messages or claims they wanted to make about the company, and then go about proving those claims with the information that was packed into the deck.<\/span><\/p>\nThe presentation also lacked vivid descriptions of the business. The bullet points were mostly high-level financial terms and other quantitative values. \u00a0I pressed them to come up with <\/span>for instances <\/span><\/i>to humanize the company and make it memorable.<\/span><\/p>\nBusiness value is determined in cold currency, but taking the risk to buy a company requires a leap of faith that is not entirely rational. You kind of have to fall in love with the company if you\u2019re going to buy it.<\/span><\/p>\nFor instance, they had antique miniature Volkswagen buses in glass cases in the lobby. \u00a0When I asked about them, they said that clients gave them the buses because of their reliable service. In fact, they had won prizes every year for their reliability, yet they had failed to mention this during our rehearsal.<\/span><\/p>\nThe mini VW buses are a small thing to them–they see them every morning and take them for granted. \u00a0But the gift of the buses was no small thing\u00a0to their clients. \u00a0The buses had not only financial value, but they represented emotional value as well.<\/span><\/p>\nIn most sales pitches, we make claims and then try to prove those claims with evidence. \u00a0My clients had forgotten to make any claims…they had simply jumped into the evidence. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBut high-level messages at the opening of a sales pitch is a good way to start–and end–a presentation. So I asked them to come up with the three most important things a buyer should know about the company. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThey said:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- We have an unmatched foundational infrastructure.<\/span><\/li>\n
- We have a tremendous \u00a0opportunity for M&A activity.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Our management team is effective, energized and ready for the next big thing.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Great. \u00a0They had their claims. \u00a0Now what about the proofs, the evidence? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIn the sale of a business, proofs are generally facts, numbers, and statistics, designed to please the quantitative mind. \u00a0CAGR, EBITDA, revenue minus expenses. \u00a0They had the quantitative stuff down cold. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBut what about the power of emotional appeal? It\u2019s often said that we make decisions with our emotions, and justify those decisions with reason.<\/span><\/p>\nEmotion counts, and so I expressed another concern–there were no colorful, human, vivid examples of everyday life in the business. \u00a0It was all on the high-level, abstract, financial engineering level.<\/span><\/p>\nThey were missing their own personal stories, and the stories of their employees–the funny, weird and heroic stories that happen in a business. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThey needed examples, humble <\/span>for instances<\/span><\/i>, that could trigger emotion, that could paint a vivid picture in the mind of a potential buyer, a picture that could make the difference between yes and no.<\/span><\/p>\nFacts and figures are necessary, but not sufficient. We need both reason and emotion to sell ourselves and our companies. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAt this moment, I don\u2019t know whether they\u2019ve succeeded at selling their company or not. \u00a0But they will have a better chance of selling it if they do their homework, and insert into their presentation some startling, surprising, story-like <\/span>for instances.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nPlease like Sims Wyeth’s Company Profile on Linkedin to stay updated on news and tips.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Recently I was asked to help two executives get ready to sell their company, so we needed to perfect the sales pitch. Within a week they would be putting their company on the chopping block. \u00a0It was time to get busy. After a long drive and a wakeful night in a hotel, \u00a0I arrived at… Read More »Don’t Forget “For Instance”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_ti_tpc_template_sync":false,"_ti_tpc_template_id":""},"categories":[336,149],"tags":[88,654,936,937,117,938,939],"yoast_head":"\nDon't Forget "For Instance" - M Sims Wyeth LLC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Help with employee development, executive presence, and communication skills. 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