I had an interesting session with a new client.\u00a0 Let’s call her Fiona.\u00a0 She came in from the field to take a position in marketing with a major pharma, and has discovered that, at her company, your career depends largely on how you present<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Amazingly, they don’t offer any developmental support for people coming into the job.\u00a0 But she pushed her boss for help, and he relented.<\/p>\n

Here’s a rough summary of what I learned about her experience in pharma marketing<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 In the spirit of full disclosure, I have not heard this before, and I have been deep into pharma marketing for 20 years.<\/p>\n

1. Everyone wants to get promoted.\u00a0 The easiest way to get promoted is to get visibility in front of senior people.\u00a0 And the easiest way to get visibility is\u00a0to present to them.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 If you’re not a good presenter, your boss will know it and will be reluctant to stand you up in front of the senior execs.\u00a0 She could be afraid it will hurt your<\/strong> career chances and her<\/strong> image as an up-and-coming executive who is the fire under a red-hot group of high achievers.<\/p>\n

3. Presenting marketing information internally is essentially selling ideas, and if you can’t get\u00a0listeners to understand and believe in your idea, they are unlikely to see you as a good marketer, even though your ideas may be strong.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Finally, everyone listening to your presentation is so busy that they don’t want presentations to go on for too long, and therefore they don’t ask questions.\u00a0 They’re afraid of being seen as the “problem” person, or the “know-it-all” who makes everyone else look bad.\u00a0\u00a0 She said the preferred method of presenting is, “1, 2, 3…Poof!”<\/p>\n

This means that you show your slide, say up to three things about it in a confident voice<\/strong>, and then move to the next slide (as in “Poof.\u00a0 It’s gone!”)\u00a0 Everyone will be pleased that you got through your material quickly, and displayed confidence and conviction as you spoke.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Finally, while every product and market is different, the process of marketing is the same across brands.\u00a0 This causes many presentations to look and sound the same, i.e., they’re boring.\u00a0\u00a0So listeners\u00a0like it when you’re articulate, energetic, and concise because you save them from the embarrassment of falling asleep.<\/p>\n

She says you’re especially valued \u00a0if you have a highly expressive voice<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun in this big pharma.\u00a0 But if you want the rewards–the promotion and the fatter check– you\u00a0gotta\u00a0\u00a0sing for your supper.<\/p>\n

And the name of the song you have to sing?\u00a0 “1, 2, 3…Poof!”<\/p>\n

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