How to successfully sell your product? Watch and learn

Three weeks ago, the marketing director of a startup in San Francisco, in which well-known investors had invested, wrote to me about her presentation.

“The presentation lacks some zest,” she said. “There is enough information, the slides look great, but all this does not add up to an exciting story. Could you help? ”
')
I love helping entrepreneurs create the best presentations for fundraising, sales, attracting new staff - anything. I was working on another project and could not immediately fulfill the request of my girlfriend, so I just sent one link to a guy from the marketing department named Zack, who created this presentation.

Five days later, the marketing director wrote to me:

"Andy, what did you send Zach?" His presentation has become much better - it's just heaven and earth compared to what it was. ”

What I sent to Zach

And I sent him a link to the presentation of Ilona Musk (Elon Musk) of the Tesla Powerwall project (full video at the end of the post). I also pointed out the important points that I will share with you in this article.

Mask does not have unprecedented eloquence. He is embarrassed and nervous. But in the end the audience perceives his speech "with a bang" and rewards with applause. And all this - for "some" battery.

And all because Musk did the right five things to which you should strive in each of his presentations. Here they are:

# 1: Show the enemy public.

Villain in the presentation Mask: Fossil Fuels.

Never start your speech with a story about yourself, your team, your project or target market. Instead, talk about what stands in the way of the happiness of your customers. Do this by creating a colorful and emotional picture of how shitty your customers live, and who / what is to blame and why. When Musk shows photographs of the smoking pipes of a thermal power plant, you practically feel the sinister breath of Darth Vader.

# 2: Answer the question “Why now?”

Killing plot: an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration exponentially.

The audience - and especially investors - are skeptical people. They think: “That’s how people lived all this time, what’s changed now?” Musk answered this question, showing that we are at a critical stage of increasing carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere, and if we don’t take action now, the situation will will worsen. When Ilon says: “We all have to do something with it,” the audience endorses him with cries.

# 3: Show the Promised Land before you begin your story about how you are going to get there.

Before starting to talk about batteries, Musk described his version "happily ever after": a civilization that receives electricity from "this convenient thermonuclear reactor in the sky, which we call the Sun." Talking about the defeat of the enemy, without first explaining how you are going to achieve this, may seem like a wrong move, especially for those who are new to the presentation - it's like giving a climax to the moment without telling the joke itself. When your listeners know where you are going, they are more likely to follow you.

# 4: Point out the obstacles, and then explain how you are going to overcome them.

Now, after you have shared your vision for the future, tell us about the problems that stand in your way, and then show how your company / product / services will cope with each of them (It’s better that these are huge terrible obstacles. Otherwise, who needs what are you selling?)

Musk addressed three problems in a world that receives energy from solar panels:

(I) The amount of energy produced by solar panels changes during the day and night (and so does the need for them):



(II) Most people believe that installing enough solar panels requires an incredible size of territory to save the US from fossil fuels (however, according to Mask, this is just a tiny red dot in Texas):



(III) At present, the existing solar panels leave much to be desired, having seven very specific jambs:



Modern solar technology is not yet suitable for your living room.

At this point, the audience is practically drooling at the product video, which explains that all is not so bad - for each of the seven indicators. But make no mistake: cool graphics and exciting music work only because Musk introduced the Powerwall not as a battery, but as the salvation of all mankind.

# 5: Provide proof that you are not just chatting in vain.

Mom, look-like: there is no power supply!

And again: the audience is skeptical. Therefore, you must provide her with evidence that a happy future is achievable. In order to do this, Mask reveals his secret to his audience: Powerwall batteries provide electricity to the hall in which he gave a presentation. (As proof of this, it zooms the camera on one of the meters located above, which registers that there is no energy from the network.) For companies and products that are in the early stages of development, such a demonstration can serve as excellent evidence, although the feedback from the first users (or Those who have tried the beta version of the product) are more convincing. Less convincing - but still better than nothing - recommendations from potential customers, explaining why they would like to purchase a product.

Performance

This is a full video of the Mask presentation on the launch of Tesla Powerwall. A few weeks after I sent it to Zach, I started working with him and the marketing director in order to finalize their presentation. It was much easier, since we had a full understanding of the elements that make up the fascinating story. Now I’m thinking of asking all my clients to watch this video before I help them, and thus do it in a quick way of conveying my vision of a happy future for them.