Most of the strategic business startup consultants that I’ve talked to always recommend that new companies find corporate partners, but to do this they have to get large corporations with big brand names to buy their products or services and to sign up and get on board. That’s easier said than done, and that’s where the importance of corporate business presentations come in to play. It’s hard to give a flawless corporate presentation, and might I suggest that you don’t want to be perfect anyway? Let’s talk.
The secret to giving great presentations to corporate boards is not really a secret at all, it’s as simple as knowing the questions they are going to ask before they ask them. Knowing how to solve their problems and having solutions ready before they explain to you their problems and what they need from you. Does this mean you need a mind reader or someone with a crystal ball on your presentation team? Absolutely not, it’s just a matter of putting yourself into their shoes. It’s a matter of getting together with your team and considering all the questions they might ask, whether typical, or not.
This means you have to do your homework and know everyone on the board, their past business history, and everything about them, this way you can see things from their perspective. You should look on social networks to figure out what their hobbies are, where they went to school, and the various other industries they have been involved in, as their perceptions, observations, and experiences will lead them to ask you dissimilar questions than others who had a different career path.
About the worst thing you can do is to dodge a question because this causes frustration and anger, and the individual will feel disrespected, and therefore vote against whatever it is that you are doing, due to lack of trust. Further, you should never try to BS your answer if you don’t know what you are doing. It’s okay to think out loud during these presentations because they will see how you reason and adapt to various challenges in case you are presented with a question you don’t know the answer to. Nevertheless you should leave your answer as open ended in this case, and promise to get back with them with a proper solution, or work with them directly after the meeting.
Sometimes simply your willingness to do this will show that you want to be on their team, and therefore they are going to welcome you on to it. And really isn’t that what a corporate partner is all about? Indeed I want you to think about this on a philosophical level and get away from the salesmanship tactics and techniques long enough to see that you are to be a solution provider, you don’t necessarily have to be the smartest person in the room, but you have to show them that you are on their team to make it work no matter what, and that you will never give up in your pursuit of excellence to make that happen.
If you can do that, our corporate board would love to have you as a team partner, and give you our endorsement and bragging rights to have signed us up as corporate partners. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.