Is there anything that beats the excitement and emotion of watching the Olympics? All that discipline, amazing performance, and athletic grace! Wow. What’s also fascinating are the infinitesimal differences in scores that separate gold, silver and bronze winners. In business, with products and services being very similar, small differences can make the difference between winning and losing as well. Here are seven ways to help win “Presentation Gold.”
A Little Bit Goes a Long Way
Before we look at those seven drivers of “business gold,” here are just two Olympic sporting event examples to illustrate my point.
Sprint
- Gold: Usain Bolt, Jamaica. 9.81 seconds
- Silver: Justice Gaitlin, USA. 9.89 seconds
- Bronze: Andre De Grasse, Canada. 9.91 seconds
Only 8/100ths of a second (!) between Gold and Silver for Bolt and 2/100ths of a second between Silver and Bronze
Women’s Vault
- Gold: Simone Biles, USA. 15.966 points
- Silver: Maria Paseka, Russia. 15.253 points
- Bronze: 15.216 points
Only slightly more than 7/10ths of a point (!) between Gold and Silver and a little less than 4/100ths of a point between Silver and Bronze.
Presentation Gold, Silver, or Bronze?
The lesson for all is to reflect if we are doing everything we can in business to perform at “Gold” levels. How many of these can you and your team honestly answer in the affirmative?
- Do we go the extra mile in preparation which maximizes credibility and trust with clients?
- Do we tailor presentations and demos to each client?
- Do we continually practice and upgrade our skills & strategies, which shortens sales cycles, adds to professionalism, and earns client respect?
- Do we put distractions like egos, negative thinking, and “what if?” imaginings aside and totally focus on the moment when we are with clients which improves understanding and opens up unexpected opportunities for broader business?
- Do we debrief presentations, demos, and business meetings to learn how to improve on the next go-around?
- Do we show resilience after a failure with a resolve to learn and do better next time?
- Do we reach out for coaching/training to strengthen our performance?
Go for the Gold
One thing is for sure. No one makes it to the Olympics overnight. Continuous improvement, discipline, and commitment are critical to success. That combination is equally critical to success for the best presentation athletes as well.
Hope you enjoyed the Games!
Anne Miller