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Stuart Crawford serves as Creative Director and CEO with Sebring, FL Ulistic, a specialty MSP Marketing firm focused on information technology marketing and business development. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience pertaining to how technology business owners and IT firms can use marketing as a vehicle to obtain success.
So, you’ve been asked to speak at an important event,your local chamber of commerce or an industry association. What a fantastic opportunity to talk about your MSP business! For many managed service providers, it’s too bad that you rarely speak in such a formal setting, and instead of being excited, as you should be, your mind is filled with self-doubt and fear.
A lot of MSPs get nervous when they’re asked to speak in front of an audience, because it can take years to develop the ability to mesmerize an audience. This is natural, and thankfully, there are fast ways to become a better speaker.
The following are five uncommon ways to captivate your audience:
1. Share a Personal Story.
In order to connect with your audience, you’ll need to share a genuinely emotional story. Talk about a mistake, and how you corrected it. Remind them that although you’re a highly successful MSP, you went through your own personal journey to get where you are. We’ve all struggled at some point, and it’s something that everyone has in common and can relate to. Sharing your feelings will allow you to have an immediate and lasting connection with your audience.
2. Share a Surprising Fact.
Relay a surprisingly unusual fact, but make sure it relates to your topic, and be sure to keep it professional. Your audience will enjoy learning something entirely new, and your presentation is sure to be remembered.
3. Take a Break For 8-10 Seconds.
A strange phenomenon occurs when you take a break from your presentation. A 2-3 second pause will make your audience believe you lost your place. A 5-6 second pause will make your audience believe that the pause is intentional. A 10-second pause will make everybody wonder what’s happening, and focus on you.
Your audience will believe that you’re a confident, professional and accomplished speaker. Because, only confident speakers—such as yourself—feel secure with silence during a presentation.
4. Forget About The Sales Pitch.
During presentations, many MSPs attempt to promote their product or services, win new clients and build a wider network. Avoid this, and focus primarily on ensuring that your audience will benefit from your presentation. When you help people make their professional lives better, you’ve done all the selling that’s necessary.
Your audience will remember you as one of the very few MSPs who didn’t try to sell their services the entire time. During your presentation, it will be very helpful if you’ve previously established a reputation for your services.
If you’re a recognized professional MSP in your community, you won’t need to sell yourself! You’ve already sold yourself, and you’ll have very little difficulty making sales and attracting the right kinds of clients.
5. Admit That You Don’t Know Everything.
Ask the audience a question that you know they can’t answer, and then say “that’s okay, I’m not too sure either.” Explain why you can’t answer this, then focus on what you do know.
How many times have you been to a presentation where the speaker has all the answers? This tends to make us pay less attention. When you admit that you don’t know everything, it’s going to make the audience connect with you. It’s going to make you seem more human, and the audience will pay even more attention to what you do know.
Still feeling nervous or unsure about a presentation? Call Ulistic today at 716.799.1999 ext. 102. After all, we’re here to help MSPs achieve stratospheric success!
Stuart Crawford serves as Creative Director and CEO with Sebring, FL Ulistic, a specialty MSP Marketing firm focused on information technology marketing and business development. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience pertaining to how technology business owners and IT firms can use marketing as a vehicle to obtain success.
