Understanding the importance of your 60 second presentation

By Hector Cisneros

I am often asked the question; "How important is a good 60 second presentation?" People sometimes gasp at my answer. They look at me as if I am a little crazy because my answer is simple and very straightforward. The value of a good 60-second presentation is only as high as the importance you place on it.



I go on to say that, if people place little value on creating a good introduction for themselves, they will usually wing their 60-second presentations. By always winging their presentations, they lose their perspective. They will never know the value of a good 60-second presentation, and they will not reap the rewards associated with delivering them. The way I see it, three things create value in your 60-second presentations. Your efforts, (time spent on it), the feedback you receive from your trusted peers and the measured results.

To start with, good presentations are created, (i.e. thought out and written down), practiced and then refined. It does not matter if you are great at winging it, you will always present better if you have a focused clear message that is tested and practiced. A little hard work on your part will add value to your message by clarifying and focusing it.

Another way is to ask for feedback. Ask someone you trust to summarize what you said. This person should be skilled at doing 60 second commercials, (at least better than you do). Ask them for constructive criticism. If they can't tell you what you said in two or three sentences you know message is not clear and it’s defiantly not focused.

The best way to see the value of a good 60-second presentation is to track the results. What should you track you ask? Well here is what I track; I always track the name of 60-second presentations, (yes you should give your 60 second commercials names), I always track the venue I attend, the venues date, the people I talk to, whether a person showed interest in my product/service and who I closed business with. Tracking your results is the only objective way of knowing whether your efforts are bearing fruit. What’s amazing about this is that most people never track their results.

Take the time to write out and practice your 60-second presentations. Ask trusted associates for feedback and finally track your results. Doing these three things will get you more referrals and make you more money. The value of a good 60-second presentation will become clear as fine crystal once you see the money coming in.

If you want to learn, more about word of mouth marketing join a local networking organization like The Chamber, BNI or Net Worth. Subscribe to my blog (http://networkersapprentice.blogspot.com/) and you will receive fee articles that will lead you towards success. If you would like to learn how to create a comprehensive word of mouth marketing plan, read my new book, "60 Seconds To Success". It will show you how to do this in a set-by-set manner. Thanks for reading my opinion. I hope to hear yours. Post your comments or write me at hectortheconnector@websiteknowhow.com

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