This insightful article on Entrepreneur.com this week gives us an insight into what signs to look out for that could mean you may be an Entrepreneur.

The 15 signs are:

1. You take action
2. You’re insecure
3. You’re crazy
4. You’re obsessed with Cash Flow
5. You get into hot water
6. You’re fearless
7. You can’t sit still
8. You’re malleable
9. You enjoy navel gazing
10. You’re motivated by challenges
11. You consider yourself an outsider
12. You recover quickly
13. You fulfil needs
14. You surround yourself with advisors
15. You work and play hard

Read the full article here

A business pitch is slightly different to the personal pitch. You get to expand this to 60 or 90 seconds, but the basic rules still apply.

If you can’t tell someone what you do in less than 60 seconds then you do not know yourself. The use of a well prepared elevator pitch is similar to an automatic weapon strapped to your waist. Always ready and well oiled ready for any situation.

The format of an elevator pitch is simple, if you get to know the format, you can adapt it for any situation and audience.

1. Introduction
2. Tell us you name
3. Tell us what business you are from
4. Tell us what your business does
5. Tell us who your clients are
6. Tell a Story
7. What makes you different
8. Share a specific example about your business
9. Ask for Business
10. Hone in on a specific need that your business is looking for
11. Call to Action
12. Give specific instructions
13. Memory Hook
14. Repeat your name
15. Repeat your business
16. Tell us your slogan

Your pitch should remain the same in respect to the format but be prepared to adjust the focus to become relative to your audience. Your story and call to action will be very different if you are speaking to a women’s convention or a businessmen’s breakfast. Learn beforehand who you are speaking to and be able and prepared to adjust this to capture the attention of your audience. Remember the six questions at the beginning of this document.

And once again practice, practice, practice, until you are confident.

Public Speaking is one of the most feared and avoided tasks among modern civilizations. Apparently people would rather run naked through a crowded room or die of drowning than speak in front of a group of people. The good news is that unlike drowning, speaking does get better and easier the more you prepare and practice, not sure about the being naked part.

We are going to look at some simple techniques and tools that will set you apart from others and get you to a point where you can walk into a room with confidence knowing that you are confident, capable and prepared to handle whatever is requested from you. Winston Churchill said, “The best unprepared speech I ever did, was the one I prepared the night before.”

As an Entrepreneur you will be required to be prepared to pitch yourself, your business and your ideas to people at the drop of a hat. This week we will take you through the preparation of the following presentations;

1. Personal Elevator pitch
2. Business Elevator pitch
3. Tips on Visual Aids
4. More tips on presenting

The rules of any presentation are simple: Keep it simple. Unless you are presenting a scientific notation to a bunch of PhD graduates at MIT, keep it simple. People do not enjoy getting bogged down by detail. They are never impressed by your ability to show off how clever you think you are by using big words and techno jargon. Simple wins every time.

At the end of your pitch there are six questions that, if you could ask your audience, would grade the success of your presentation;

1. Can they repeat your main points?
2. Could they visualise what you were saying?
3. Will they remember this tomorrow?
4. Could they relate it to their own lives?
5. Did they respect what you were saying?
6. Do they want to talk to you afterwards?

Wow, heavy questions, but worthy of keeping in mind as you prepare your presentation.

Let us know of some of your presentation ‘YES’ and ‘OH NO’ experiences.

In military terms there are four ways to fire a missile.

You can aim as well as you can and fire and HOPE that you will hit, or come close to the target. You can use a more sophisticated missile and guide it as it goes using MCLOS or SACLOS or you can use super advanced guidance using FAF technology.

In this series this week, we will use missile targeting to look at four ways that your marketing could be running. Each has lessons that we will chat about.