Linking to Point B

To make the opening of your presentation its most effective, you need to do more than capture the interest of your audience. The optimal Opening Gambit goes further by linking to your Point B.

In every one of the examples above, the presenters continued beyond the Opening Gambit, and then hopped, skipped , and jumped along a path that concluded with Point B. To help you do the same, you'll need two additional stepping stones: the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and the Proof of Concept .

• USP. This is a very succinct summary of your business, the basic premise that describes what you or your company does, makes, or offers. Think of the USP as the "elevator" version of your presentation: the way you'd pitch yourself if you stepped into an elevator and suddenly saw that hot prospect you'd been trying to buttonhole. But please , make it a four-story elevator ride, not a 70-story trip!

The USP should be one, or at most, two sentences long. One of the most common complaints I hear about presentations is: "I listened to them for 30 minutes, and I still don't know what they do!" The USP is what they do.

Remember Dan Warmenhoven's opening: "Our company, Network Appliance, makes a product called a file server. A file server does one thing and does it well: It manages data on networks." A very clear, concise USP.

• Proof of Concept. This is a single telling point that validates your USP. It gives instant credibility to your business. The Proof of Concept is optional: sometimes you can start with the Opening Gambit, link through the USP, and then go directly to Point B without the extra beat.

It is a valuable beat, nonetheless, and when you do choose to include the Proof of Concept, you have a number of options. For example, you can use a significant sales achievement: "We sold 85,000 copies of this software the first day it was available"; a prestigious award: " Business Week picked our product as one of the top 10 of the year"; or an impressive endorsement: "When an IBM vice president tried our product, he told me he'd give anything if only IBM could have invented it."

Think of your Opening Gambit, your USP, your Proof of Concept, and your Point B as dynamic inflection points. Once you've segued smoothly through each of them at the start of your presentation, the heart of your argument will be primed for your discussion. You will have grabbed your audience's attention, and they will be very clear about what you want them to do.

Let's go back to Scott Cook, the founding CEO of Intuit Software, and the presentation he made at the Robertson, Stephens and Company Technology Investment Conference, prior to his public offering. Scott began with his two questions: "How many of you balance your checkbooks?" and "How many of you like doing it?"

As the chuckling subsided and all the hands dropped, Scott continued, "You're not alone. Millions of people around the world hate balancing their checkbooks. We at Intuit have developed a simple, easy-to-use, inexpensive, new personal finance tool called Quicken." (Intuit's USP.) Now Scott started to roll: "We're confident that those millions of people who hate balancing their checkbooks will buy many units of Quicken " Scott had built up such a head of steam that he skipped past his Proof of Concept, and without passing Go , went directly to his Point B: " making Intuit a company you want to watch."

At that moment in the history of the company, Scott's sole purpose was to raise awareness among potential investors and investment managers for the upcoming Intuit IPO. Unlike the CEOs of other private companies presenting at the conference, all of whom were seeking financing, Scott was there only to tee up his road show: " a company you want to watch." Scott was not there to raise capital. (In fact, at that very conference, Scott declined a handsome investment offer because he had all the working capital he needed from his primary investors, the Kleiner, Perkins Caufield & Byers venture firm.)

As a footnote, Scott is never shy about asking for the order. Of the more than 400 CEOs I've coached for IPO road shows, I've had to prompt almost all of them to make their call to action. (Remember: One of the Five Cardinal Sins is "What's your point?") Most CEOs are reluctant to use the "i" word ("invest"). Far be it for me to suggest that they do. Instead, I recommend words like "invite," "join," "participate," and "share." Only Scott Cook, among those 400, concluded his IPO road show by boldly asking, "Why should you invest in Intuit?", and then providing them with the answers.

Remember from Chapter 4 how CEO Jerry Rogers began the Cyrix IPO road show: "Cyrix competes against the established giants Intel and AMD as well as two other large, well- funded companies." (Jerry's Opening Gambit was a factoid ; in this case, a most striking statement.) "So as a tiny startup trying to establish itself, I have to respond to some challenging questions from potential new customers about the IBM-compatible microprocessors that Cyrix designs." (Cyrix's USP.) "Three questions keep recurring: 'Will Cyrix microprocessors run all software applications?' 'How will Cyrix compete with Intel?' and 'Does Cyrix have the financial stability to succeed?'"

Jerry continued, "Cyrix has already begun shipments of the first commercially available 486 microprocessors not produced by Intel." (Cyrix's Proof of Concept.) "But those same three questions about compatibility, competition, and finances remain important to potential investors like you. In my presentation today, I'll provide you with the answers to those questions to demonstrate that Cyrix is indeed a sound investment." (Cyrix's Point B.)

Jerry's answers and his call to action proved to be effective: When Cyrix launched as a public company, they were priced at $13, and the first trade was over $19, a significant achievement in 1993.

Now let's move from CEO Jerry Rogers to Carol Case, the salesperson from Argus Insurance you met earlier in this chapter: Carol began her pitches to her prospective buyers with the scenario about the fire. After the scenario, Carol continued: "Our customer is like many customers who purchase a basic policy not customized to their individual needs. He now realizes that means being just one stop away from disaster. Luckily, we at Argus Insurance have a solution. Argus can provide you with a customized, value-added package of insurance that provides for your individual needs to protect you against serious financial loss." (Argus' USP.) Carol was already teeing up her Point B, but for good measure, she added her Proof of Concept: "Maybe that's why Argus is one of the fastest growing insurance brokers in the state." Now, she was ready for an even stronger Point B: "I know that you'll want to take advantage of the opportunity and sign up for this important coverage today."

By power-launching your presentation with your Opening Gambit, your USP, your Proof of Concept, and your Point B, your audience will have no doubt about where they're going. Now it's time for you to tell them how you intend to navigate them there.