Know-How Exchange : Copywriting

Don't use words on your slides - feature appropriate images (of people, results, etc.). Focus your presentation on the story of how (business) life will be after they hire you...and why.

I'm assuming you're the managing vendor in your model.

If you're targeting CFOs, catchy may not be worth the effort. I'm not trying to paint them as geeks, because they are not, but their focus is most definitely on facts, figures, calculations. Remember as well, the closer you get to the boardroom the less Marketing Babble Speak (BS) you're going to need. That includes catchy slogans, brand persona and the usual Marketing suspects. So given a dollar/cents focus and an executive calendar--get right to the point.

Jay is right when he tells you to focus on outcome. The outcome the financial folks care most about (because it's what their performance is evaulated on) is save money/make money. You might find a clever way to say that but it's not important to your message.

Now don't get me wrong: what you do must be professional, error free, well executed. But, as I say, get to the point not to the promotion.

I'll echo Phil's comment. This sounds like a situation where you want an experienced copywriter -- along with an art director -- to put this together for you. It's not exactly a new situation; others have been down this path before.

But the difference between a home-grown presentation and a professionally prepared one will definitely be noticed and appreciated by your C-level target audience. It doesn't have to be super-slick, but it does have to communicate the right message quickly and convincingly.

You have too much at stake here to compromise the presentation by creating it "on the cheap." That said, if you really want to do this on your own, get a copy of Cliff Atkinson's Beyond Bullet Points, and follow his advice for a clear and compelling presentation.

And if you do want some outside help, Phil's right on that too. There are several folks here on the Know-How Exchange who do this sort of thing for a living. Read the profiles and talk with a few likely prospects.

General rule of thumb when presenting a list of critical facts: Describe benefits, not features.

Rather than describe what your program does or how it works, focus on how it will make life better for the purchasing decision-maker.

Will it improve productivity, or shorten cycle times?
Will it facilitate communication and coordination?
Will it reduce mistakes? Or anticipate problems?
Will it expand resources, or sharpen current ones?
Will it make money, save money, or minimize losses?

If you can answer questions like these up front, CFOs may not even care how your solution works. If they do, they know who to ask. A critical facts sheet is just a handshake. It introduces your potential value, not how you'll deliver it. So, benefits will grab attention more than features.

The only reason you might offer a peak "inside the box" is to underscore that it's reliably designed and engineered.

Feel free to look me up and chat further about this. No obligation. I just like talking shop.