Technical Presentation with GoToMeeting

lordy

Dear all,

as my interview process for a sales supporting role (pre-sales, post-sales, implementation) progresses I have been asked to give a technical presentation on a topic of my choosing via GoToMeeting next week.

I already have a topic but I was wondering if anybody has hints for this kind of presentation. Since the webcam's will be on for everybody I will be wearing a suit just like for a face-to-face interview but I am not quite sure if there is anything technical or presentation wise that I should keep in mind.

Regards,
Lordy

zrockstar

I did part of an interview through Telepresence, just remember, you don't have to shout at the damn thing. People have a tendency to talk really loud when there is technology between them and the audience. Oh yeah, and wear pants.

paul78

When it comes to sales presentations - the key is to make sure that you know your audience. During any sales process, it's really important to find out who you are presenting to. And what their problems and challenges are that they are trying to solve. Did they provide you with a scenario that you are presenting to?

For example, if you are being told that your audience are business decision makers, you may want to focus less on technical details. Don't try to sell features that the stake holders don't care about.

A couple of things:
1) Do not assume that your audience understand acronyms. Never use them without explaining it.
2) Start the presentation by introductions - ideally find out their role in the mock presentation.
3) Have extra slides with details at the ready - but you don't always have to use them. Ideally, setup so that it will illicit questions and you can whip it out.
4) Be sure to tell your audience about how you prefer to have interactions work - for example do you want them to ask questions during the presentation or at the end. For example - I prefer interactive question during any presentation.

Good luck on the interview. I hope it works out.

Mrock4

paul78 really hit it all on the head. One key I want to mention:

If you know what kind of buyer you are, you know what kind of seller you are. That being said, if the person you're presenting to seems very focused on results, they're a value buyer, if they're focused on price- obviously they're a price buyer. The point is, knowing which category they fall into can help you tailor your presentation to them. It's an interview, so this may be tough to fully execute, but it's something to keep in mind regardless.

I second the wearing pants idea, by the way. Good luck!

lordy

Thanks guys, it worked out fine.

For anybody reading this thread later on here are a few things I have learned today:
- Check your webcam, lighting and background
- Make sure that your audio is good (Landline > Skype > VoIP)
- Wear good clothes, just like for a face-to-face interview

I started the presentation with a description of the product and it's history, followed by the key features. Then I explained each of the key features (including a few screenshots). To finish things up I had a summary sheet that listed all the benefits, basically a "why you should buy this" list. Turns out they liked it although I don't have much experience with presentations.

pinkydapimp

Practice using gotomeeting to give a presentation if you haven't used it before. That way you can get a feel for how it will work and the above tweaks that may be necessary.

lordy

Yeah, I kind of improvised on that. Video and Audio were working fine but I still have no idea how I can put Keynote or Preview (OSX) in full screen for a presentation without loosing the attendees cam windows.

pinkydapimp

lordy wrote: »

Yeah, I kind of improvised on that. Video and Audio were working fine but I still have no idea how I can put Keynote or Preview (OSX) in full screen for a presentation without loosing the attendees cam windows.

do you have a second monitor? that might help.

lordy

Yes, I do, but running Keynote or Preview in presentation mode will disable the second monitor :-/