Making an Effective
Presentation
LifeSciTN Business Planning Seminars Series
hosted by Baker Donelson
27 September 2012
Dr. Audrey M. Depelteau
"Too Often I
Have Been
Trapped
And, I have
been guilty
of all of the
above.”
In
Presentations
That Were
Carolyn Tallent
And So
On….
Painfully
Overlong,
Under
Organized,
Over Serious,
Logistics
&
Audience
Backward
Design
Model
Designing
Your Pitch
Material To Be Covered
Backward Design Educational Model
(Wiggins & McTighe)
Identify Desired Results
Determine Acceptable
Evidence
Plan Learning Experiences
and Instruction
Why Use An Educational Model?
Create the Big Picture: Set the Vision with the
End Goal in Mind
Identify Desired Results
Who Is Your Audience?
Why Are You Presenting To
This Individual/Group
What Result/Outcome
Would You Like To
Produce?
Example
 My Audience: A group of Life Science
Entrepreneurs ready to take their
business ideas to the next level, including
those seeking outside funding.
 Why: I am committed to supporting
Tennessee Economic Development by
keeping the best and the brightest here at
home.
Objectives
 At the end of this session you, the participants, will be
able:

To plan your presentation from a backward design model.

To write four or more objectives or outcomes that you want
your audience to ‘take away.’

To determine what logistics need to be identified and
handled before the formal presentation is given.

To identify audience ‘listening’ focus.

To distinguish areas of weakness in your delivery skills.

To create an effective pitch to investors using a step-by-step
model.
Tips for Effective Presentations
 Purpose of Presentation
 Visual & Projection
 Organize Content
 Slide Projection
 Prepare and Practice
 Using Pointers
 Personal Appearance,
 Handouts
Presence and Etiquette
 On-site Preparation
 Speaking
 Trouble-shooting,
Questions
Primary Listening Focuses
 Data

Listeners who are
primarily data driven
will be evaluating your
presentation to see if “it
is grounded in the
appropriate facts and
figures.”
 Vision


Audience members who
look first for structure
want to see how all the
different aspects of your
talk fit together.
Human Element:
 People want to know
where they — and
everyone else — fit in.
 Structure

“Where are all these
strategy discussions
going to lead us?”
 Assume all four types of
Brown, Paul B. Listen Up. Know Your Audience.
New York Times. September 2, 2006
listeners are present.
Plan Learning Experiences
The Pitch
Challenge
 The challenge will be to incorporate all pertinent
content that I will be discussing by:
 Being concise
 Using 10-12 slides
 Limiting your presentation to 10 - 15
minutes
Who are You, What is Your Company
and What are its Core Values?
 Introduce yourself.
 What is the name of the company?
 State concisely the core value proposition or the unique
benefit the company will provide to address the customer
need.
 Be succinct and clear. Maintain a focus.
 This is not a customer sales call. You’re not selling your
product.
 You’re selling your company, and your team.
Management Team Review
 Who is on your team and why are they qualified to execute
the plan?
 Provide key points about them, relevancy of experience.
 How will the team’s achievements, education and
experience (both functional & entrepreneurial) reduce the
risk of business failure?
 Focus on how the team is capable of building a business
around the product/service.
 Has the team worked together before? Another startup?
Another corporation? As partners, vendors/customer, etc.?
RAE’s Accomplished, Award Winning Team
Name
Area of Expertise
Victor Allen
James Beck
David Bryant, Ph.D.
Calvert Churn, Ph.D.
Robert Clayton
Jason Egli
Stephen Falling, Ph.D.
Charles Harris, M.S.
Jeffrey Kanel, Ph.D.
Robert Kanel
Roy Meadows
Richard Randles
Vincent VanBrunt, Ph.D.
Ralph Wong
Total
Executive Management/ Finance
Management/ Licensing
Intellectual Property/ Chemistry
Aquaculture/Permitting
Harvesting/ Aquaculture
Engineering and Operations
Analytical Chemistry
Aquaculture Construction
Management/ Extraction
Process Control/ Management
Licensing
Executive Management
Extraction/ Mass transfer
Permitting, Land issues
Degree
Years of
Experience
MBA
Psychology
Organic Chemistry
Environmental Eng.
Mechanical Eng.
Chemical Eng.
Organic Chemistry
Aquatic Sciences
Chemical Eng.
Computer Science
Engineering
Industrial Eng.
Chemical Eng.
Business
25
35
44
30
36
15
32
38
22
23
26
35
37
42
440
• Bryant won 1998 Perkin Medal
• >150 U.S. Patents invented by team members
• > 50 Processes from concept to commercialization by team members
turning > $1 billion sales
• Accomplished entrepreneurs and business executives in team
9/28/2012 to Dean Haritos
© Renewable Algal Energy, LLC
Perkin Medal: given
to a scientist
residing in America
for an "innovation in
applied chemistry
resulting in
outstanding
commercial
development." It is
considered the
highest honor given in
the US chemical
industry.
15
RAE’s accomplished, award winning team
Rick Randles
Industrial Eng.
COO
Executive mgmt
Jason Egli
Chemical
Engineer
Victor Allen,
MBA
Agricultural
Business
CFO
Executive mgmt
David Bryant, Ph.D.
Chemistry
Director of
Intellectual Property
Roy Meadows.
Chem. Eng.
Licensing
Mike Bryles, CPA
Accounting
Cal Churn, Ph.D.
Environmental
Engineer
Aquaculture
Jeff Kanel, Ph.D.
Chem. Eng.
President & CEO
Extraction
Bob Kanel
Computer Sci.
Process control
Jim Beck
Dir. of Licensing
Founded Solaray
Vince VanBrunt,
Ph.D.
Chem. Eng.
David Sims
Chem. Eng.
Plant Manager
Charles Harris, M.S.
Aquatic Sciences
Project Eng.
Steve Falling,
Ph.D.
Chemistry
9/28/2012 to Dean Haritos
Bob Clayton
Mechanical
Engineer
Harvesting
Perkin Medal: given
to a scientist
residing in America
for an "innovation in
applied chemistry
resulting in
outstanding
commercial
development." It is
considered the
highest honor given in
the US chemical
industry.
Ralph Wong
Land/ Water
permitting
© Renewable Algal Energy, LLC
16
What’s the Problem that you seek to solve?
 State the big, important problem that the
company is going to solve.
 State concisely and clearly why this situation
exists and persists.
 This is your Market Opportunity; that need,
want, or demand that is not being addressed
by the competitors.
How Big is the Problem?
 Assert the size of the
opportunity you have identified.
 Define the scope of the
opportunity.
 This is the Market Size, the
number of buyers and sellers in
a particular market.
Market continued

Explain the market that you are focusing on and provide statistics for the size
and indications of growth. Rarely would a small and or decreasing market
sustain a viable business.

Explain the industry dynamics, drivers, where your company will compete,
why and how.

Demonstrate that you thoroughly understand your market and have targeted
a segment that you can dominate.

Know the scope of opportunities and hone in on segment that is profitable
and approachable.

Once you “establish a beachhead” you can expand, but trying to be all things
to all people is a recipe for failure.

Mention any Intellectual Property advantage - any patents or defendable
IP that will be a barrier to entry to competitors.
Solution
What is your Solution?
 State concretely
what you will
build/develop that
solves the problem.
What is the Value that
your Solution Provides?
 State clearly and
quantify to the
extent possible three
to five key benefits
you provide.
How Will You Get Your
Solution To The Market?
 Focus on articulating the non-obvious,
potentially disruptive elements of your
strategy. (If yours is a sustaining innovation
focus on better value).
 What are the critical hurdles that your
company faces and how will you address them
to get the sale?
 This is your go to Market Strategy.
Customers
 Who are your customers? What relationship do you have
with them?
 What is their compelling business reason to buy your
product/service?
 What is the revenue model: purchase, lease, purchase &
annual maintenance, subscription fees, licensing fees, etc.?
 Do you have any revenue generating customers now? Are
they profitable?
 Investors like products that ‘remove pain’ or ‘solve a
problem’ and have an obvious Return on Investment (ROI)
for the customer at a price that is profitable for you.
Customers continued
 Discuss qualities of an “ideal customer”
 List your top 10 potential customers.
 Do one or two large customers dominate you? If so,
what is your plan to diversify? Exactly who in the
company is the buyer? VP of R&D? Director of Sales?
Who writes the checks? Is there any intermediary
selling your product to the end user. (know this for Q & A
or put in a handout)
Competitors: Who else provides a
solution and why is yours better?
 State clearly and concisely how your solution is better than
what everyone does in the industry, including the status
quo.
 Do your homework on the competition and don’t
misrepresent their strengths or their weaknesses. Please
don’t say you don’t have any. If there is money to be made,
someone will enter your market. Explain who this is and
why you are in a better position. (Lower pricing rarely ever
wins!)
 This is your Competitive Advantage which allows you to
generate greater sales or margins and/or retain more
customers than your competition.
Competitors continued
 What’s unique to your technology/service? Why is it
sustainable?
 What are the barriers to competition?
 After your initial product/service, what are the follow-ons?
 If your competitors are large, well financed companies, be
prepared to talk about licensing your product or selling
your company to them.
 This is your Competitive Advantage which allows you to
generate greater sales or margins and/or retain more
customers than your competition
Sales and Delivery Channels
 How are you going to get your product to the
customer?
 How does the cost of distribution or delivery compare
to the cost and profitability of the product?
 Do you have any partners or alliances to help
distribute your product/service?
 Is there a well known company that
compares/contrasts to your business model?
What will be needed to succeed and how
will you and others measure progress?
 What are the capital requirements for the
company?
 Map the funding against your key milestones.
 Tie the milestones to the key metrics in your
financial projections.
 This is your operating plan for the funds you
are raising – financing requirements and
associated milestones.
Exit Strategy
 When and how do you intend to exit the
business?
 Be specific.
 For Example stating that “Company a has
acquired x # of similar companies over the last
3-5 years and is one potential buyer” is better
than saying “we are hoping that someone
could buy us.”
Why you? Why now?
 Solidify the core value proposition of your
company in words that are memorable and
unique to your company.
 If someone were to give a short summary the
company, these are the words you want used –
the opportunity and the solution
 This is your Summary
Challenge
 The challenge will be to incorporate all pertinent
content that I discussed by:
 Being concise
 Using 10-12 slides
 Limiting your presentation to 10-15
minutes.
 Practice, Practice, Practice and time
yourself.
 Confidence & Body Language are critical.
Other Things to Consider
 Be prepared to answer
 Include in a handout
Sales Funnel/Process
(this is one of the most important areas in the
development of a robust business model)
 Explain your sales process—how you qualify, what
makes you decide to continue sales discussions, how
do you narrow your targets, who do you talk with,
how do you move them to a close or contract. If you
don’t know from experience, outline your assumption.
 What is the length of your sales cycle, from the time
you contact a lead to signing a contract, how many
hours are spent in the sales process, and how long
does it take? If you don’t know from experience,
estimate.
 Explain where your top 10 potential customers are in
the sales process or funnel.
Assuming you can get it to market and
make money, how much will you make?
 What is your five-year financial projection for
the company?
 What are the two to four key metrics that will
drive revenues, expenses and growth?
 Convey that you really understand the
economics and evolution of a growing a
dynamic company
 These are your financial projections.
Financial Projections continued
 Chart the top level revenue, expense, and profitability
history, if any, for the previous year plus the next five years.
 Explain correlation between revenue and number of
customers.
 Factor in length of sales cycle. For instance, if you intend
to produce revenue of x amount of $ in 2013, yet the sales
cycle is 12 months, and you have no customers in your
sales funnel, then how is that going to happen?
 Explain correlation between number of customers and
revenues generated from each customer.
Operation/Staffing
 Explain your growth in terms of number of
employees.
 Correlate to expenses outlined in Financial History.
For instance, if you intend to grow from 2 to 20
employees to service 20 or more customers, and your
expenses are only increasing to $300,000, then how is
that going to happen?
 Discuss staffing. What positions will you hire as you
grow?
Acknowledgements

Eric Matthews, Seed Hatchery in Memphis who has given me permission to
use portions ‘Suggestions for Making Your Pitch.’

Dr. Jeffrey Kanel of Renewable Algal Energy for allowing me to use them as
an example.

Tony Lettich, Excalibur for sharing insights from an investors point of view.

Life Science Tennessee, Abby Trotter

East Tennessee State University Innovation Lab

Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe for spear-heading and revolutionizing
education change. Wiggins G., McTighe J. 2005 Understanding by Design.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

garage.com