Work Backwards

Article contributed by Beth Anderson.

  When we prepare our 60 second Sales Manager Minute or our 10 minute presentation for our BNI Meeting, how do we do it? We start writing from the beginning, right? And then we may even practice it a couple of times – stopping where it doesn’t sound right, making some changes in the middle – and each time we start reading from the beginning again. By the time we’re done we have that first part nailed.

But what about the ending? The ending (aka, the close) is actually the important part.

What do you want the audience to be thinking about at the end? What message are you trying to convey? Do you ASK for the referral?

Next time you prepare a presentation, whether it’s 1 minute or an hour, start at the end. What do you want your audience to do when you’re done? And then write the beginning to get to the end.