Why this is important
If you are thinking about starting in enterprise, you need to be able to promote both yourself and your ideas to others. You will need to be able to present yourself in the right way for the people, market or sector you are in and communicate effectively so that other people want to deal with you. If you develop your personal skills in communication and selling and develop some techniques for presenting ideas then when you come to the business planning stage, you will be able to really focus on planning a business that will be successful.
What personal attributes you need.
· Enthusiasm and passion
· Assertiveness
What you need to be able to do
a Dress appropriately for different situations.
b Speak business language when you need to.
c Show that you really understand what you are talking about.
d Use the positive things about you to help you.
e Communicate your point of view so that others understand it.
f Listen to what others are saying so that you really understand what they mean.
g Say no to requests that you are unable or unwilling to meet.
h Present ideas to others with passion and enthusiasm.
i Clearly and succinctly summarise features, benefits and key information.
j Identify what you want to achieve and decide when to argue your point or adapt your expectations.
What you need to know about
Personal presentation
1 What people expect of a business person and how this may differ in different situations. (For example different industries, markets and companies will use different types of language and have different expectations of acceptable dress ie you don’t always have to wear a suit.)
2 The effect your personal presentation will have on others and why it is important to dress accordingly. (For example coming across professionally, selling yourself, giving people confidence in you and building your networks or customer base.)
Communication
3 Why using the appropriate language without too much jargon can give you credibility.
4 Effective ways to communicate and their advantages and drawbacks in different situations. (For example face to face, written, by email and over the phone.)
Assertiveness
5 How to get your point across without being dominant or offensive.
6 When you might need to say no. (For example to stop friends calling in when you are supposed to be working or to turn down work for people you know when they are expecting you to do it too cheaply.)
7 How to say no to people in a way that will keep them interested.
Selling
8 How to identify the things that are unique about a product, service or idea.
9 Ways to identify what people really expect or want and whether you can help them profitably.
10 Different ways of selling and how they can be used. (For example cold-calling or demonstrating how you meet a need.)
11 How to prepare for a negotiation. (For example finding out beforehand what the other person needs to achieve, deciding how much you can concede without losing sight of what you want to achieve.)
12 How to convert interest to a commitment. (For example stopping talking so that the other person can stop listening and start to commit.)
13 Why it is important not to undervalue yourself, your product or your service.
Promote yourself and your ideas
14 What your positive characteristics are and how to use them to help you.
15 How to show passion and enthusiasm for ideas, products or services.
16 Different ways of structuring and presenting information to get the best effect from your audience. (For example summarising what you want to talk about, using visual handouts to emphasise specific points, providing a written report, using slides and allowing opportunities for questions.)