How many times have you been in a meeting where the sole purpose is for someone to deliver a presentation or pitch?  It could be your agency presenting a new creative idea.  Or perhaps its a start-up that is presenting why you should do business with them.

Or maybe you have even been the one giving the presentation?

The common fact with all of these is that in most cases, a presentation is a Hail Mary pass.  If you are just simply giving a one-way pitch, you are giving the audience two choices at the end….to say yes or to say no.  And the worst part about most presentations is that you have no idea which of those two choices the decision maker is going to make.

Some people love the thrill of the presentation, of trying to close the sale.  But business should not be a sport for thrill seekers.  Its not good business to have hold your breath and hope a decision goes your way.

To continue with the sports analogies, you should try to make your presentations a lay-up, instead of a Hail Mary pass.  Make the  presentation a formality where you know that the deal is closed before you even flip through your first slide.  Work with the decision makers in advance so they feel bought into the work.  Enroll your client in the process so they feel the same sense of ownership as you have.  Devote as much time to making the decision an easy one as you spend making the presentation look / sound good.

Delivering a great presentation is an important skill in business (Steve Jobs has shown us that).  But an even more important skill is being able to make the sale before the presentation even begins.

At this year’s CM Summit, Mary Meeker shared an updated presentation on her 2010 Internet Trends.   As always, Meeker’s presentation was jammed with thought provoking statements and facts that every marketing professional needs to pay attention.  In particular,the following caught my eye as things every Brand Manger and Marketer needs to keep in mind:

The difference in Media Time Spent vs Advertising Spend creates a $50 billion global opportunity: As consumers spend more time with Internet / Mobile, there is still a major gap vs advertising spend.  There is a huge opportunity to shift dollars, especially at the expense of print (12% of media time but a whopping 26% of ad spend).   But shifting theese dollars will require average online CPM’s to move upwards since they are still well below other media CPM’s.

Mobile Internet is ramping up faster than desktop Internet did: In fact, Morgan Stanley is predicting that for the first time ever, Smart Phone shipments will outpace Basic Cell Phones in 2011.  This is driven by the fact that 2010 will be a “Mainstream” tipping point as 3G penetration crosses over 20% globally.  Additionally, the number of Mobile App and Mobile Search users both doubled from 2009 to 2010.  Search was the single most used Mobile Browser feature, greater than Social Networking (#2) and News (#3).

Google’s Android will soon pass the iPhone in shipments: Estimates show that Android shipments in Q2 2010 will likely exceed iPhone for the first time-ever.  Most marketers I know have iPhone envy and aren’t even thinking about developing for Android.  Looks like that will have to change…fast.

These are just a few of the highlights from a great presentation.  Take the time to read it.  Your head will be spinning with opportunities and thoughts afterwards.

Catching up on the blog reading this weekend and came across this great presentation from the guys at Get Satisfaction.   They never fail to be thought provoking and this is yet another example with notes such as “Cocktail Napkin Collaboration” and “From ownership to stewardship.”

Disclaimer: I’m fortunate enough to be a friend / partner of Get Satisfaction