Any suggestions? I am giving a presentation at a upcoming ASNE (American Society of Naval Engineers) conference....

I know my subject matter pretty well, but kinda nervous knowing people will be asking questions.

BTW - Borka is back

8/7/2011 12:17:53 AM

let's chit chat the fuck out of this thread

fuck borka

8/7/2011 12:18:31 AM

wear a burka, borka

8/7/2011 12:18:55 AM

inform them you will be borkaing it up beforehand

8/7/2011 12:19:18 AM

ahh it's good to be back and know the hate is still there.....

8/7/2011 12:20:04 AM

@settledown...Who are you again??? you havent been here long enough to be worthy of that....

8/7/2011 12:21:09 AM

if you know the subject matter pretty well, nervousness during your answers of questions will be a kind of audience-perceived silver lining that you're more concerned with being in touch with the subject matter than worrying about being a news anchor

a couple intelligent and well-informed answers that aren't delivered with 100% impeccable cadence are going to change the tone from "whats up with this guy" to "this guy knows his shit"

8/7/2011 12:21:43 AM

Mention seamen as many times as possible in the presentation.

8/7/2011 12:22:16 AM

practice practice practice practice, and more practice



I had to give a big presentation and I was VERY nervous in the beginning... Even though I knew the subject matter very well (one of my biggest fears for school is talking about something then being asked a hard question and not know the answer, then look like an ass in front of everyone so I spend way too long knowing the ins and outs of it :\), multiple people who had to give feedback questioned if I knew the material or not "in the beginning".. or if I had just put the slides up there for fluff



So, practice as much as you can.. even if you have to skype with someone and give your presentation like 6 times, or do it in front of the mirror

8/7/2011 12:24:21 AM

I realize this thread is about Giving a presentation at a professional conference .... which I am not. Hear me out, maybe I can offer some insight.

I am in outside sales, which is currently salary+commission, but will move into straight commission starting at the beginning of July 2010. I have been in this position since July 2009. I have competition from several direct manufacturing sales reps, large distributors, and local distributors. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Direct Advantages: Immediate knowledge of new technology, no middle man mark up, one shipping bill (paid by manufacturer or buyer of goods), access to larger range of non-commodity items, control inventory, have access to many distributors that can effectively sell their goods which increases market share, and set prices of commodity they manufacture.

Direct disadvantages: Typically have 1-3 sales reps per region (i.e. southeast, mid-atlantic, northeast, etc.) limiting the number of accounts they can successfully manage/cold-call, lack physical customer service or physical technical service available to or affordable for smaller users or altogether, are sometimes not trustworthy because they will go in behind their distributors that sell their commodity to one account in large quantities (i.e. they missed a big account, and have found out about it through a distributor selling their particular product) which leads to the distributor not selling their product anymore, have too many distributors selling the product ultimately driving the set price down through deviations, possibly rely on distributors to actually sell the product, and competition from other direct sources.

Large distributor advantages: have access to other commodities that go hand in hand with other manufacturers (poor example- grocery stores sell milk as well as cereal), get direct pricing, many locations regionally or nationally easing the shipping burden of buyers with multiple locations, personal service either customer or technical, many sales reps that are able to cover a broader territory, access to multiple manufacturers of the same commodity allowing to keep prices in check, service programs that smaller companies can't offer and direct providers can't match in price or value, and experts of many many commodities as opposed to one or a few.

Large distributor disadvantages: smaller local distributors creating price wars (think Michael Scott Paper Co vs Dunder-Mifflin), direct mfg's going in behind and stealing business, limited access to all of the mfg's (you won't find Harris Teeter name brands in Food Lion and visa versa), can't truly set prices because it's based on both supply and demand, territory management, and tough growth prospects in slower economies (this is true for direct as well really)

Local distributor advantages: Typically a good ol' boy setting where the seller and the buyer know each other for years (this does happen at all levels, but mostly at the local level), local folks are right down the street and can be used in emergencies, if the local guy buys at high enough volumes then there is no shipping charge to the end user, and access to both direct mfg's and large distributors.

Local distributor disadvantages: easily beaten in price, array of commodities, array of technology, lack of trained staff, low cash flow, etc etc etc.

This is what I have noticed in my six months, I am sure there are plenty more that need mentioning. The way I am setting myself apart as a sales person is this: I go after the big accounts right now while I am new. The big accounts, if I land them, will take care of me while I am new and building a customer base. The money made off of those allows me to focus free time on smaller accounts that get me higher margins. I build up big accounts, I would like to have 5-10 of these, then get 20-30 medium accounts. If I lose 1 or 2 big accounts, the 20-30 medium accounts keep me afloat while I go after new big accounts. I don't really waste time on small accounts simply because they basically pay for breakfast or something really small.

I will say this, if you can't get a big account in the first 6-8 months (assuming you have cash flow that you can ride this long) you could be in a world of trouble. If you can get one, it will really make going after the others a lot more enjoyable and less stressful. It's simply just very exhausting wasting any time on anything other than big accounts in the very beginning. You work just as hard on the medium sized accounts and see 1/3 to 1/36 of the money in my situation.

If you have any other questions, you can PM me. I hope this helps in the slightest!

8/7/2011 12:24:21 AM

let them know their questions are stupid

8/7/2011 12:27:03 AM

Whoa that's a lot of words.

Anyways: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duZ4VSDmwNo&feature=related

8/7/2011 12:27:44 AM

Quote :

"practice practice practice practice, and more practice"

8/7/2011 12:32:05 AM

The best thing to do when being asked a question is to first confirm the question. You do that for two reasons, so you are sure that you're answering the right one and buys you an extra couple of seconds to get your knowledge. Another thing to do is to look at your presentation and just look at areas where you could be asked questions and prepare for them. On my presentations now, I go over them with a colleague and ask them to think of questions based on the material. I have found it to be the best way to be prepared, as they will think of questions you might not. Friendly environments are the key to being successful in practice, so if you get in a bad one, you're prepared.

Above all as has been said:

Quote :

"practice, practice, practice, practice"

8/7/2011 12:39:42 AM

lol @ srs answers in this this thread

8/7/2011 12:41:21 AM

Before you begin, pick out the worst dressed person in the front row.


If you accidentally fart in the middle of your presentation, that is the person you immediately blame.

[Edited on August 7, 2011 at 12:56 AM. Reason : Or intentionally fart for that matter. I don't really know how your company does business.]

8/7/2011 12:54:26 AM

^^^Good advice....

I will be practicing and doing my speaker notes...

For those who don't know I work for the Navy...and my CAPTAIN has decided to come and attend also....hoping I dont get to many stones thrown at me by the crowd....

8/7/2011 1:02:15 AM

^ Just obsequiously bow before their moral imperative and alleged puritanical culture. Throw in some nautical hyperbole interbred with sports metaphors like, "Hey fellas don't keelhaul me if I drop the ball on this - lolz!" and you'll be golden.

8/7/2011 1:05:04 AM

post your salary and pictures of your dumpy house

we'll be impressed

8/7/2011 1:05:09 AM

^ no and no



I do have lots of pretty pictures in my presentation!!!

8/7/2011 1:06:36 AM

8/7/2011 1:06:40 AM

8/7/2011 1:08:33 AM

a picture of my wife....yes??

8/7/2011 1:09:40 AM

Shit gettin all IRL



lame

8/7/2011 1:10:44 AM

"I'm a Pretty Bitch"



BaseGod

8/7/2011 1:10:46 AM

Quote :

"Depending on how my yearly eval goes in Nov/and transfer from NSPS to GS....I will be right on the 6 figure mark!!"

8/7/2011 1:11:49 AM

Quote :

"I'm single again...back on the prowl"

8/7/2011 1:15:44 AM

these two threads demonstrate why i hate borka

/message_topic.aspx?topic=390697

/message_topic.aspx?topic=399090

i cannot imagine how fucking awful it would be to work with this guy

8/7/2011 1:26:54 AM

Too much hatred.



Someone should stick a banana in your tailpipe.

8/7/2011 1:27:32 AM

Blanka ?!

8/7/2011 1:29:36 AM

omg please tell me you got married in 1986 because that's the only time a bouquet like that would be acceptable

8/7/2011 1:29:52 AM

hahahahahahahahaha DB

8/7/2011 1:52:01 AM

This thread makes black spidey cry

8/7/2011 1:58:12 AM

wow borka, gain a few have yeah?

8/7/2011 2:01:01 AM

lots of people hating on borka in here who have no clue who he is, lol

8/7/2011 2:03:16 AM

I had to give a presentation back in May and only practiced once, and did fine.

Looking at a recording of the presentation (it was also streamed to an online audience), i had a tendency to flail my arms around. It was the first non-school presentation I had to do, and I was nervous, but after the first 20 seconds I got into my groove, and it went great after that.

8/7/2011 9:34:55 AM

Quote :

"lots of people hating on borka in here who have no clue who he is, lol"

that's just not true

8/7/2011 9:41:25 AM

Quote :

"omg please tell me you got married in 1986 because that's the only time a bouquet like that would be acceptable"

lol, does look like the dress and bouquet my mom wore when my parents got married in 1986.

8/7/2011 10:23:43 AM

BORKA BORKA DORKA BORKA

would you like fries with that?

8/7/2011 12:25:29 PM

with that faggy beard and beer gut i guarantee this guy has unflattering nicknames that his coworkers use behind his back

especially the Navy guys

8/7/2011 1:37:27 PM