About the Company

Shopping Behaviour Xplained Ltd analyses consumer behaviour, using current research and technology to compare what shoppers actually do in-store with their conscious and sub-conscious motivations and opinions.

Shopping behaviour analysis brings the shopper to the centre of retail marketing, merchandising and category management. SBXL reports what happens in-store, what decisions have been made and the reasoning behind them, and how the seller should act on this knowledge.

A large part of Shopping Behaviour Xplained’s research is based around eye tracking. By tracking shopper’s eye movements, SBXL are able to define what attracts their attention, what they find visually interesting and what they overlook. This research enables SBXL’s clients to obtain a deeper understanding of the impact of in-store communication.

Shopping Behaviour Xplained dissects and compares what shoppers do and how they think, providing knowledge of consumer behaviour. This understanding can then be used to plan range and space planning initiatives; to enter trade negotiations with more than just the price as a lever; and to optimise the efficiency of in-store marketing spend.

Objectives

Shopping Behaviour Xplained was seeking to recreate its image for 2010, placing itself as an innovative company in the marketplace. A presentation was needed that would demonstrate SBXL’s core values and beliefs regarding psychological research and knowledge of the sector.

SBXL wanted a professional presentation that would function as a sales pitch, as well as form part of conference speeches and training workshops for its clients. The presentation needed to be informative, whilst stressing to audience members the benefits of working with SBXL.

Adrianne Carter, General Manager of SBXL, explained:

We chose m62 because its methodology suited ours; no other presentation company exhibits the same psychological understanding as m62. It was important to us to express our psychological knowledge, and it was clear that using scientifically researched presentation techniques was the best way to do that.

Challenges

Shopping Behaviour Xplained uses techniques and theories that are not common in the marketplace. SBXL really wanted to emphasise this diversity in a way that would be remembered by audience members. To achieve this, SBXL needed a unique presentation that would really stand out from the crowd, and demonstrate how Shopping Behaviour Xplained differed from other companies.

SBXL wanted to show that it really understands what goes on in the human brain, and has a deep knowledge of psychology. The client wanted a presentation that would really demonstrate this understanding in a practical manner, using researched techniques to emphasise the point.

As part of its pitch, Shopping Behaviour Xplained wanted to include videos that demonstrate an example of its theories in action. In the past these videos have been the part of a presentation that stood out and was remembered, but SBXL wanted to ensure that the rest of the presentation was as memorable as these.

Solution

m62 used its research into psychology and working memory to incorporate certain presentation techniques into the presentation. Techniques such as Visual Cognitive Dissonance and Passive Mnemonic Processes were used to maximise audience engagement and recall rates. This ensured that SBXL’s message was conveyed in the most effective way possible, demonstrating knowledge of the human brain.

These techniques were then combined with impressive PowerPoint design to ensure that the presentation demonstrated key facts and figures in a visual format. m62 used subtle animation and graphs that build to highlight important research, and to ensure that the complex thinking behind the points was easy for the audience to grasp.

SBXL employees also attended open62 training sessions to ensure that they could maximise the effectiveness of their slides. Using the visualised PowerPoint slides with PowerPoint skills training enabled SBXL’s workers to fully incorporate all psychological techniques into their presentations, and to enable presenters to make certain that audiences were engaged, and would experience maximum recall.

Results

Shopping Behaviour Xplained now finds it much easier to deliver its presentation, and to deliver it well. Audience members have given nothing but positive feedback, and SBXL’s scientific values are fully demonstrated.

Adrianne Carter, General Manager of Shopping Behaviour Xplained Ltd, commented:

Our presentation now feels much more powerful, and more likely to be remembered. The message hasn’t changed in itself, but it is now much more precise. The way our points are visualised ensures that we are not tempted to waffle, or to read off the screen.

The training course too exceeded expectations. Not only did we leave better presenters, but we came away understanding the actual psychology of presenting, and knowing that we can incorporate this into our presentations. I am confident that we can now use dual encoding and VCD to imbed whatever we choose into the minds of our audiences. Now that we’ve had the training, I feel that our slides are doubly powerful.

About the Client

Thomas Dickson founded Essential Money Limited in August 2007 to provide Independent Financial Advice for dentists nationwide. He has been awarded the Advanced Financial Planning Certificate by the Chartered Insurance Institute and qualified as a Certified Financial PlannerCM in 2006. Essential Money is now one of the leading IFAs for dentists. It works throughout the whole of the UK, providing a comprehensive financial planning service for dentists nationwide.

Thomas has presented financial planning seminars to many groups within dentistry, including Women in Dentistry, both undergraduate and postgraduate schools, and the Armed Forces. He writes regularly for the leading dental publications and is a member of the Association of Specialist Providers to Dentists (ASPD).

Thomas was invited to speak at the Inspire Users Group Annual Conference 2009, on organising successful seminars for prospects. This was an independent event organised by financial planners for financial planners, the purpose of which was to motivate and educate the conference attendees.

Objectives

Thomas was invited by the Inspire Users Group to deliver a presentation on organising successful seminars. His aim was to show how to maximise seminar effectiveness to gain credibility, authority and more business for a company. The object of the presentation was to demonstrate how arranging seminars for clients can improve relationships with existing clients, and create relationships with new ones.

Thomas’ target was to motivate the Independent Financial Advisors to consider organising their own successful seminars. As an IFA, Thomas aimed to show that if he could do it, anyone could. Thomas set out to recall his own experience of organising seminars, and what he’d learnt from these experiences. He intended to demonstrate the mistakes he’d made in the past, how to avoid them, and what to do instead.

Challenges

As the presentation specification was to show the audience best practice in delivering a presentation or seminar, Thomas could afford no imperfections in either slides or patter. It would have been self-defeating to explain the negative effects of too many bullet points and over-complicated graphs by using bullet points and complicated graphs. If his presentation was to succeed, it had to be impressive and professional.

The original presentation contained very basic slides with mostly bullet-point text, images used primarily as decoration, and very little animation. This needed to be improved if Thomas was to demonstrate to his audience what an impressive presentation should look like.

As an educational presentation, it was also important that the messages in the presentation were clearly represented.

Solution

m62’s impress service offers professional presentation design at affordable prices. Presentation design consultancy takes place remotely, in this case lasting under an hour. In this consultation the presentation objectives were established and summarised, before a better way of presenting each slide visually was decided upon. The slides were discussed one at a time and both the client and m62 design consultant agreed on each change made.

Slides containing a lot of information were broken down into more manageable chunks, and an animation build was used to control the speed at which the audience received information on particularly complex slides.

The overall layout of the slides was changed to make the look and feel of the presentation consistent. Design elements and icons were created and animated in place of bullet-point text, thus improving slide design. Better quality images were sourced, and animation and design were polished.

Results

The redesigned presentation looked impressive and professional – helping Thomas to convey the right impression to an important audience.

The design changes m62 made helped simplify the information and made it easier for the presenter to both deliver the presentation and control its pace. This made it simpler for the audience to follow, particularly when complex information was broken down and built gradually. m62 designed the presentation making extensive use of native PowerPoint features, making it easy for edits to be made in the future.

After delivering the presentation, Thomas commented:

“The resulting presentation was much more professional looking. I was a bit dubious about replacing my text with images, but the graphics helped me with what to say, and I found that the presentation worked a lot better with less information on the slides. I felt I could be myself more, and the audience loved it – feedback was one hundred percent positive.”

Paul Armson of Prestwood Software, an audience member, commented:

“The presentation was slick and polished – it really looked professional. The slides demonstrated the message, making it clear and easy to understand; particularly the complicated graph, which was broken down into simple steps. Much nicer to watch than slide after slide of bullet points! It really did look great.”

About the Company

Gaymer Cider Company are the dedicated cider expert with a comprehensive portfolio of cider brands including Gaymers, Blackthorn, Olde English & Addlestones.

Based at Shepton Mallet, Somerset – the heart of cider country – the cider mill has been producing cider for many generations. Gaymer Cider Company is the second largest cider producer in the UK.

Objectives

The presentation Gaymer Cider Company approached m62 for help with was designed to increase the company’s credibility as the cider expert with both its customers and internal sales team.

The initial presentation was for use internally to educate the sales team and provide them with the confidence and knowledge to take the information externally to customers. Gaymer Cider Company wished to represent the business in a way that would change opinion on their position in the market.

The focus of this pitch was a research project about the cider market, which would reveal insights about the future growth opportunities for cider. The presentation would use the data to demonstrate how this knowledge could be used to maximise sales opportunities.

Challenges

The research project this presentation was regarding represented a significant investment for the business. This meant it represented a great opportunity, and care had to be taken that this opportunity was maximised.

On top of this, category research was very new. As a new area for the business, it was important to Gaymer Cider Company that it got its message across in a clear and concise method. It wanted to represent the business in a novel way, that would make customers sit up and take notice.

The information Gaymer Cider Company wished to be conveyed was by nature, full of data. With so many facts to present, Gaymer Cider Company found it difficult to represent the data in a way that would be easy for all audience members to understand and appreciate.

Gaymer Cider Company had a tight lead time to work to, and needed a quick turnaround on the project.

Solution

With so much information on the slides, it was hard to tell which details were most important. This meant that it was difficult for the audience to grasp the main ideas of the presentation. m62 simplified the message to make it easier to understand, and conveyed certain statistics in less detailed, more visual graphs. This meant that the main detail of the slide could be quickly grasped. The numbers that were really important stood out, as fine detail could be emphasised when necessary.

The charts were designed to be as clear as possible, and m62 used animation to help explain each point and make the data more engaging. The graphs were programmed to build with each point made, so that the audience would not be overloaded with too much information at once. Thus the audience’s focus could be directed towards the relevant point at the right time, ensuring that they would find the information easier to understand and remember.

Results

m62 produced the presentation to deadline, with slides containing simplified, visual data. The presentation was dynamic, and designed to draw the audience in, focusing their attention on the details that really mattered.

Chris Richardson, Customer Marketing Manager, commented:

“With a very tight lead time to work to, m62 showed real dedication to deliver the project on time. The information is now represented in a way that is very clear. The design and animation really helps the audience understand the key messages rather than getting lost.

“When we presented to our own team at the annual conference, we had audience members afterwards commenting on how interesting it was, and mentioning specific numbers. The fact that they could remember the details showed how effective the presentation had been. We’ve since delivered the presentation to certain key customers, and have had positive feedback. In fact, opportunities came up as a result of the presentation that we wouldn’t normally expect. We’ll be using the presentation over the next six to twelve months, and so far we’re very pleased with how it’s going.”

First Juice, Inc. is a business backed by private investors who believe in delivering socially responsible products for parents and their children. The company was formed by parents, for parents. Its aim is to change the way parents look at the food choices they make for their children.

The product, First Juice, is America’s first organic, low sugar, fruit and vegetable juice for infants and toddlers. The juice is a healthy option for consumers, and its recyclable, non-spill packaging is designed to be convenient and environmentally friendly. As it contains a blend less sweet than regular fruit juices, it encourages children not to prefer sweet tastes, thus having a positive influence on taste-preference development.

First Juice has won various awards, including Best Packaging 2009, Best New Children’s Drink 2009, and Best Health Initiative 2009.

m62 first worked with First Juice in 2006, when the company was just beginning to develop. The Founder of First Juice, David Glasser, had viewed a webinar conducted by m62, and approached m62 to create his first presentation. He wanted a presentation that would help him get noticed, as he truly believed in his idea and wanted to publicise it in the best way possible.

David said of the first presentation produced for him by m62:

“m62 helped me move forward by giving me a presentation that was focused, clear, well-laid out and rehearsed. I knew that if I wanted a new presentation to be as successful as the last, I would have to work with m62 again.”

Objectives

When the time came for expansion, First Juice approached m62 again to help procure investment for the company.

First Juice was looking to raise capital, and needed a presentation to take to each meeting that would convince potential investors that First Juice Inc. represented an attractive proposition.

The presentation needed to be clear and persuasive, yet still convey the detailed financial figures that would demonstrate the potential return investors could expect.

Challenges

The current economical climate means that investors are being particularly careful with money, thus making it more difficult than usual to obtain funding. First Juice needed to ensure that the presentation was the best it could be. David Glasser, Founder of First Juice, commented: “I contacted m62 because I wanted to feel that I’d done the best I could. I didn’t want to have any excuses.”

First Juice wanted to move away from the presentation standard, and produce slides that could be shown over the course of an hour and a half’s conversation, rather than be delivered as a stand-alone lecture.

The children’s beverage industry is a competitive market, and First Juice wanted to make sure that it stood out from the crowd. First Juice’s mission is unique, and it wanted to ensure that this was fully conveyed to the audience.

Solution

With a quick turnaround of only two weeks, m62 produced a presentation that was clearly divided into five steps of the agenda, useful for switching between slides during the conversation with investors. A consistent professional image was produced that featured the company graphics, thus keeping the First Juice focus of children and families apparent throughout.

As the social and personal aspect of First Juice’s business is so important to its mission, photographs were used when appropriate to demonstrate both team members and customers, but not to an extent that would distract the audience.

Procuring investment involves displaying a large collection of numerical data. m62 converted this data into animated graphs that adapt and move as the speaker explains each point, making it easier for the audience to understand each piece of information, as well as highlighting the most important of these.

Results

m62 created for First Juice a visual presentation that conveys complex messages with elegant diagrams and graphs.

David Glasser, Founder and CEO of First Juice, commented:

“I happened to watch a webinar given by m62 a few years ago, and thought that the company produced work much better than anything I had previously seen. I decided then that whenever I needed to produce a really important presentation, I would work with m62. And after fantastic results with the last m62 presentation three years ago, when the time came for expansion, I contacted m62 again.

“This time around, I once again wanted my presentation to be the best it could be, and I knew that for that I’d have to work with m62. The presentation really clarifies what we’re trying to say, and communicates it in the best way possible. I’m completely satisfied and I can’t compliment team members enough for being so attentive. I’d spend my last five grand with m62, because I really believe in the work they do.”

In response to the need for Rob’s current clients to get professional support in delivering more effective PowerPoint presentations, m62 represents the perfect solution.
Having consulted with, and developed many businesses in the Canadian market over the years, many of Rob’s clients are now aware of the m62 partnership.

Says Rob Hepburn:  “I’m excited to be joining forces with m62, to introduce even more Canadian businesses to its winning approach. I’ve no doubt that it will prove as successful here in Canada as it has in many other countries throughout the world”.

Says Richard Newman, m62 Channel Partner Director:

“We are delighted about our new partnership with Rob. His skill set complements everything we do and I’m excited about working with Rob and his clients to help them significantly improve the effectiveness of their corporate presentations.”

Open62 is m62’s hard skills training for presenters.  Anyone can enrol, and the training is specifically catered to small groups and individuals.

m62 hard skills courses use psychological research to enable delegates to understand how audiences receive information, and thus the best way to help them retain it.  The course involves practical application of techniques learnt, and a focus on results.

The next dates for Open62 are the 26th and 27th of January, 2010. The training will be conducted in central Liverpool, UK.

Visit the Open62 hard presentation skills page to learn more about the training.

For more details and to book, please call the m62 office on +44 (0)151 259 6262, or request a call back.

Informavores is a company that provides business orchestration software, which modernises the way call centre and web-based customer interactions are managed. The software is used to guide interaction with customers and prospects as well as to ensure operational excellence.

The software, Firefly, enables businesses to build scripts, processes and guides that include complicated business rules, which are accessible to all employees. Firefly optimises the productivity of customer interactions by automating administrative tasks.

Informavores also provides a range of training, consultancy and development services, supporting its clients throughout the entire process from initial design to launch. Informavores does the majority of its work remotely using web conferencing, enabling it to be flexible and work successfully with clients around the world.

Objectives

Informavores wanted a presentation that clearly articulated what business orchestration is, and the benefits it offers to clients. As most of Informavores’ presentations are delivered over the Internet, the presentation had to be engaging and dynamic for use in remote selling, while still working for face-to-face use.

Informavores felt that its old presentations were ‘dry and dull’, and needed to be more appealing in order to successfully engage and persuade the audience. Informavores wanted to use the best presentation it could, which was specifically optimised for use via web conferencing software.

Challenges

Business orchestration, the crux of Informavores’ work, is not well understood in the business world. Many prospects failed to understand exactly what business orchestration is or what it does, often thinking that it is simply an advanced form of call scripting. This was a big problem for Informavores, as people do not wish to buy something they cannot fully understand the benefits of.

In any presentation, there is a need to keep people engaged. This was especially true in the case of Informavores, as it found that its software would often be judged based on partial understanding of what it offered. Informavores had also found it difficult to be compelling when presenting remotely, a problem compounded by an inability to see if the audience are engaged.

Previous presentations were generic, and presenters found it difficult to be specific when presenting about everything Informavores can do. Informavores didn’t want to seem to offer a little for everybody: it wanted to provide clear, in-depth information, whilst simultaneously showing the breadth of its capabilities. The previous broad pitch was too much for audiences to take in and understand. The pitch needed to be more specific, but also coherent and understandable.

Solution

m62 offered a consultancy session to help Informavores to identify its value proposition and find a clear way to tell its story. An onsite workshop with senior staff helped to solidify the pitch. With one clear message that all presenters in the company can understand and deliver, it has become much easier for Informavores to explain to prospects what exactly it does.

With a lot of complex information to pass on to the audience, it was imperative that explanations in the presentation were clear and effective. m62 worked with Informavores to break down the stages of business orchestration into understandable sections, and used diagrams to help demonstrate each point. Graphs and diagrams were designed to build, so that each stage of the process could be fully explained before the next information was given. This helped Informavores to explain the ideas in more detail, but in a simpler way.

As the presentation was specifically intended for use on the web, m62 designed slides that build with every point made to retain attention. m62 drew on knowledge of the online presentation service that Informavores use to ensure that no unsupported animations or effects were used. In addition, m62 took care not to use bandwidth-heavy graphics or complex animations, so that there wouldn’t be a delay when the slides were viewed online. Once the slides were complete, they were tested via the online web service, and additional changes were made to optimise each slide for viewing via the internet.

Results

Informavores’ customers now find business orchestration much easier to understand. The simple but engaging visual design encourages clients to pay close attention and aids them to grasp the complex ideas of Informavores’ work. The message is now much clearer and easier to deliver as well as to understand. After only three months, Informavores has noticed a positive influence on sales.

Steve Wood, Chief Executive Officer of Informavores, commented:

“The slides m62 produced for us are completely different to the ones we had before, and so much better. Customers now find the concept of business orchestration much easier to understand. Before, we didn’t have a clear view or direction regarding the message we wanted to get across, but the m62 consultancy process made us really think about how we pitched our product. Now we have a sales pitch, not just a hoard of information.”

An exciting opportunity has arisen within our Project Management department for an energetic and enthusiastic Project Manager to join the m62 team. The role is responsible for the delivery of multiple concurrent projects providing a variety of services to our global Client base.

The right candidate will thrive in a fast paced, high pressure environment and have the ability to retain control of projects in (at times) changing circumstances, ensuring delivery on time, to budget and exceeding Clients expectations.

You will have the following skills and experience:

• Have delivered full lifecycle projects (from initiation to post implementation)
• Have managed and delivered multiple concurrent projects
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
• Experience dealing with internal and external stakeholders
• Have experience in project Risk Management
• Be proficient in the planning and resourcing of all aspects of a project
• Familiarity with Microsoft PowerPoint
• Good understanding of industry standard methodologies and techniques in Project Management (preferably PRINCE 2)

As our Client base is global it is necessary for the candidate to be open to some flexibility in their working patterns.

To apply please send your CV and a covering letter to info@m62.net

Vibe’s suite of presentation skills programmes have been sourced by numerous blue chip companies in Ireland and in response to the need for presenters to get professional support in delivering more effective PowerPoint presentations, m62 represents the perfect solution.
VIBE Marketing and m62 hosted a successful seminar in Dublin’s Hilton Hotel earlier this year, the 60 minute ‘Killer Presentation’ seminar shared some unique m62 secrets to dramatically improve the effectiveness of business presentations and achieve measurable results. It was attended by predominantly sales and marketing personnel and as a result m62 and VIBE have already completed four projects with Dublin based organisations.

Ronan has consulted and trained many players in the Irish marketing communications industry over the years. A leading Irish advertising agency reported success rates in pitching for business that went from 20% of wins originally to 66% of wins using his methodologies. Many of his clients are now aware of the m62 partnership and it is anticipated further new business will follow shortly.

Ronan Kinahan of VIBE Marketing is excited to introduce m62 to Irish businesses:

I’m excited to be joining forces with m62, to introduce Irish businesses to its winning approach. I’ve no doubt that it will prove as successful here as it has in other countries throughout the world.

Speakers at the event include Lord Karan Bilimoria of Chelsea, the founder of Cobra Beer; and Sahar Hashemi, co-founder of Coffee Republic.

Nick’s session is entitled Effective Bid Rehearsal. The seminar is about how to ensure that a bid team perform well on the day – what to do to prepare them, and how to ensure that they deliver a credible performance.

The biggest problem for presenters during rehearsal is the “Friendly Assassin”, the colleague who is trying to help but actually undermining performance. On the day it’s the “Enemy Plant” the client with an agenda.

During this seminar delegates will learn:

• A proven process for bid rehearsal
• An approach to nullifying Friendly Assassins
• Strategies for blocking the Plants

This seminar will better equip those attending to run a bid rehearsal or take part in one in a constructive manner. It won’t guarantee success but it will guarantee peace of mind that you did your best.

More details about the UK APMP Annual Conference 2009, including booking information, is available on the UK APMP website.

Visual Insight was established by a team of seasoned business leaders that has managed more than 30 companies with turnovers of up to £250m in the UK, EU and US, in order to create a tangible method of assessing the effectiveness of a business’ sales force and the quality of its sales pipeline.

The result is Sales Pipe Insight, a sales pipeline reporting and forecasting tool that has been designed for the Board, by the Board. This practical solution provides straightforward, no-nonsense information enabling businesses to drive profitable growth.

Objectives

With a team of dedicated sales professionals delivering between 10 – 15 presentations per month, Visual Insight identified the need for a high-quality, concise and easy to use sales presentation. An effective presentation would adequately support Visual Insight’s own sales force by facilitating the team to sell Sales Pipe Insight more easily through enabling the audience to fully understand Visual Insight’s proposition and its commercial benefits.

Prior to engaging m62, Visual Insight was using a generic presentation on a very regular basis that was sometimes amended to appeal to a specific target audience. Mike Hensman, Sales & Marketing Director of Visual Insight explains: “We have a team of highly experienced presenters possessing exceptional presentation skills, however the existing sales presentation needed addressing. We had a standard bullet point presentation and were definitely suffering in part from death by PowerPoint!” Visual Insight therefore felt that input was required to ensure that the presentation was dynamic, captivating and informative whilst being flexible to ensure it had a high degree of relevance to specific audiences.

Visual Insight wanted to improve its own qualification process in order to dramatically increase the chances of a successful outcome.

Challenges

One of the major challenges that Visual Insight faced was that the existing presentation did not accurately reflect the business benefits of the product, which were difficult to demonstrate using the current presentation design.

Consequently, the company stipulated to m62 that the way its main messages were communicated needed addressing and that the presentation needed to add value to these messages whilst adequately supporting the sales team when delivering the presentation on a regular basis.

Visual Insight also highlighted that a sales pitch is absolutely critical to the organisation as it is the first exposure potential clients have to understand its solution, its positioning and how it will provide business benefits to them. This, coupled with a very short time frame in which to create the new presentation, proved a real challenge for the m62 team.

Solution

m62 worked with Visual Insight to undertake a 360 degree review of its existing presentation design, content and delivery process. The key benefits of both the product and the organisation were identified, enabling m62 to establish an overall value proposition that would be relevant to a variety of different target audiences.

m62 also worked with the Visual Insight team to enable it to maximise opportunities that arose from Q&A sessions, an opportunity that was previously being missed.

The simply designed yet impactful presentation followed a narrative approach, reinforcing Visual Insight’s value proposition throughout, suitably demonstrating the benefits of a relatively complex product in a concise yet impactful way using key phrases, images and infographs.

m62 was given only a short time frame within which to redesign the presentation, with Visual Insight relying heavily on the extensive experience and expertise of m62 to get the project turned around quickly.

Results

m62 created for Visual Insight a highly dynamic presentation that provided its sales force with an exciting, engaging and impactful presentation that has dramatically increased conversion rates.

Mike Hensman of Visual Insight commented: “The feedback that we receive from people listening to the presentation is very positive. Not only are we getting our message across far better than we were before, most people actually comment on the quality of our slides. Our audience gets the story far quicker than they did with the old presentation; we do not have to go back and revisit the presentation to reinforce points – people usually get it the first time.”

The new presentation is far more visual with little or no words and is lots of fun to deliver. Thanks to m62 we now have a much more confident sales force as a result of the presentation.

m62 is a global leader in presentation effectiveness working with corporate sales & marketing, as well as internal communications, to write and structure presentations, design slides, and train presenters with a focus on presentation effectiveness through the art of visualization. m62 has developed a method of delivering successful visual presentations based on knowledge of how people understand, evaluate, and remember information. m62 then utilizes technology to maximize information retained by an audience.

Imageworks is a communications firm specializing in video-based and Flash® media for communicating both on and off the web. Imageworks helps organizations tap into fresh ideas that enable sales teams, and training groups to become more efficient, reduce sales cycles, and distinguish their products and services through the use of motion media.

Says Edward Curley, owner of Imageworks: “m62 is, unquestionably, in a class by itself. They have taken visual presentation theory to a whole new level, and their system is peerless in its effectiveness, whatever the application. We are very excited to be playing a role in advancing the use of this highly unique service in the US market.”

Says Richard Newman, m62 Channel Partner Director: “We are very pleased about our new relationship with Imageworks. Their focus on motion media is a good complement to our services. More frequently, presentations are incorporating video inserts such as customer testimonials and technology-oriented animations within their PowerPoint designs. We see Imageworks as a strong resource — a value-add to our core services, and a reputable company that will help us increase our penetration of the US corporate community.”

To learn more about these services, contact Edward Curley, Executive Producer, Imageworks Productions, LLC (+1 from outside the USA) 630-305-3400.

Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. is one of the largest firms in the US and has more than a century-long history of consulting, with a concentration on water and the environment. For more than 100 years, the business has provided environmental engineering, science and consulting services to over 5,000 public and private clients.

Malcolm Pirnie has built its practice on technical excellence, innovation, and strategies for improved performance. With approximately 1,750 staff – comprising engineers, scientists, consultants, designers, architects and technical support personnel – in more than 60 offices based throughout the US, Malcolm Pirnie is committed to exceed its clients’ needs and expectations with forward-looking, environmentally sustainable solutions.

As an evolutionary strategist of environmental engineering solutions, Malcolm Pirnie is looking to expand its array of engineering, management and operational consulting services. This strategy includes the addition of solutions to help clients do more with less – such as to retrofit, reuse and recycle in order to conserve energy whilst reducing construction and operating costs.

Objectives

As with similar professional service companies, Malcolm Pirnie frequently needs to undertake a formal bid process in order to win work, typically in response to a RFP (Request for Proposal) from the client organisation. Once the Malcolm Pirnie team has produced a formal written response to such RFPs, the team is regularly required to attend interviews – sometimes known as ‘Best and Final’ – which are often the difference between winning and losing a bid.

m62 visualcommunications has assisted companies in this situation on more than 200 occasions and has developed specific processes and methodologies to maximise clients’ chances of winning, with a service titled: ‘m62 STAT’. Over the past 12 years, m62 clients have won well in excess of 70% of such bid opportunities, totalling many billions of pounds worth of commercial value.

Malcolm Pirnie approached m62 to assist specifically with the creation of a presentation that was to be delivered to the Coquina Coast Alternative Water Supply Desalination Project client team, known collectively as “the Suppliers”. The presentation was required in response to a request for tender outlining the requirements for engineering and planning services to support a major alternative water supply project on Florida’s northeast coast. The project was cumulatively valued at US$1.2bn.

As is typical in such situations, the presentation team for the interview comprised numerous experienced presenters. The prevalence of engineers within the team resulted in the existing pitch presentation being highly technical and thereby not communicating sufficiently effectively with non-engineers, or on broader issues. Specifically, it was felt that the presentation lacked focus and commercial impact, and didn’t adequately demonstrate either the business’ differentiating qualities or the capability and commitment to providing a first class service.

Although Malcolm Pirnie initially commissioned m62 to assist with this specific opportunity, it was quickly identified that the creation of a dynamic presentation which incorporated a strong set of commercial messages that would appeal to technical and non-technical audiences alike would significantly benefit the business over the longer term, as it would form a blueprint for all future presentations. To date, Malcolm Pirnie has called upon m62’s assistance with four separate bid projects, of which, three have been won. The team is currently engaged in another project and six further bids are planned throughout the next year.

Challenges

In responding to the Coquina Coast Suppliers tender, the Malcolm Pirnie team needed to ensure that the presentation addressed commercial, political and public-facing issues, in addition to the technical elements involved.

In addressing the tender, the key challenge was not simply how to establish the team’s technical capability but, instead, how to differentiate the tender from the competition. Given the wide-ranging nature of the audience, it was necessary to address each individual’s requirements, from the layperson to the highly technical listener. Consequently, with the need for both breadth and focus, m62 was commissioned to advise Malcolm Pirnie regarding the correct approach to take in terms of both structure and content.

As is often the case with m62’s STAT service, m62 had limited time to understand the nature of the requirement, to provide the thinking upon which the presentation was to be based, to create the presentation and to train the team that would deliver it.

Solution

m62 STAT is about ensuring that the client not only has the best presentation but also that the bid team members perform to their optimum during the actual pitch. To this end, m62 provided Malcolm Pirnie with detailed consultancy in order to distil the organisation’s value proposition and also to determine the requirements of the tender, the target audiences and the style and focus of the presentation.

Commenting on the project, Edward Balchon of Malcolm Pirnie, said:

Working through the questions and undergoing a process of laying our presentation bare to the experts at m62 was a hugely beneficial process as it enabled us to clarify numerous points in terms of how they are received, which ultimately has led to an end result which suits a far broader range of audiences.

Having established Malcolm Pirnie’s core value proposition, m62 re-designed the existing presentation creating a simple yet impactful presentation that was geared towards audience engagement through focusing on the speaker. All distracting text and photos were eliminated – and graphics were added that enhanced and supported the presentation experience.

The m62 team then undertook training sessions with the presenters to ensure each member of the team was given the opportunity to practise delivering the presentation and to re-evaluate their presentation technique. In doing so, m62 ensured continuity of delivery across the team in terms of delivery and message content and also prepared the team to maximise question and answer opportunities arising from the presentation.

Results

From first contact to the final piece of presentation training, the entire process was completed in just three weeks. The resulting presentation was delivered to win the Malcolm Pirnie team both the first and second phases of the project – worth US$7M in fees – whilst positioning the business ideally with regards to phase three.

Edward Balchon added:

We were delighted at the reaction we saw from the Coquina Coast Suppliers. To have a group of potential clients comment hugely positively on the difference between our presentation and the competition’s proved that a well designed and delivered presentation really is the difference between winning or losing a pitch.

During the crunch before showtime, m62 worked extremely long hours, on both sides of the Atlantic, to help ensure that the presentation was exactly right. After our first meeting where the value propositions were defined and the presentation style was clarified, the m62 team worked tirelessly to meet our very short timescales.

According to m62, ‘stat’ derives its name from the Latin statim which means Steady, Dependable, Steadfast and Immediate… it’s a great name for a great service.

• How much do you need your audience to remember?
• How do you choose the facts they forget and those they recall?
• How much more impact would you have if you could select what they remembered?
• What if your audience could repeat your key messages?

m62 Intellectual Property: Passive Mnemonic Processes

As long ago as the 1800s cognitive psychologists have known that while human memory has a large capacity it is unreliable and very selective. In short, we are not good at recalling facts. Try it now – write down the number of facts you can recall from the last television news program you watched.

Fact delivery rates in a TV news program are about 10 per minute, if you watched a 15 minute newscast you were probably exposed to 150 facts. How did you do?

Presentations are the same. 30 slides with 5 facts each means 150 pieces of information. How much do you recall? 10% or less?

Long before the psychologists understood what happened in the brain the Greeks understood how to nurture recall. At m62 we use a series of Mnemonic Techniques (Chunking, Rehearsal, Relevance, Association and Visualisation) to massively increase the amount of information that your audience recall, but more importantly to allow you to choose which information they recall and which they forget.

We call these techniques Passive Mnemonic Processes and if you have 10 minutes we’d like to demonstrate them in a short online meeting.

Benefits of using m62 recall

• More memorable
• More effective
• More engaging
• More impressive
• Quick
• Easy

How it works?

m62 messaging consultants meet with you to agree the key messages in your presentation. In a persuasive presentation these will be the reasons for change (or value proposition), in a training presentation the learning objectives. Then they will structure your message to maximize the audience recall of this information.

m62 process

Blow your audience away!

• Imagine a presentation that looks better than your competition’s.
• Think how it feels to know that when you step on to the stage; your presentation is going to look the best.

Professional PowerPoint design can make you and your organisation look impressive and sometimes that’s all it takes to make an impact.

m62 Intellectual Property: Objective quality standards

• Do you know what fonts work best on a slide?
• What’s the ideal font size for an on-screen presentation?
• What colours work best?
• Where does the audience look first?
• When should you use photography?
• When and how should you use diagrams? Video? Sound?
• What animations add value and which distract?

What if you had access to almost 10,000 presentations and over 250,000 PowerPoint slides, and details of which worked and which didn’t? Well you do…

m62’s design consultants know the answers to these questions and more.. if you can imagine it, m62 can make it happen in PowerPoint – but more importantly we can tell you if it will work, why it will work and if it won’t, what will…

If you can imagine it m62 can make it happen… on a PowerPoint slide

We call this collection of observations and rules our Objective Quality Standards and each presentation designer at m62 spends months studying what we have learnt from years as the world’s leading presentation development agency. Each presentation goes through a rigorous QC procedure that ensures adherence to our OQS.

Benefits of using m62 impress

• More impressive Presentation
• More effective communication
• Quick
• Easy
• Free consultation, No Obligation

How it works?

Send us your presentation and we will provide a free online consultation with one of our design consultants. They will ask you about the audience, the presentation and your objectives and then make slide-by-slide suggestions about how it can be improved.

m62 process

Then if you’re happy with the advice and the free no-obligation estimate they will work with you to develop an exciting, impressive revamp of your presentation.

Presentations can cost as little as £75 per slide and take as little as 24hrs to turnaround.

Book your free consultation now

• More Sales
• More Margin
• Less time and effort

That’s what m62’s clients experience with an m62 sales presentation. If your presentation is more impressive, more engaging and more memorable it will be more effective and in sales that means more money.

For 12 years m62 have been helping clients on both specific bid presentations (Like the worlds largest PFI bid in Singapore) and generic pitch presentations (like this corporate overview) and we have developed a range of solutions for salespeople.

m62 Ls is a short 15-20 minute presentation ideal for a first call or corporate overview.
m62 Is is an interactive sales tool designed to facilitate solution or consultative sales.
m62 STAT is our major pitch service that usually doubles your chances of winning the contract.
m62 Fx is where we build and manage a comprehensive library of slides designed to allow your customer facing staff to assemble a bespoke presentation quickly and effectively.

• Not the food
• Not the facilities
• Not the accommodation
• Nor the entertainment!

All too often the purpose of the conference gets lost in mediocre presentation performances. Inconsistent messages, inconsistent ideas and inconsistent communication styles.

m62 has organized and run sales conferences, product launches, public sector events, management conferences, and industry Meetings. All with one thing in common – great content.

We call the service m62 DX and it’s all about the Delegate Experience. Coordinating the content, the presentation style, and organising the event to maximise the impact on the delegate. By making sure your presentations are fantastic you ensure the delegates’ experience is.

More effective marketing communications means more effective lead generation and better brand awareness. If you look impressive and communicated well then prospects will seek you out. Regardless of the marketing application:

• Seminars
• Roadshows
• Conferences
• Media events

m62 have the experience, the intellectual property and the ability to ensure you stand out from your competitors.

To talk to one of our consultants about how a truly effective marketing presentation can propel your business success book a call.

• Investor calls
• AGM
• Analyst meetings

If your audience is engaged and understand the numbers and their impact, you are clearly more likely to get the reaction you want.

m62 has considerable experience helping clients in all sorts of situations – from start ups seeking capital to publicly-traded companies presenting to the market. Getting it right has never been as important.

Book a call with a consultant today to discuss what impact an effective financial presentation can have on your business.

Regardless of who you train:

• Staff
• Prospects
• Clients
• Partners
• Users

An effective training presentation increases the chance of achieving the purpose of the training. Changing behaviour, improving efficiency, or teaching new skills. m62 can help with almost any training application, from online course production, to face-to-face content development.

Training isn’t training if it doesn’t affect change, or effect behaviour; it’s just a day out of the office.

To talk to one of our consultants about how a truly effective training can propel your business success book a call.