The Very Serious Business of Pitch Decks - We Boomers Called Them "Power Point" and Made Jokes like "Death By Power Point"

 There's an expertise in increasing demand. That is the ability to put together a pitch deck, with both text and graphics, that provides value in business development. Once called "Power Point" and once a kind of a joke (as in Save Us From Power Point or Death By Power Point) it has become a most serious business.

NO JOKING AROUND

Although management consultants seem to be the most vocal in groaning about having to put together another pitch deck, players in other professions also have had to master that task in communications. It is a safe bet that many Knowledge Work positions require advanced skill in crafting slide decks. That may be assumed, that is not made explicit in a help-wanted or criteria for promotion. Or it will be listed as a must-have on a job board.

For example, there is a help-wanted on the Paul Weiss law firm job portal for an ESG Client Program Manager, posted June 20, 2023. The job description includes creating pitch decks. Compensation ranges from $125,000 to $140,000. (First-year lawyers start at $215,000). 

Interestingly that ad is still up there. Maybe the job has been filled and someone just didn't take the posting down. Or maybe that means that, as I hammer in this O'Dwyer's Public Relations article, we are already in the post-ESG era. And since everyone knows that, no one has bothered to delete what has mutated into irrelevant. 

YOU CALL THAT "ENGAGEMENT?"

Unfortunately, not enough businesses ask themselves: Do prospects as well as current clients really want to gaze at that pitch deck - and listen? 

Think about this: What about the comfort and charm of getting together at an upscale bar or new eating spot and jaw-jawing about the implications of a technology such as generative AI 4.0 or how a Trump Administration 2.0 could reset energy policies. The essence of marketing/sales is about engagement. After the pandemic, more want that, in-person, in a setting that isn't wound so tight. 

A pilot program in distressed niches such as management consulting could be to pitch without slide decks. Measure results against the traditional use of you-know-what. For the experiment allot lots of money for recreation. What about concert tickets, including ponying up for parking.

THINK WHAT HAD BEEN TIKTOK FRESHNESS

What I tell clients is: Job Number-One is to figure out fresh ways to engage. Remember how sticky messaging was when TikTok was new ...

In most cases you have only one shot in communications. Jane Genova is a communications coach and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)


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