Presentation Skills Development

This is why Gen Z isn’t buying your insurance. It’s not because they’re careless. It’s because they don’t see the value, yet. Here’s what’s pushing them away: 1/ The messaging is stuck in the past. → “Protect your legacy” means nothing to a 25-year-old. → Try: “Cover your rent if life throws a curveball.” 2/ The buying journey feels broken. → Endless forms. No clarity. No control. → They expect to buy in minutes, not sit through a call. 3/ Jargon kills trust. → Terms like “riders,” “cash value,” and “beneficiaries” lose them fast. → Speak like a friend, not a textbook. 4/ They're not scared of risk—they plan around it. → Don’t sell fear. Sell flexibility. → Help them prepare instead of panicking. 5/ One-size-fits-all doesn’t work anymore. → They want plans that grow with them. → From gig workers to digital nomads—lifestyles vary. 6/ They research everything. → If your online reviews are weak or missing, it matters. → Social proof > sales pitch. 7/ Purpose matters more than product. → Show how insurance empowers freedom, not just protection. 8/ They value transparency over tradition. → Break down costs. Show where the money goes. → No fine print. No fluff. If the industry doesn’t adapt, it’ll lose relevance. Not because the product failed But because the delivery did.

There is a belief that one of the reasons there aren’t as many #women #entrepreneurs is due to #bias against women in general. New research suggests that the problem isn’t necessarily due to bias against women in general per se, but bias against women whose ventures are particularly high in #novelty. Meaning, ventures that are highly novel are rewarded when they are led by #men but punished when led by women. Zhenyu Liao Jack Zhang Nan Wang William Bottom Dirk Deichmann pok man tang do a fantastic job of showing, across both naturalistic and more controlled field experiments that highly novel ventures are seen as violating norms when the entrepreneur is a woman than when the entrepreneur is a man. In one of their studies, they show that #SharkTank judges express more concerns about #normviolations when a woman’s venture is highly novel than when a man’s venture is highly novel. In more tightly controlled studies, they take two ventures that are pre-tested as being highly novel vs. not and use AI-generated voices to manipulate the gender of the entrepreneur giving identical pitches. They find that, just like the Shark Tank findings, highly novel woman-led ventures are seen as more norm violating than highly novel man-led ventures (even though the ventures, in this case, are identical). And whereas novelty might normally be seen as a good thing in entrepreneurship, novelty that is norm violating is not, and given that highly novel women-led ventures are seen as more norm violating, they generate less enthusiasm and obtain lower #funding from potential #investors. What these findings suggest is that it’s not just that people have an issue with highly #agentic women (because to be an entrepreneur, you have to have at least some level of agency) but that they have issues with highly agentic women whose ideas themselves are #boundarybreaking. Whereas breaking boundaries might well be seen as a good thing in most cases, apparently it is not when the person breaking boundaries is a woman. https://lnkd.in/ewtiw2PV

In the high-stakes arena of #B2BSales, particularly when engaging the C-suite and Boards, "back of napkin math" is more than just a display of acumen – it's a potent catalyst for building #trust. Imagine a conversation where a senior leader articulates a critical business challenge, perhaps around CAC payback or share of wallet. The seller who can immediately and fluently grasp the underlying financial equation and articulate the potential impact of their solution, without missing a beat, speaks a language that resonates deeply. This isn't about complex modeling done offline; it's the agility to understand core drivers of their success and perform quick, insightful calculations within the flow of the conversation. For instance, if a Chief Revenue Officer (#CRO) mentions a goal of reducing customer churn, a seller with this skill can instantly frame the value of their solution in terms of retained revenue and lifetime customer value, demonstrating a tangible understanding of the CRO's priorities. This competence signals the seller not only listened - but also deeply comprehends which levers to use to solve the client problem. Why is this so crucial for building trust? Because it showcases several key elements that senior leaders value: Deep Understanding: The ability to perform this kind of rapid analysis demonstrates you've done your homework and truly understand their business model, challenges, and objectives. It moves you beyond being a mere vendor to a knowledge partner. #CustomerUnderstanding Intellectual Horsepower: It signals a sharp mind and the capacity to think strategically about their business. This builds confidence in your ability to deliver real value. #StrategicThinking Efficiency and Respect for Time: Senior executives are time-constrained. A seller who quickly gets to the heart of the financial implications respects this constraint and demonstrates a focus on outcomes. #TimeEfficiency Transparency: By engaging in these on-the-spot calculations, you reveal your underlying assumptions and logic, fostering a more transparent discussion. #TransparentCommunication Credibility: It elevates your status from a product peddler to a trusted advisor who speaks the language of business results. #TrustedAdvisor Think about it: when a seller can seamlessly weave in relevant financial implications – the potential ROI, payback period, impact on key KPIs – it’s not just data; it demonstrates commitment to the customer's success. It shows you're thinking beyond the product/service features and instead - are focusing on their strategic outcomes. To be clear - "Back of napkin math" isn't about being precisely accurate in real-time. It's about demonstrating a strong intuitive grasp of financial levers that matter to the customer and the ability to articulate value in their terms, instantly. This fluency builds a bridge of trust, making conversations more meaningful and impactful. #Gartner

One bad conversation can stall a deal.  (Let's fix that.) Here's the trap even the best can fall into: ✅ You said, “Can I get 15 minutes?” ❌ They heard, “You’re just a name on my calendar.” ✅ You said, “Here’s our pricing page.” ❌ They heard, “You’d better be ready to commit.” ✅ You said, “Do you have any questions?” ❌ They heard, “I’m done talking, it's your turn to buy.” In client development, tone is strategy. And the difference between pressure and partnership? Just a few words. Because the real challenge isn’t getting time  with a client. It’s making that time count. Here are 12 proven phrases to build trust  (without sounding like a sales rep): 1. “How have things been going with [X]?” → Feels personal, not transactional. 2. “What’s your thinking around [this topic] these days?” → Opens a door, not a pitch. 3. “What would success look like if everything went right?” → Focuses on their goals, not gaps. 4. “What’s one thing you’d love to improve in 90 days?” → Specific, hopeful, and actionable. 5. “What feels risky or fuzzy about this?” → Makes doubt safe to share. 6. “Want to sketch some options together?” → Co-creates instead of prescribes. 7. “Want me to mock up a few paths forward?” → Shows flexibility, not a fixed pitch. 8. “Want to hear how others tackled this?” → Adds value, zero pressure. 9. “What would need to shift to make this a priority?” → Respects their timeline, invites partnership. 10. “Would a custom version be more helpful?” → Tailors the next step to them. 11. “Great point, can we unpack that together?” → Builds trust through collaboration. 12. “What’s the best way I can support you right now?” → Puts their needs first, signals partnership. These phrases do more than sound better. They feel better. Because they reflect how great BD actually works: 👉 With empathy 👉 With curiosity 👉 With clients, not at them Try one this week. It could turn a stalled deal into a deep conversation. Which one will you lead with? 📌Follow Mo Bunnell for client-growth strategies  that don’t feel like selling.

Insurance comes in all shapes and sizes. Health, life, term etc. It is one of the most vital things that we should have but unfortunately, fail to understand because of the poorly designed brochures. Have you ever tried to understand an insurance policy by yourself just by looking at the brochure but ended up more confused? 1. Fonts too small to read 2. Walls of text with no visual relief 3. Loaded with industry jargon 4. Visually dull and uninspiring And guess what? This small lack of attention to design causes lost revenue and increased expenses to insurance companies. - Increased operational costs: Teams are hired to explain what a well-designed brochure should’ve conveyed in the first place. - Lost sales opportunities: When people don’t understand, they disconnect. And confusion never converts. - Higher risk of fraud: Agents miscommunicate or overpromise because they themselves don’t fully grasp the product. This is why good design is important. Not just to make your marketing collaterals look pretty, but also to make them functional. To decrease your costs and increase your revenue. To create a better perception of your company infront of your consumers. A well designed company brochure not just looks better, it sells better. PS. Reference taken of Axis Max Life Insurance Limited but is actually true for most insurance companies out there. #design #functionality

Gap Selling. Bridging the Gap to Sales Success In today’s competitive B2B environment, the key to closing deals isn’t just about selling a product or service - it’s about understanding and bridging the gap between where your prospect is and where they need to be. This is the core principle of Gap Selling. What Is Gap Selling? At its essence, Gap Selling challenges us to: A). Identify the Gap: Discover the disparity between a prospect’s current state (challenges, inefficiencies, missed opportunities) and their desired future state (improved performance, increased revenue, operational excellence). B). Quantify the Impact: Measure the tangible and intangible costs of not addressing this gap. What does the status quo really cost your prospect in terms of lost revenue, wasted time, or competitive disadvantage? C). Tailor the Solution: Position your offering as the bridge that connects the current state to the future state. It’s not about selling features - it’s about delivering a transformative solution that closes that gap. Why It Matters: Deep Insights Lead to Better Conversations: By focusing on the gap, you’re not just engaging in a superficial pitch - you’re having a strategic conversation about the prospect’s real business challenges. Building Trust Through Understanding: When prospects see that you’ve invested time in understanding their unique situation, trust is built. They’re more likely to view you as a strategic advisor rather than just a vendor. Quantifiable Value: Articulating the cost of inaction makes your solution’s value tangible. It turns abstract benefits into concrete business outcomes, which is crucial for decision-makers. How to Implement Gap Selling ? 1). Start with Powerful Discovery Questions: Ask questions that uncover not only the symptoms but also the underlying issues. For example: “What challenges are you currently facing in your operational process?” “How is this impacting your bottom line?” “What would success look like if these issues were resolved?” 2). Listen Actively: Use the responses to map out the gap clearly. Take note of both the emotional and financial drivers behind their challenges. 3). Present a Customized Roadmap: Align your solution with their specific needs. Clearly outline how your product or service will help them overcome these challenges and deliver measurable outcomes. Final Thoughts: Gap Selling transforms the sales conversation from a transactional pitch to a strategic dialogue. Qualify your leads more effectively but also build long-term, trusted relationships with your clients. Are you using Gap Selling in your sales process? I’d love to hear your experiences and any additional tips that have worked for you!

Want to get funded? A lot may be in the way we answer questions during a pitch. “Women can partly close the funding gap by giving promotion-focused answers to prevention-focused questions”. This is Sciences Po's key takeaway from a study aptly titled: We ask men to win and women to lose: Closing the gender gap in startup funding by Dana Kanze, Laura Huang, Mark A. Conley and E. Higgins. This study has been game-changing because from it, we gained actionable insights. What are actionable insights? They are insights based on data analysis which provide specific recommendations for taking tangible actions, which in turn will lead to results. In this specific case, it was found that men were consistently asked more ‘promotion’ questions (highlighting upside and potential gains), while women were asked more ‘prevention’ questions (highlighting potential losses and risk mitigation). Those who addressed promotion questions raised at least 5 times more. From this insight, here are some recommendations on how to modify the way we pitch to improve our chances of successfully raising: 👉 Be prepared to defend against criticisms because female founders and our presentations are subject to more challenges and pushback compared to our male counterparts. 🚀Bring them back to potential gains. 👉Anticipate the negative and prevention questions by addressing them in a slide, which you could include in the Annex, or doing so orally. Then 🚀bring them back to potential gains. 👉If prevention questions are happening during your presentation, consider it a sign to refocus the conversation. Emphasize the positive and 🚀 bring them back to potential gains. 👉Always arm yourself with objective data and 🚀 bring them back to potential gains. This last one is important: bringing them back to potential gains and emphasizing the positive is only effective if it is backed by objective data. And while things are slowly starting to change, as the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) writes: "In the short term, the reality is that women entrepreneurs must work within the flawed system even as they lobby to improve it." So if you, like me, are raising, let’s leverage everything to our advantage. There are many studies, articles and experts with decades of experience and data. Let’s transform this information into actionable insights to change our fundraising strategy and succeed. Let’s get funded! Links to two summaries of the study in the comments: one concise summary from Sciences Po and an article from the study's authors in the Harvard Business Review, however there are many more. If you would like some examples of how to answer prevention questions with promotion answers tell me in the comments. What was your pitching experience like? #fundraising #femalefounders #pitching - Follow me, I write about being an entrepreneur in France, scaling up @Monthlee parenting while founding a startup, and the gender gap. Always be raising, investors, DM if interested.

Tell me I'm wrong. Two of us advised a startup founder and we gave her completely opposite advice. She: Open with the story of how your daughter needed your help and because of your (hugely impressive tech) background, you got a working solution into her hands within three days. Me: Open with the problem in the field, show the scale of the problem, share your (hugely impressive tech) background and say that you got a working solution into the field in the three days. She: Helen, why did you tell her to remove her role as a mother? Helen: Because - A father can create a tech solution for his daughter and we think, Aw, what a great dad and what a tech wiz. - A mother can create a tech solution for her daughter and we think, Aw, what a great mom. Bias is real. And before you rampage at me that everyone should be heard equally, etc., I'm like duh-uh. But we're not. According to the World Economic Forum, women led initiatives now get a massive 1.8% of potential investment funds. Until we get heard equally, I'll continue helping more women get heard and get more women more money. I think that to do that, we need to be Ready to answer different questions than men are asked (Harvard Kennedy School) Show greater understanding of the market, etc. (Harvard Business School) And show up as businesspeople first (Farber and Klein, 2023) Tell me I'm wrong. #publicspeaking #womeninbusiness #bias

Will #B2B buyers take action just because your campaign tells them to? Behavioral science says no, unless you give them a reason. One-word changes everything: because. In a classic psychology study, participants were more likely to let someone cut in line for a copier if the person added a reason. When they simply asked, “Can I use the copier?” 60% complied. But when they added, “Can I use the copier because I’m in a rush?” compliance jumped to 94%. The surprising part? Even when the reason was meaningless, “because I need to make copies”, compliance stayed high at 93%. Why? Because our brains don’t just respond to requests, we respond to structure. We’re wired to recognize and reward the shape of an argument. A reason, any reason, activates a mental shortcut that says, “This makes sense.” Now take a look at most B2B marketing. We demand attention with directives like “Book a demo,” “Download the whitepaper,” or “Register now”, but we rarely explain why. The value is implied, not stated. And in the mind of the buyer, that’s a missed opportunity. They’re not ignoring you because they’re uninterested. They’re ignoring you because they haven’t been given a reason to care. This is where the Because Effect becomes a strategic edge. Adding “because” forces clarity. It pushes us to articulate what we’re really offering and helps the buyer justify the decision to engage. The shift is small, but the impact is real. ❌ “Download the report.” ✅ “Download the report because it shows how top CMOs are cutting CAC in 2024.” ❌ “Schedule a call.” ✅ “Schedule a call because you’re already losing time to manual workflows.” These aren’t tricks. They’re truths, made clearer. And clarity builds trust. So, here’s your move: Pick one live asset today. It could be a landing page, a CTA, a LinkedIn post, or a nurture email. Add a “because” line. If it feels weak, the offer might need work. If it feels strong, push it to the front. Start asking yourself one simple question in every content review: “Why should someone care?” Make it a habit. Make it a standard. In B2B, attention isn’t guaranteed, and urgency doesn’t come pre-installed. You have to earn both. Adding because doesn’t just make your copy better. It makes your offer matter. Let’s stop assuming the click is earned. Let’s give people a reason to say yes. #LIPostingDayJune

Translating Funder Language to Female Founders As someone who has spent time raising and listening to hundreds of other female founders, who struggle and yet persist, I wanted to take a moment to break down some of the coded language we often hear in investor conversations. These comments may seem harmless on the surface, but they’re deeply rooted in subconscious bias, and they hit hard. For female founders, hearing these statements isn't new — but the sting is real. They echo the frustration of being sidelined, misunderstood, or underestimated in rooms where the odds are already stacked. And while knowing you’re not alone might offer some comfort, the bigger ask here is for funders — especially men — to pause, reflect, and share this. Because we can, and must, do better. 🗣️ Common Investor Comments — and What They Mean "Women’s health is a noisy market." ➤ Translation: We’d prefer women to be quieter. We don’t want to see too many of you innovating in the same space. "There’s going to be one big winner in women’s health." ➤ Translation: We don’t truly understand the scale of this opportunity, and we’re treating women as a monolith. "Why would women pay for this?" ➤ Translation: We don’t get female consumer behavior, even though women drive 80% of consumer spending. "You should join this accelerator program — it’ll help you with pitch training (but offers no funding)." ➤ Translation: You’re the problem. Not your idea. You just need to perform better for us, and we still won’t invest. 🧠 The Research Backs This Up A study from Harvard Business Review found that women are disproportionately asked prevention-focused questions (e.g., "How will you avoid failure?") while men are asked promotion-focused ones (e.g., "How big could this get?"). This isn’t just a reason women raise less capital. It fundamentally alters the emotional experience of pitching. Constantly having to defend your ideas rather than talk about your vision creates a long-term toll. It frames women-led companies as risks, not opportunities. 💡 Words Matter. So Does Allyship. If we truly want to shift the landscape for women in entrepreneurship, we need to start with language. Ask yourself: Are you using different metrics or expectations for women founders? Are your questions helping someone build their case, or forcing them to tear down imaginary doubts? Would you ask a male founder the same question? It starts with awareness. It continues with intentional allyship. 📣 To the investors reading this: share it. Talk about it. And most importantly, check your bias. Behind every comment is a choice to support progress or maintain the status quo.