Here is your chance. You don’t want to blow it.
You have a meeting scheduled with a CEO. Your goal is to convince her…
to spend $1m on your product or service, or to make a large donation to your cause.
to hire you, to promote you, or to give you your dream job.
to invest in your idea.
What are ineffective ways to convince a CEO?
Many people “show up and throw up” and push a lot of information at the CEO—either verbally, or by PowerPoint. I’m not sure what the reason is why many unpersuasive people follow this approach. Maybe it’s to “show you know what you are talking about.” But it does not make a CEO say yes. I recall when my firm was interviewing law firms. Two partners from one firm came to a lunch meeting at a restaurant with a thick glossy marketing brochure. I remember the ominous “thud” the document made as it hit the table. By the end of the lunch, I understood a lot about their firm and their goals, but they did not know much about mine. We did not select that firm.
