Speaking In Front of a Trade Group

What would be a good presentation to do for a dinner meeting for a group of Purchasing professionals? -- Ted Kosiek, Kerneos Inc

You're in luck, my wife is a purchasing professional with a Fortune 500, and member of the local chapter of one a large purchasing associations. When speaking in front of any trade group, there are three things to consider:

1. What you say really depends on who you are,
2. The purpose of your talk will influence content,
3. Always choose a topic the audience will find of great value,

Purchasing professionals want to learn about career skills, not just those in the area of purchasing, but how to work with sales people and vendors. They want to know about time management, trends in their industry, or issues influencing supply chain.

A little background: Because of my interaction with purchasing in procurement professionals over the years (as a sales person or consultant), I setup the Job In Procurement portal. I've also written copy for businesses who want to reach purchasing professionals.

Some purchasing associations bring in big vendors, national sales representatives, and negotiating experts to talk about strategy for reducing costs. Think about what will help them do their job better and help them create greater satisfaction.

What is going on in their industry or profession? Your audience will enjoy your talk more if you connect with local issues that effect them.

My wife raved about a speaker who talked about transportation issues related to the terminal here in Norfolk, VA. The speaker covered common transportation delays, sourcing container loads, and issues with shipping due to rising fuel prices. Because the talk was relevant, members enjoyed the presentation.

Of course, I went to one dinner meeting with her where the speaker put everyone to sleep. Keep your dinner presentation light on statistics, a few facts here and there are great, but use a light conversational tone since sometimes people are eating.

If your purpose is to sell, open with a problem they face, discuss challenges and solutions, then conclude with how they might contact your firm for a specific solution. Provide decision making tools, don't make the mistake of pitching, instead educate them on how to make the right buying decision.

The key is to know your purpose up front, enjoy yourself, and be of value to your audience. You can even survey the meeting planner and officers before hand about pressing issues most relevant to them. This advice will get you started, write if you still have questions.

© 2008 Ask Justin Hitt, All rights reserved.

Justin Hitt speaks on building business relationships, increasing sales profitability, and marketing issues. For your next event, visit http://JustinHitt.com/