Andrea

Responding to Questions You Didn’t Expect to Receive During a Business Presentation

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When making a business presentation, you can’t always expect everything to go as planned. Even if you have thought of every detail, things might still not go in the planned direction. For instance, if you open the floor for questions, you might receive one that you weren’t expecting. Even if you thought about all possible questions, any investors in the room might have other questions in mind.

These is a course of action you should follow if you received a question you weren’t expecting.

Be honest

You need to be honest about how you feel when you receive these questions. You can’t pretend that you know the answer and try to ‘wing’ it. Potential investors are smart people; they would soon see through any less than honest or knowledgeable answers. If you don’t have any idea about what the answer is, you have to tell them that you have no response as of the moment. You can even make jokes about it to show that you’re comfortable that you didn’t know what to say.

Stay calm and smile 

You might feel nervous since you don’t know what to do next. However, you can show that you’re nervous. Don’t forget that potential investors aren’t only judging your business plans. They’re also looking at how confident you are as a leader. If they see you as someone who can easily get shaken as a result of being asked difficult questions, it would not look good for you. Even if they like what you have to say, they may reject your proposal due to your indecisive or jumbled reactions.

 

Use references 

These investors may be only checking if you know what you’re saying. They will probably ask questions that they already have the answer to. The best way to deal with it is to go back to your slides. Having slides on hand will back up your reasoning or answers. You can use slides as references as you respond to questions. It also helps if you have a projector ceiling mount that you can easily set up your slides so you can use them anytime. When you have references, they will help support and strengthen your answers and show potential investors you committed to time consuming research.

Defer the question for later

Just because you don’t have the answer now doesn’t mean you won’t ever know the answer. You can tell the investor that you will look into it and give them a response later. It’s also possible that these questions are too difficult to answer with one or two sentences. You can give them a more detailed explanation once you have the correct information. Better to wait until you have the precise answer than coming up with promises or ideas that you can’t back up with facts or evidence based research.

There’s no reason for you to panic if you’re if such a difficult situation arises. Investors are only testing how confident you are. They also wish to know how well you understand your business ideas and how they would be put in to action. They won’t want to invest in you if they believe that you’re unable to handle the pressure.

The business presentation is only the first part of the process. You still have to go through a lot later on. They need to know that you won’t fold because things got tough.

 

Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/GwOqUzrDSRM

 

The Rise of “As a Service” Solutions

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“As A Service – aaS – solutions are nothing new. They have been in existence for a few years and are often associated with cloud computing. They are presented in a long list of variations including API as a server (AaaS), AI as a service (AIaaS), backend as a service (BaaS), business process as a service (BPaaS), desktop as a service (DaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), games as a service (GaaS), and management as a service (MaaS), among many others.

When it comes to software, the basic idea of aaS is the ability to utilise reusable and fine-grained application components over the internet. In other words, it allows users to use a full software without the need to install it locally. All of the functions are accessible through the web. It’s similar to what cyber security firms like MMR IT offer with its cyber essentials certification as a service package.

Advantages

The “as a service” scheme has been gaining popularity because of the many benefits it offers. For one, it reduces the barriers to entry or adoption. Software and services become more accessible to businesses or individuals because of the lower price offering users the option to pay only for specific components, functions, or modules. Prospective users are not forced to pay for an entire software suite or service. They do have the option to upgrade to increased functionality or features in the future as they deem it necessary.

Additionally, aaS solutions are inherently massively scalable. They can be used by organisations of any size. Rapidly growing businesses will find it convenient how they can easily scale up the service to address their growing needs. Conversely, they can also scale down quickly in case they are forced to downsize.

The advantage of multi-latency also benefits users. Multiple users can share the resources as well as the costs of the service. This is an efficient arrangement for most businesses, but some may have issues, especially with the sharing of system resources. Some users may encounter performance hiccups.

Moreover, the aaS setup creates the advantage of not being tied to a device and location. With software as a service, for example, any computer can access the application as long as the user has the necessary login credentials. The software can be used from anywhere and at anytime too. Users don’t have to go to a specific workstation or office to finish a project.

Popular aaS Solutions

Some of the well-known SaaS solutions include Salesforce.com, Microsoft Office 365, Google Apps, Amazon Web Services, ZenDesk, Dropbox, and Slack. These web-based applications successfully serve numerous businesses in diverse industries and sectors. Not many may recognise them as SaaS, but they have allowed many companies to experience the advantages of efficiency, reduced costs, scalability and being device and location-independent.

The rise of aaS solutions yields significant benefits for businesses and organisations. They allow instant access to the expertise and experiences of specialists, which eliminates the costly need to establish an in-house team to address specific security or administration needs.

 

Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/coding-programming-css-1853305/

 

Ways to Make Sure That Your Club Becomes Successful

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Thousands of people would like to become part of a successful club or organisation. They see it as a form of privilege, a social status that gives them a feeling that they belong. If members are happy with their respective clubs, they tend to spend more time with their peers, and they are more likely to participate in various events.

Managing a club takes a lot of hard work. It means that you have to do many things to gain more members, launch successful events and earn recognition within the community. So here a list of tips that you can apply to ensure the success of your organisation.

Make sure that everything is well organised

Being a club owner or administrator means that you have a lot of responsibility in your plate. If you are always tired and overworked, you might end up missing a lot of important things. That is why you should keep all the workload organised by checking out sites like https://www.coacha.co.uk/en-us that offer club membership software. You will be surprised how this software can make everyone’s lives easier because it can help you do the following:

  • Add, delete or modify customer data without compromising their privacy.
  • It prevents employees from committing fraudulent acts because the system has a way to trace the activity of each user.
  • Makes it easier to compute for employee payroll and collect monthly or annual fees from members.
  • You can easily manage the schedule of your staff and organise upcoming events.
  • Communication and dissemination of essential information are a lot easier for all members of the organisation.

Maximise the use of the Internet

The Internet and social media are flooded with users every day. The truth is that most people gather information on Instagram, Facebook, and the Internet. Use this to your advantage by setting up a business page and an official website of your club. The website should be informative and easy to navigate. Post many pictures so people would have an idea what to expect if they join your club. Answer all queries politely and efficiently.

Make things interesting

If you want people to show their support in the organisation continuously, you need to be creative. Solicit and write down ideas regarding activities that members can look forward to. You may distribute survey forms, set up a suggestion box or brainstorm with your team. It would be nice to collaborate with other organisations to create a more exciting event.

Show your members your appreciation

New members should have welcome gifts while existing ones should have complimentary giveaways as a form of thanks for their loyalty. If you are running a sports club, give out sports bottles, towels, gym, and shoe bags. Look for partner vendors that can supply you with these items all year round. The items should be practical, useful and high quality, so your members will feel that the organisation is valuing them.

Lastly, you and your staff should always be ready to give a helping hand to all members in need.

Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/team-friends-teamwork-corporate-1381084/