by David Gittin, CTO
“We’ve been looking for a presentation tool like this for 10 years. Finally we’ll be able to present, in an easy to understand format, the complicated integrations of how our solutions work.” That’s what Ron Pusey, President of Communications Specialists, Inc. and his staff told us recently when they asked us to work with them to develop a more complete and fluid sales presentation. CSI, an electronics systems integrator based in Mechanicsville, VA is excited to finally be getting the tools they need to clearly illustrate their complex voice, video, data and life safety solutions to their existing and future clients. CSI has been providing integrated hardware, software, and infrastructure solutions for the K-12 Education, Healthcare, Government, Worship, and Corporate marketplaces for 27...
by David Gittin, CTO
If you want your prospects to pay attention, you’ll need to take their learning style into consideration. Educators have long known that students learn by seeing, hearing and doing. This is known as visual auditory kinesthetic or VAK in the education world, and adult “learners” are no different, studies show. Just as in a classroom, when you provide information the way your prospects process it best – with visuals, sound or some sort of activity – you are more likely to have success with your sales efforts. Visual Learners: The Eyes Have It Visual learners process information through watching, reading and studying. They observe people. They look at the illustrations, diagrams and photos, they watch the videos, and probably aren’t hearing every word of your well-practiced speech. It can seem like there’s a direct line from eyeball to brain. If your prospect is a visual learner, a picture really is worth a thousand words. TIP: In order to reach prospects that digest information this way, you must provide visual reinforcement for what you say. At the very least, draw pictures with your words using color, size, movement, and concrete comparisons. Visual learners also tend to be impatient with long-winded presentations, according to learning experts Brian V. Moore and Arthie Moore. Be careful with this kind of prospect that you don’t talk yourself out of a sale. Auditory Learners: Singing Their Song Auditory learners absorb information through listening, hearing, and processing. They pick up on conversational nuances, they listen to verbal descriptions, and they sometimes will repeat key points back with phrases like, “Let me make sure I understand …”....
by David Gittin, CTO
We are pleased to welcome Pat Rogers, our new Vice President of Sales and Business Development. Pat has worked with small and start-up companies throughout a 35 year career in Technology Sales and Sales Management. Prior to joining NimblePitch, he was an independent consultant and advisor, working with several technology and software firms around the country including Verint/Witness Systems, Spotfire Division of TIBCO Software, Nuance Communications, Dynavox Mayer-Johnson and PKWare. He also worked with the authors of CustomerCentric Selling. “I’m looking forward to applying the knowledge gained over my career along with the tenets of a disciplined sales methodology in helping NimblePitch achieve the market presence and growth that we’re all expecting”, Pat told us. Pat and his wife moved in August 2012 from their home in Connecticut where they’d lived for 30 plus years and fulfilled a lifetime dream of heading south. They chose Richmond because of its transportation options, weather and overall vitality of the city and region. Pat is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and an Army veteran. His interests outside of work include golf, music, sailing and exploring the history of his new home town. If you’d like to talk about ways to tell your story to your customers and prospects, call Pat at 804.592.0898 or drop him a line at...
by David Gittin, CTO
Last week NimblePitch was named as one of the top five finalists of the Tech Challenge Hanover competition. As emcee Bill Blevins commented, there were a lot of very smart people in that room, and it was a distinct honor to be recognized. Congratulations to all of the winners! About Tech Challenge Hanover Power your ideas through Tech Challenge Hanover. This is a start-up competition – with a $10,000 first prize – for emerging and second-stage, technology or knowledge-based entrepreneurs who are looking for assistance in moving their ideas from concept to market and commercialization. A panel of judges evaluated each application against numerical based criteria: Management Viability: Industry knowledge of the ability to grow your company and if applicable, prior product development experience Business Viability: Need for product/service, market size, market growth, competitors and competitive advantage Product/Service Viability: Uniqueness and features of product/service and intellectual property positions Financial Viability: Business model, profit potential and capital...
by David Gittin, CTO
What a weekend! 85 aspiring entrepreneurs, 22 mentors, 10 organizers, 5 judges, 2 guest speakers, 38 nervous pitches, 12 teams working almost 54 hours straight, all distilled down to this: 3 winning teams. If an event can be energizing and exhausting at the same time, then the RVA Startup Weekend was it. The most amazing thing, however, is the quality of those twelve 5-minute pitches at the end. They were well-thought out, researched and branded, with business models lined up and finances planned. Every one of them worthwhile. We were proud to be part of it as organizer and mentor and pleased to be able to offer a NimblePitch package to one of the winners. Congratulations to Event Spaces, NimblePitch Winner Event Spaces delivered a one-stop solution to a problem that plagues event planners everywhere – details on facilities for an upcoming event. Who has a room the right size for your event? Is it available? What kind of facilities does it have for serving food? Does it have a projector? Is there room for dancing and power outlets for a band or deejay? Event Spaces will help put one-stop shopping into event planning. Event Spaces received a NimblePitch presentation to help them sell their idea to event planners and those with spaces to lend or rent in Richmond and beyond. We’re excited to be working with the Event Spaces team! View the final pitches of each of the three winners, including Event Spaces. Former U.S. CTO addresses RVASW Aneesh Chopra, appointed by President Obama as the nation’s first United States Chief Technology Office and a former Virginia Secretary...
