Intuition...

Let’s face it, some of the topics that have to be covered in a road show presentation are pretty dry and boring. That may be why researchers say that one week after your presentation, most of the audience will only remember about 10% of what you said. What can you do improve your chances that investors are actually listening when you speak?

First, be sure to start your presentation with a strong hook. When Scott Cook, the former CEO of Intuit Inc. took his software company public in 1993 (on the NASDAQ under stock symbol INTU), he had a simple, but highly-effective way of getting the attention of a room full of “starched collars.” Here’s what he said: “Allow me to begin my presentation with a question: How many of you balance your own checkbooks?” After just about everyone raised their hands, he asked: “How many of you like doing it?” Of course, no hands went up.

Then he delivered the hook that got the investors’ attention: “There are millions of people around the world who don’t like balancing their checkbooks. Intuit has a product to solve that problem.”

How did Scott Cook know this was the right hook for his presentation? Thirteen years earlier, when he was only 23 years old, he had listened to his wife complaining about paying bills and balancing the checkbook. Her comments inspired him to start developing software to automate the process, and he knew this was the key sales point that caused people across the U.S. to buy his product. More importantly, Scott Cook understood potential investors and knew the magic words to get their attention.