I’ve got budget codes and that makes me a prime target for all kinds of vendors who have just what my school district needs. Between the cold call invitations to online demos, meetings with vendors sales reps I actually want to talk to, and various conferences, I see a lot of vendor presentations. If you are a sales rep, here are some suggestions:

• Your Powerpoint presentations are pretty awful. Visit and read the Presentation Zen blog by Garr Reynolds. While you’re at it, buy Garr’s book of the same name. It’s excellent.
• If you have more questions about presenting quantitative information, check out Edward Tufte’s work. His books aren’t cheap and neither are his seminars, but they’re worth it.
• If you’re coming to present to a group in my district, please make sure you know your product well and can answer basic questions. You have no idea how much a clumsy demonstration hurts your chances of making a sale.
• Before you make a pitch to me, take some time to understand what I might actually need.
• If I’ve never heard of your company there’s almost no chance I’m going to agree to meet with you after a single cold call. I get a dozen vendors calls a day.

I really don’t mean this to come off too snarky. It’s just that I lost three hours of my life today that I’ll never get back.