Presentation Prep and Packaging

Clearspring’s Justin Thorp drips with passion. He loves his company and its widget platform. He loves their customers. And it’s apparent that he will do nearly anything to help Clearspring achieve success in the market.

That’s why Justin would be shocked to learn that his presentation at Erickson Barnett’s event on building online communities portrayed him and Clearspring in an unfavorable light.

Let’s look at the positive first. Justin peppered his presentation with anecdotes about how he personally engaged with Clearspring’s customers to help them overcome problems they had encountered when using the company’s products. He also hit on a number of relevant points about the value and impact of personal relationships, such as this memorable quote: “People have relationships with people, not products, services or companies.”

Yet, it was obvious Justin walked in to this panel discussion unprepared. The other speakers had carefully crafted presentations. Justin scribbled a couple of bullet points on a crumbled piece of paper he scrunched in his hand. Not surprising he rambled through his 20 minute discussion repeating the same points over and over.


Then, there was Justin’s appearance. Clearspring sells to the developer community and Justin has got the tech geek look down pat. I get it...it works for him and it’s consistent with his role at the company. (Image courtesy of Erickson Barnett.)

However, the attendees at this particular event were corporate marketers and public relations professionals. Plus, the event was held at the ritzy Tower Club in Tysons Corner. A favorable impression results from what you say and (equally important) how the messages are delivered. Packaging counts!

Clearspring missed the mark on this one. The company had a great opportunity to get a group of prospective new customers excited about their technology. Instead, we came away wondering, “What’s the deal with Justin?”