You Can Judge a Book by Its Cover

A friend recently told us this story: We had a big final presentation—a sizable mandate for a foundation. We worked hard to prepare, and I thought we did a pretty good job. To my surprise, on the plane back home, I happened to be seated next to a key decision-maker,...

Research Is a Commodity If…

Here’s our spin on comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck if…” series.* We call it “Research is a commodity if…” It is inspired by our suspicion that many investment managers do not treat market research as a...

Time on the Phone Saves Time on the Plane

A Canadian plan sponsor told us this story at a conference: “The marketer for an investment company called to arrange a meeting with me. I told him I could give him 20 minutes. He showed up at my office and launched into a description of this new product his...

Beware False Customization

During a final presentation to win a $100 million piece of new business, the marketer for an investment firm made the following statement several times: “We manage money for many organizations just like yours.” The marketer opened the presentation by...

Strength Through Presentation Adversity

If you often participate in new business meetings, you’ve probably found yourself in at least one of the following tough situations: How do we customize our presentation when we can’t find out anything about the prospect? There is so much information out there to help...