Norbert Schuster is, in my opinion, one of the most experienced and prominent experts in digitalization for marketing and sales. He is a speaker at academies such as those of Haufe and the Vogel Communication Group, and has written books on lead management, marketing automation, and inbound marketing. His focus is on online marketing and all stages of the customer journey.
Nevertheless, I had the opportunity to meet him offline once as an energetic speaker and presenter at the Lead Management Summit in Würzburg (the photo above is from there), where he presented, among other things, his strategic approach to creating so-called buyer persona profiles together with his clients and using the insights from limbic marketing to optimize and personalize the customer journey in marketing and sales.
Tom Becker-Schweitzer (Presentation Load):
In your workshops, you also do a lot of presenting yourself, introducing your strategies and frameworks. What tips can you give trainers and coaches to make their talks and presentations more engaging and inspiring?
Norbert Schuster:
For me, empathy is an important aspect for speakers. I find it very helpful to ask yourself a few questions before a presentation:
- Who is sitting in front of me and listening to me?
- What is the background of the audience in the context of my presentation topic?
- What is the goal of my presentation? To entertain, inform, move, …?
I always try to present complex topics in a visual way. You know this from my Watering Hole Strategy® and my "Green Banana Effect." This helps immensely in connecting with the audience and making the content memorable. I also place great importance on structure. For me, presentations should always have a logic and a clear narrative thread that the audience can follow. Depending on the topic, a narrative arc or a relevant story can also be helpful.
Some speakers present completely extemporaneously or with the help of a flipchart. I prefer working with slides because I can visually support my audio. However, design and structure are a particular challenge. For example, I don't use any of the templates included in presentation software. For my images, such as the Watering Hole Strategy® or the "Suicidal Deer," I have suitable illustrations drawn, and my slides are then prepared by a professional – by you.
Tom Becker-Schweitzer (Presentation Load):
I find your approach with buyer personas and limbic selling very interesting. Can this also be applied to sales presentations? There are also various decision-makers and personalities that influence a purchase decision in sales. How does that work?
Norbert Schuster:
This works great. I use the INSIGHTS MDI® model to analyze behavioral preferences. In short, behavioral preferences are divided into four color-coded areas:
- RED – Status, Recognition, Efficiency, Competitive Advantage
- YELLOW – Innovation, curiosity, "not letting things slide", "show-off"
- GREEN – Safety, balance, guarantee
- BLUE – Figures, data, facts, analysis
Since every product, service, and presentation topic has some connection to these color palettes, I can tailor my presentation accordingly if I know or can anticipate the behavioral preferences of the audience. For example, CEOs tend to gravitate towards the red zone, while tax consultants or quality managers are likely to be more in the green/blue zone.
This allows me to highlight the relevant aspects in more detail. I pay attention to using appropriate images and colors on my slides. If I don't know my audience well enough, or if it's a mixed audience, I make sure to cover all aspects.
More information here:
https://www.strike2.de/themen/buyer-persona/
https://www.strike2.de/themen/insights-mdi-r/
Tom Becker-Schweitzer (Presentation Load):
Online presentations are a hot topic right now. I'm thinking about the possibility of embedding a presentation into a website (e.g., Google Slides, SlideShare, or LinkedIn's PointDrive for outbound marketing). Could this be a useful addition to landing pages or the lead nurturing process?
Norbert Schuster:
Presentations are an important tool in the acquisition process. Depending on the content and objective, they can be used in inbound and outbound marketing approaches, as well as in sales. At the beginning of the buying process, I would recommend using presentations primarily as an unmoderated "content magnet." In the middle of the buying process, presentations can be very effective in the context of online presentations or webinars. At the end of the buying process, one-on-one presentations (both online and offline) play a crucial role.
Further information:
https://www.strike2.de/themen/touchpoints/
https://www.strike2.de/themen/der-gruene-bananen-effekt-im-leadmanagement/
Tom Becker-Schweitzer (Presentation Load):
Online presentations are a hot topic right now. I'm thinking about the possibility of embedding a presentation into a website (e.g., Google Slides, Slideshare, or Pointdrive on LinkedIn for outbound marketing). Could this be a useful addition to landing pages or the lead nurturing process?
Norbert Schuster:
Yes, the current situation with limited customer access is finally giving online presentations a boost. I've been giving online presentations for many years and I also co-founded pcvisit Software AG. pcvisit is a manufacturer of a remote maintenance and remote access solution.
We already conducted many activities via online meetings in the early 2000s. Before the pandemic, however, online presentations were often only a second choice. I believe that, due to the crisis, many companies have now recognized the added value of online presentations and incorporated them into their standard customer engagement strategies.
In the context of lead management and marketing automation, they take on further, special roles. By being placed on Google Slides, SlideShare, or LinkedIn's PointDrive, they enable access to customer touchpoints that would otherwise be inaccessible.
In lead nurturing or opportunity nurturing processes, presentation slides and online presentations are important elements for conversion and activation. Generally, there are many phases in the digital marketing process where presentation slides and online presentations can be used effectively.
I have described more information about this in my new book: 
https://www.strike2.de/angebote/buecher-hoerbuecher/digitalisierung-im-marketing-und-vertrieb/
Tom Becker-Schweitzer (Presentation Load):
Besides your books, you also publish a lot of other content such as white papers and e-books. Do you use PowerPoint to create your content?
Norbert Schuster:
I tend to be a "lot-of-text writer" and like to use the written word extensively. However, there are also topics that are better presented with less text, but with images and a process diagram. For this, I like to use PowerPoint slides to create content modules. Infographics are a good example of this.
Norbert Schuster is a strategy consultant and managing director of strike2 GmbH. He offers strategy consulting for digitalization in marketing and sales and supports companies in leveraging the potential of digitalization for their marketing.
strike2 provides manufacturer- and product-independent consulting and support to companies in strategy and concept development, implementation of lead management, marketing automation, the Watering Hole Strategy® , and robotic selling. Norbert Schuster is a speaker, presenter, and author of the books "Digitalization in Marketing and Sales," "Marketing Automation for Existing Customers," "Lead Management," and "The Inbound Marketing Method."