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Renovation vs Innovation

By: John K. Mackenzie, Sun Jan 1st, 2006 07:12:48 PM

Renovation vs Innovation: Confuse These At Your Peril! by John K. Mackenzie Copyright (c) 1990 All rights reserved

Creating a sales meeting outline for client review? Great. But watch out for these words: new, novel, unique, different, original, and innovative. It's okay to use them. In fact, it's mandatory to use them. But don't confuse proposal rhetoric with presentation reality.

Your first job is to get the job. Your second job is to help the client forget about all those new ideas you promised to get the job in the first place. Experienced meeting pros understand this. Those just starting out often get burned. And the reason is quite simple:

Sales meetings reflect the same rules that sustain most aspects of American commerce. In actual practice new, novel, unique, different, original, and innovative all mean the same thing: creative revision of the status quo, i.e. the brand extension. New and improved! This is not as cynical as it seems. Renovation has a proud and profitable history. Just ask George Lucas, Bill Gates, or Procter & Gamble.

Renovation is: - comfortable - friendly - convenient Renovation: - expedites approval - facilitates acceptance - usually costs less. And, most important, renovation saves time! It cuts the comprehension curve that new concepts (of any kind) require.

Example: Star Trek parodies have been used at sales meetings for 30 years. Audience get-up-to-speed time is reduced to zero! Everybody gets it, immediately! Company problems and products can then be dealt with at warp speed. ============================================= John K. Mackenzie is a self-employed business communications writer living in NYC. A 30-year veteran of corporate conference room combat, he put two kids through college while underwriting dozens of Prozac prescriptions. More can be learned by visiting his website at www.thewritingworks.com or e-mailing him at info@thewritingworks.com  

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