This is the second in a series of weekly blog posts written by Jenny Walsh, intern and office mate of 3Cinteractive’s Founder and CEO John Duffy. This series takes a look at the inner workings of 3Ci and mobile marketing from a fresh perspective.

As I finish up my second week as Duff’s shadow, he is teaching me the importance of having people who want to learn from each other (or being “coachable” as Duff says), and how it is a big part of gaining success. The people at 3Ci always want to learn from each other. They know everyone’s strengths and experiences, and use them to further their own knowledge. The people here really do want each other to succeed, and I think that has transferred over to me. When I walk in every morning I just feel like everyone want to share his or her experiences with me and really does care about my growth throughout this internship. It is contagious because it makes me want to learn more with every meeting I sit in and every conversation I am able to be a part of.

One of the big concepts Duff is teaching me is what makes up a good sales pitch. I know from the two weeks that I have been here that Duff sits through many sales pitches and gives many sales pitches, and from what I have seen he is pretty good at it. So Duff decided to give me a few key points on what he thinks makes up a good sales pitch.

• First and foremost, be on time. DO NOT be the person everyone is waiting for.
• Set an agenda for the call or meeting to keep you on track and your perspective customer engaged.
• Always be prepared for the call or meeting. Test out all of your demos and PowerPoints before hand because it is really embarrassing if a technology company’s technology doesn’t work.
• If you make a PowerPoint, just put key topics on the slides and explain it yourself. Do not put as many words as you can on a slide and just read them.
• Research the customer you are pitching and make every aspect of the pitch relevant to them.
• Role play with your team before the pitch. It makes you look much more professional and prepared.
• Don’t talk too much or oversell your product at the end of the pitch.

I feel like the skills I am learning here are tools that I will use through my entire career, whatever field it may be in. I now understand why my dad raves about this place, and why everyone involved think it is to good to be true at first. Chris Howard, a close family friend, told me that this internship will ruin me for every other job I will ever have because I will never find another office with the kind of culture and people 3Ci has, and I will never find another CEO as totally awesome as Duff. I know the amazing opportunity that I have been given this summer and cannot wait to see what is to come in week three.