Too many times we get bogged down with the prospective client

Sure, the reasons can be many, but it doesn’t matter. Anytime things bog down, it eats into your time and your earnings.

Below are 5 things we can do right now to accelerate the process:

1. Skip the presentation and ask more questions

Don’t focus your time on crafting your PowerPoint and your talking points. Take that time and spend it developing more questions. More importantly, think through how you will follow up each question with another question.

2. Be prepared to ask tough questions early on to verify if there is potential

Consider these three questions:  What is your timeline for making a decision?  How have you made decisions like this in the past?  What is the outcome you’re looking to achieve?

3. Follow up fast

Don’t think for a moment your prospect is thinking about you, because they’re not. During each phase of the selling process, the faster you follow up, the greater your potential for closing the sale.

4. Take the small order if that’s what it takes to move them forward

Sure, we all want to land the big sale, but if the big sale is not there, grab the small one and use it as a springboard to move up to the next sale.

5. Skip the formality of a scheduled meeting and make it happen anytime, anywhere

Don’t allow yourself to believe because you’ve always sold sitting across a desk that you need to continue doing so. Make it happen with a video or audio call instead. Your prospect many times will appreciate this, as they tend to be faster and less intrusive on their schedule.

Bonus Item: Make sure each time you’re talking with a prospect, you have in your mind the expectation of closing a sale. If your attitude is not focused on making a sale, the best you’ll ever get is bread crumbs.

Most people in business get what they deserve!

If they do a good job of presenting their idea, they get what they deserve. If they do a poor job, they also get what they deserve.

Do you believe you get what you deserve during meetings?

If not, or if during your meetings little post action occurs, then perhaps you are ignoring the the top 5 reasons Executives and Decision Makers table an issue.

1. Poor Preparation

One Exec said, "I can always tell when someone isn't prepared. They stumble when I ask them questions. They also don't seem to anticipate that I will need proof."

Another Exec said, "I loathe when people waste my time and aren't prepared."

Think about the last time you tried to sell an Exec or Decision Maker an idea. How long did you spend preparing? Did you do more than throw a few slides together? Did you sit down ahead of time and try to figure what questions will be asked or what analyses might be requested?

2. Faulty Strategy

A Director of Innovations at a technology company said, "I am all about big ideas, but I have to follow your argument. You can't be jumping all over the place, leaving me to figure it."

When you meet with an Executive or Decision Maker, are they able to easily follow your logic?

Do all of your points lead to the same conclusion?

3. Lack of Clarity

Steve Jobs once said, "Decisions are easy when ideas are simply explained, but you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple."

Some of us over-talk an issue. We use a lot of acronyms. Our sentences are very complicated with lots of phrases and clauses. We often make up words. Nouns are turned into verbs and vice versa.

Ask yourself, "Is your argument clear and simple?"

4. Dubious Benefits

EC has worked with Executives and Decision Makers who interrupt presenters right up front if the benefits to a proposal aren't apparent nor relevant to their priorities.

One of these Exec's famous line is "Yeah, so what! Why should I care?"

People reporting to this Executive know that they must link ideas to things that are top of mind for the Exec. The presenter cannot speak in generalities.

Do you support any benefits with metrics? Are the metrics tied to what is important to the Executive?

5. Lack of Confidence

"Unconfident people scare me. I wonder why they are in charge." This is a comment we at  EC hear frequently from clients who are Executives and Decision Makers.

People who show they are nervous rarely get a positive result.

One Executive said, "Act like you belong." Executives just want to have a CONVERSATION.

Confident speakers look people in the eye. They don't read from their notes or slides. They don't rush.

Having a carefully thought out message is, of course, important, but give the same amount of attention to how you will deliver it.

Getting what you want and deserve from a meeting doesn't happen by accident. It should never be left to chance. Avoid being disappointed by paying attention to what Executives and Decision Makers feel is important in a CONVERSATION!

If you’re involved in a competitive business pitch, in addition to knowing the prospect very well and planning your pitch presentation, there is a key question you and your pitch team should be repeatedly asking yourselves, during the understanding, planning and staging process.

The question is... ‘What Else Could We Do?’ (WECWD). This simply means, what else could we do, that our competitors won’t do, to win this piece of business.

Small behaviours, little things that you could do, can be the difference that separates you from others on the short list.  Many times the client is unsure about whom to give the business to. Many times there is no obvious choice.

Through repeatedly asking WECWD you’ll come up with ideas that can tip the business your way. Some of the ideas won’t be useful – but through the repetitive WECWD process, your mind and the minds of your pitch team will unearth a stream of ideas. 

The repetitive process is the key. Don’t ask the question just once or twice – keep asking it over and over. Persist, even when you think you’ve exhausted all possibilities.

A story from the 1990’s illustrates the power of a small idea, identified through the WECWD process, that helped win a large piece of business.

In 1995, a competitive pitch was won by a firm. The firm’s director asked the client why his firm won the business. The customer said something along the following lines.

“There wasn’t any real difference between you and your competitors. You each seemed equally capable of delivering the work. However, when you emailed us your PowerPoint slides before your pitch-day presentation, we were impressed with your technical expertise. That was the deciding factor.”

Through the WECWD questioning process, this small action emerged, and was the reason the firm won the business.  At that point in time emailing PowerPoint slides was viewed as novel and technologically savvy.

An important point to note about the story is this. The other firms on the short list could have easily sent their PowerPoint slides to the prospect. But they didn’t think of doing it. Perhaps they didn’t persist in asking the WECWD.

Your call to action towards applying this advice is... In the next seven days try out this WECWD questioning process prior to a meeting with a potential prospect. Ask yourself, "What else could we do to make this presentation have more impact / be more relevant / be more positively memorable etc.  Notice the numerous ideas your mind generates for you.

All the best with your next pitch presentation!

How many times have you wondered if your audience was really listening or cared about what you were saying when giving a presentation?

Obviously, the goal is to be heard by your listeners, yet, are there ways you can be sure?

Yes and here is how and what seasoned and expert presenters do!

ASK

It's so simple, but very few presenters take the time to check in with their audience. Periodically pause and ask your listeners rhetorical or open-ended questions such as, "Do you agree?" "Have you seen this also?" "What issues do you see?" A variety of open-ended and rhetorical questions take people from being passive to being more attentive.

LOOK THEM IN THE EYE

Sustained eye contact cannot be ignored. Avoid scanning. Look at one person at a time for a full sentence or thought. When you do, you will get some sort of reaction from the listener. The individual will smile, nod or demonstrate through their body language that they are listening.

MOVE CLOSER

If you come into the audience, people feel you have something important to say. You connect with them. You have nothing to hide. Your proximity makes them set aside their phones, laptops or tablets and listen up!

TURN UP THE VOLUME

Louder voices are taken more seriously. Softer voices lull people to sleep, and a monotone really annoys them. An interesting voice with lots of highs and lows commands attention.

AMPLIFY YOUR ENERGY

Go bigger with your gestures than seems comfortable to you. Let energy flow from your face and hands. If you have a big point, let your audience see it. They will respond to your enthusiasm for your topic.

TELL THEM A GOOD STORY

A personal story with a business point always draws people in. They envision what you say and maybe even connect it to their own lives. As you think of the story you want to tell, decide on what details to include or exclude to make the story poignant or powerful.

SITE RELEVANT EXAMPLES

If the example is compelling, you win people over. You influence them and make them see your point.

PUT NUMBERS INTO CONTEXT

Statistics come alive when you show what they mean to the whole scheme of things. "We will save 4% in the next year or 5.4 million dollars. Steve Jobs once talked about the capacity of an iPod by saying, "Imagine a thousand songs in your pocket."

SPEAK IN SHORT STATEMENTS

Do not drone on. Say what you need to say in the fewest words possible. Use strong descriptive adjectives and adverbs. Show criticality.

USE ANALOGIES

When a subject is over people's heads, attention drifts. However, with the use of simple analogies, you can get people on the same page very quickly.

USE HUMOROUS ASIDES

Season your topic with humorous asides. Everyone responds to humor, but most speakers think it is too risky. Listeners love humor when it is appropriate. It re-invigorates the dreariest of topics.

Presenting would not be so difficult if we could be assured our audiences were paying attention. Do not make the mistake of thinking your words alone will make people listen. About every four or five minutes, we need to change things. Do something different. The best presenters incorporate all of the above suggestions as often as they can in every presentation.