Thursday, August 13, 2015
DOES YOUR PITCH PRESENTATION CONTAIN THIS QUESTION TO GIVE YOU THE WINNING EDGE?
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!
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by effectivecommunication.com.au
