4-26-2013
There are a few easy, but important rules to follow when making a presentation to a prospective client. Here they are:
1. ONE PAGE AT A TIME: You control the pages. Always take two copies of your presentation. If you?re presenting a printed version as opposed to sharing an electronic version. You?ll want to take two master, color printouts of your presentation. One bound and one unbound. The unbound copy is what you?re presenting so you can control the pages. The bound copy is your client?s copy, bound so that it stays in proper order. If you?re presenting on an iPad or a laptop, then you?ll only take one bound master printout as your leave-behind.
2. YOU CONTROL THE PAGES: Obviously you?re presenting one page at a time and you must control the process.
3. TRACK: Nothing is more frustrating than to get towards the end of a presentation and then realize you lost the client?s attention. You don?t know if you lost them on page 2 or page 5, but you lost them. So, you must learn to track. This means you ask a question on each page or two. For example, let?s say you?re on one of your introductory pages outlining some of things the client told you in your initial interview from your previous appointment, and they mentioned that business early week was painfully slow. When covering this bullet-point, you may ask, ?One of your challenges is how slow business is early week. Do you remember saying that?? You?re actually confirming here that you have their full attention. You must TRACK numerous times throughout your presentation.
4. ?WE, US, LET?S, and OUR?: This is simply learning to talk in same-team-language. ?That?s important to US, isn?t it? This is what WE want to accomplish. Do you agree this is OUR best solution?? Remember, if you both aren?t on the same team, odds are you won?t have a new client, so use same-team-language.
5. SOMETIMES COST FIRST: It still amazes me how sellers wish they didn?t have to talk cost; holding out to the last minute, the last page, and the last thing on the page. It?s often difficult to keep a client?s attention during a presentation when all they?re wondering is "What is this going to cost?" Don't allow the price to make you afraid to do what?s right! No one said doing business with you should be cheap. Hiring the best, finding the best plan, employing the best solution, are rarely synonymous with lowest cost. What?s costly is not fixing the problem or, worse, buying the proposal because it?s the cheapest. More often than not, getting the cost out of the way first is smart. Example: ?Today, I?m going to ask you to spend $60,000 over the next 12 months. Now, let me show you how I JUSTIFY that.? Business owners devote more attention to the details of your proposal when they know the cost up front and hear how this dollar amount will get the job done.
One page at a time, you control the pages, track, team language, and sometimes cost first. Now, go present boldly and with confidence. You?re worth the money!
Rob Adair is the President of Pinnacle Solving. His company provides revenue growth solutions, branding and differentiation strategies to radio and other industries. Adair is a former radio industry COO and Sr. VP overseeing 25+ stations and multiple major markets. He can be reached at 405-641-0458 or by e-mail rob@pinnaclesolving.com
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