Pitching

• Prepare relentlessly.  Your level of preparation is closely correlated to your level of confidence.  Top performers know the prospect’s business and the details of their solution inside and out.  When you know this material cold, you can listen more carefully and pick up on cues from the audience because you’re not as concerned with what you’re going to say..  Also in preparation, reach out informally to any key contacts at the prospect to gain any extra intelligence on: Who will be there?  What is most important to address/highlight?  Who is our competition?; etc.  Finally, memorize the first 15 seconds of your presentation verbatim.  If you nail that, you’re more likely to start well and continue to drive a positive interaction.
• Use an agenda.  This can be part of preparation.  In advance of your presentation, email or call to correspond with your key contacts regarding your presentation agenda.  Tell them your plan and ask them for feedback on anything else they’d suggest you include. Additionally, use an agenda early on in your actual presentation.  When you share it with the audience, ask them for feedback: Here’s what we’ve prepared to discuss.  Is there anything you’d like to add or change with this plan?  Where should we spend more or less time? In an hour when we are finished, what would you like to be sure we’ve accomplished?  You’re already starting to demonstrate a collaborative approach, which most clients prefer.
• Make the presentation interactive.  This is slightly counter-intuitive.  In many cases you have already interviewed the prospect so that you could customize your presentation, and now they expect you to come back and present.  In fact that’s how most presentation meetings go. We talk for the first part, presenting one-way; then they ask questions at the end. This approach is OK and it can work.  Making the presentation interactive all throughout makes the solution our solution (salesperson and prospect), not just my solution (salesperson). The best way to make the presentation interactive is with questions.  The agenda example above demonstrates this approach. You can use these questions all throughout the presentation. For example: How does this idea we just reviewed fit with your plans and expectations?  How do you expect your team to respond to this approach? If you use some sort of presentation material or PowerPoint, you can actually put these questions directly in your material to remind yourself to ask them.  As your audience answers these questions, they are already starting to think about what it would be like to work with you. That’s a good thing.

Make it happen with your upcoming presentations with relentless preparation; by using an agenda; and by encouraging interaction.  Your clients need you now as much as they ever have to help them become even more successful!