| Congratulations! Your firm made it to the
short list and you've been invited to the new client interview. That's what they call it,
anyway. In reality it's a new business pitch that could be a shoot-out between you and
"the other guy" or a line up of back-to-back, dog-and-pony,
show-your-credentials presentations where the client parades you and the competition in
and out of a conference room all day.
Regardless of the staging or format, one thing's for sure:
It's your make or break chance to win the business.
- What will you say in your business presentation that will
set you apart?
- What will you show that proves your expertise?
- How do you hit the prospect's hot buttons without stepping
on a land mine?
Here are some traps, tips and tools you can use to
make your new business pitch or interview stand out and win more clients.
New Business Pitch Trap #1: Too much stuff.
You know your stuff, and you want to share it. We all do.
We figure the more stuff we share, the more credible we'll be and the more likely we are
to get hired. Wrong. It bores people into a stupor or frustrates them into belligerence.
True story: I recently worked with a client who had more
than 100 slides for a 30-minute interview! They whittled it down to 23, and still came off
as harried and rushed. The rule of thumb is about two minutes per slide. Whether you have
30 minutes or an hour or more, picture your audience extending you a thimble's worth of
interest. Don't fill it with a fire hose.
New Business Pitch Trap #2: Failure to get to the point.
Instead of thinking about all the stuff you want to say,
that you hope you get time to say, think about this: When you leave the room, what is the
single most important thing you want remembered and repeated by the client? What do you
want them to say when someone asks, "So, what do think about Acme Engineering?"
A: "Well, they talked about this, and they showed us
that, and they're located there, and they were pretty easy to talk to."
B: "They've got the experience we need and can hit the
ground running."
Obviously (I hope it's obvious), you want B, or something
like it. That's the point of your presentation, and everything you say, or do, or show
needs to support, defend, prove, demonstrate or bring to life that point.
HINT: Your point is NOT "hire us." That's your
call to action. It's what you want them to do as a result of being convinced of your
point. Don't confuse the two.
New Business Pitch Trap #3: Making the presentation all
about you.
No one cares about you. Even though they put you on the
short list, invited you to present and specifically said they want you to talk about your
firm, they don't mean it. Prospects don't care about you. They care about themselves,
their work and what you will do for them.
So here's how to convert your credentials and capabilities
to something your new clients will care about:
1. Before you create your presentation or pitch, go ahead
and describe your firm, the team, your qualifications or experience. This is an exercise;
don't do it in front of the prospect. Not yet, anyway.
2. Now, isolate at the most three or four key attributes
that you think are the most important to the specific decision makers on this project.
3. Now that you have the features, look for the
benefits-the need or the want that is satisfied by those features.
4. Go beyond the benefit and drill down even further. Look
at those features and benefits and fill in the blank: "Why is your company's
experience important personally to this decision maker?"
5. Look at your answer and ask it again. "Why is that
important personally to this decision maker?" Or, "What is it about your answer
that is important, personally to this decision maker?"
6. Ask it again. "Why is whatever you just answered
important personally to the decision maker? "
7. Keep going and you will have a list of want or need
words and phrases that are all about the client. Save money, maximize budget, higher
trust, no surprises, more flexibility, more confidence, less stress, better communication.
These are the words that not only help you connect to what clients care about, they set
you apart, increase your credibility and help convince clients to hire you.
Once you complete this exercise you'll know your point, as
well as what's important to your prospect. From there you'll be able to decide which
facts, features, stories and benefits will prove that point. Which case studies or
examples will make it clear? Remember the thimble and choose you content wisely. Make it
more about them, less about you, and you'll have greater success. |
