Our CEO, Jody Rowe, talks us through her 7 steps to presentation success when pitching to clients:
1 – Tailor your message
Make sure you know who you are talking to – do your homework and prepare. Make sure you know and understand the clients objectives and needs. Beware of falling into the “we” trap – “we do this”, “we achieved that” – remember this is about them not you. This is not to say you don’t talk about your relevance as to how you are suited to win the work but lead the pitch with the client’s needs first and then demonstrate your value and the benefits of employing you and your company.
2 – Get to the point
Time is precious! And it seems even more so in today’s fast paced world. Make sure you prune back to what the client really needs and wants. In other words, cut to the chase and get to the point!
3 – Be honest in your story-telling
As Mark Twain said “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything”. People think in pictures so make sure you are using story-telling to get your point across. Be passionate and use active language to convey your enthusiasm.
4 – Relevant repetition
Demonstrate relevance, use evidence and repeat key information – begin with the key important information and end with it so people remember what you said.
5 – Keep it conversational
Keep it relaxed, ask questions, and listen – truly listen! As Stephen Covey rightly pointed out “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply”.
6 – Slides support the speaker
Use meaningful visuals and graphs. If you have a lot of information you want to communicate then put this on a handout, don’t clog up your presentation with lots of text – less is more and the use of white space emphasises your key points.
7 – End with a bang
Make sure your presentation ends with a bang rather than a whimper – for example, use an inspirational quote or a call to action. Don’t end with questions – ask for these before you do the wrap-up, as a negative question can dampen the presentation positivity you’ve worked hard to create.
To summarise – the most successful presentations all have 3 things in common:
- they focus on the client,
- they identify meaningful problems, and
- they provide valuable solutions.
Contact Jody to discover how Rowe Advisory can help you with your presentation success!