When creating a winning presentation remember that it needs to be a show, each phase surprising the audience.

There are a few simple presentation rules that are often forgotten when it comes to giving winning presentations, whether it’s for new business, for your team, or for a conference or school.

Here are six key reminders when getting ready for your next presentation:

1. Know Your Audience

• Find out who they are and what kind of perspective they want.
• Remember the rules of Personality Profiling. For example, Headline’s want the big-picture overview; a Bodycopy will want the process and all the detail.
• Spend 1/3 of the preparation time getting the content right, 1/3 getting the style and format right, and 1/3 studying and getting to know your audience.

2. Make Your Content Sing

• Develop a short, clear, one-sentence main message, e.g., “I have a dream.”
• Repeat your main message a number of times during the presentation. Use the exact wording each time. Like the chorus of a song, keep repeating the refrain for retention.
• In addition to data, include analogies, metaphors, examples, and stories. These will dramatically improve message retention.
• Have a strong, memorable opening and closing. Leave the audience with a clear call for action.

3. Think Differently About Format

• Build your talk first, and then add visuals as you need them.
• Think about the story you want to weave. Use boards, props, handouts, or anything to help leave a lasting impression.
• Do not let PowerPoint be the main focus. In fact, do not use PowerPoint. If you use PowerPoint remember the 10/20/30 rule: 10 slides – 20 minutes – 30 point font.
• People are persuaded by and respond to you, not to your slides. Make people be the stars of the show.

4. Practice Your Style

• The way to build style is to practice your presentation in rehearsal. That is, by standing up, moving around, and speaking out loud.
• In rehearsal, exaggerate everything. Use longer pauses, gesture with meaning, move strategically from spot to spot and look ‘em in the eye. Strong, purposeful style feels unnatural and phony, yet looks confident to the audience.
• Keep descriptive gestures up above the belt, and away from the front of your body. This creates a strong look and feeling of confidence.
• Keep nervous ticks out of your presentation, i.e., no hair twirling, no earlobe pulling, no clicking ballpoint pens, and no knuckle cracking.
• Throw back your shoulders and “Let ‘er Rip.” You almost can’t overdo the style, as contrived as it feels.
• A week from now, people will not remember the content of your presentation. However, they will not forget your powerful and confident style.

5. Shake Things Up

• Research studies show that people fade out in meetings and presentations about every 12 to 15 minutes. Sometimes it is less than a 12-15 minute time span, so pay attention to your audience.
• Purposely build in an activity that will “disrupt” the flow of your presentation, every 12 – 15 minutes.
• Remember to vary the presentation format, invite participation, turn off the slides, tell a story, or even use a prop.

6. Make the Q & A Worthwhile

• After asking for questions, wait a few moments. It may take people a while to think of any. If no one asks a question, ask your own: “You know, a question that often comes up when I give these talks is…”
• Repeat questions for clarity. Answer to the whole group so everyone feels included.
• If you don’t know the answer, agree to find out and get back to them.

Simple. Often forgotten. Yet so important.

Recommended Next Steps

Advertising and new business are very different. And if you are thinking that good advertising will be enough to win the account, then you need to reconsider. Good advertising helps but most new business decisions are made on the basis of best presentation and best chemistry.

You need to understand how to organize the new business presentation and pitch strategy to maximize your chances for new business success. Casting, staging, topic outline, order of presentation, content, leave-behinds, speaker support devices, and presentation format need to be quickly decided! In most cases agencies find it very helpful to have rehearsals arranged and directed by us. The wins increase. And the anxiety lowers.

Michael Weiss, managing director of figure18, has some great insight into pitches here and his thoughts can be summerised into a few key poiints:

1. Stop relying on Powerpoint to do the talking! Powerpoint is a support tool. It is not the focal point of the pitch. If it were, then why would you even need to show up.
2. A pitch is not a meeting; it’s a performance! You have 60 minutes to wow them; to make them put down their iPhones and take notice.
3. It’s not you; it’s me! Where most agencies fail in the pitch is with their content: They go into the pitch and all they do is talk about themselves.
4. Kibitz and nosh! Don’t be so formal and “wait” for the scheduled time to begin the pitch. Get there early, set up, walk around the room, and kibitz with the clients as they file in.
5. Don’t focus on the win! Place your center of attention on creating an inspiring, educational, and engaging experience that will convince the client that you are the agency they want to work with.

While we may not agree with everything Michael offers overall it’s great advice, and we offer some more here:

• Winning New Business: The Defining Moment
• Top 10 Mistakes That KILL New Business Presentations

And we offer two training programs; Presenting To Win that is optimized to achieve the greatest success for your firm, and Account In Review where we act as behind-the-scenes coaches in many significant agency wins each year.

Before you let your “defining moment” drift away, call Sanders Consulting Group at 800/899-1538 for quotes and availability. Your call is free, but after you win, you’ll consider the advice priceless.

Happy New Year! And now a word from our sponsor…

The road to success is often under construction but that doesn’t mean you can’t cruise down the fast lane sometimes!

Are you ready to learn how to win your agency’s next pitch? To gain some insight into how others are winning more new business then ever? To pick up some tips and ideas that have helped some of the most successful marketing firms on the planet? To fix new business forever?

Do you always have a carefully planned way to pitch the account? Are you organized and focused on doing what it takes to win? How can you make up for a lack of time already? How can you improve your chances? Do you really have a winning new business process?

We believe in a winning strategy!

Play to win by doing the right things. Fight for only accounts you are prepared to win. Win at least 50% of the time by properly identifying when and where to pitch. Win before you step on the field with an integrated strategic and tactical plan. Don’t count on someone else to save the game. Win with perfect presentations. Prepare, practice, perfection.

Our system wins.

Last year we helped agencies win $500 million in new business. 26 wins in row. Our clients present less often..but win more often. We show a way to win, not just to play.

Is your agency presenting too much fluff and not enough stuff?

Are you showing pretty pictures to show are how smart you are? Are you presenting old capabilities or are you showing results? Are you talking about agency generalities or specifics about the client? Are you showcasing old work or are you showcasing your people’s understanding of the situation?

If you want to win more often, you’ve got to have a winning system.

Do you have an advance planning method to be far ahead in the process before the presentation starts? Are you organized to avoid a lot of last minute changes? Are there tasks assigned far in advance of the first pitch meeting? Do you understand the critical steps in a presentation?

If you’re ready to build the winning game plan, we’re ready to help. Call us for a free telephone consultation with a Sanders Consulting Group expert.

Your presentation will be DOA if you don’t avoid these common mistakes.

What are the main reasons people fail in New Business presentations? It’s because they make the same common mistakes over and over. In order for you to avoid completely flailing around in New Business and achieve success, it’s important for you to understand the most common presentation mistakes. And avoid them.

We have been selected as the prime new business resource for some of the world’s largest and best-managed marketing communication companies and networks. Our focus is on helping firms grow though new business development training and a huge part is getting involved when there is a major pitch.

Over the years we’ve seen many new business presentations; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here’s how you can avoid the bad and the ugly!

Top 10 New Business Presentation Mistakes:

1. Not Understaning the Difference between Advertising and New Business: The number one reason for presentation loss by most agencies is treating prospects like clients. They try to solve the client problem, or be too safe, or win with just creative. In any given presentation one of these can work, but over time you’ll lose more then you win. You have to treat prospects the opposite of clients and understand why if you’re going to win.
2. Waiting till the Last Minute: Many agencies get invited into a pitch, and due to workload or time or just through procrastination they don’t start thinking about the pitch until the last minute. If you are truly interested in winning start demonstrating this early in the process. Even before the prospect invites you in, until after the presentation, you have to be the most interested, excited, driven and informed agency in the pitch.
3. Forgetting the Chemistry Rules: The most important part of new business is chemistry. All the agency search consultants agree. In the end, it’s not the creative or the smart planning or the cool interactive tactics that wins. It’s chemistry that wins in the end. That’s why it’s so important for your agency to learn how to use chemistry to win.
4. No Idea on How the Selection Will Be Made: If you’re not sure how the final selection will be made, do some research. Will it be a strong leader making the final selection, or a marketing board? Will some other group have a say? Many prospects use score cards: they’re simple, easy to create, and create an atmosphere of fairness. However, the second best agency often wins on points. Understand why and use this to your advantage.
5. Focus Too Much on Content: Agencies almost always focus exclusively on the content of their presentation – not thinking about the “how” and “who.” But prospects will remember long after the presentation how you looked, what you wore, how charming your presenters were with one another, how well prepared the entire show was, and whether or not you entertained them. Your perfect line, your break-through strategy recommendation, or the neat way you executed an interactive plan is usually forgotten within an hour. Never forget that the show (format and style) is just as important as content.
6. No Hero: In understanding new business presentations, most agencies forget that the work is only there to showcase the people. In other words, who among your staff is going to be the Hero? Sadly, many agency presidents view themselves as the hero. It’s difficult for an agency president to be the Hero when there is an agency to run. And the agency president may not be the best presenter. A Hero is believable, has the right chemistry, the right title, and the right look. Most importantly, the Hero has to have the agency’s respect (perceived) and lots of enthusiasm for the prospect. This can cover almost any weakness.
7. Not Investing Enough Time to Win: How many times have we seen an agency go into a presentation half-hearted? Too many other distractions get in the way and reflect in the presentation. Ask yourself: do you really want the account? Do you have the time to go after it? The desire and energy to overcome the obstacles? Most importantly do you have the discipline and staff to do it right?
8. No Outline or Presentation Flow: Most agencies start out by doing research and spending time on attempting to solve the problem. While this is important, it’s missing the bigger picture – winning the account. Overall time limit is set by prospect – you must treat the entire presentation as a series of acts in one play that fits within the established timing. Introduce each act with interest. Build to key points. And end each act strongly. Eliminate dull sections and put the information in the leave behind. This makes the leave behind more important, which is helpful.
9. Bad Presentation Skills: Watching an agency presentation is often like watching the Keystone Cops with people running around, props being misplaced, talking over one another, etc. It’s vital you understand the perception you are trying to create – quiet confidence, strength, and leadership. Someone the prospect can trust. Understand the rules and guidelines for great presentations and follow them.
10. Not Rehearsing Enough: A major presentation is worth 8 hours of rehearsal. If you don’t have time to do rehearsals, then don’t do the presentation. Go to the presentation city a day ahead to rehearse. Lay out a meeting room at a hotel in the shape of the presentation room with masking tape and go at it. You’ll be glad you made the effort. Rehearsing pays big dividends in winning presentations.

A winning agency understands these mistakes and works hard to avoid them. A small group of people, with practice, can become outstanding presenters. It’s a smart agency who uses the same people time and again to win key pieces of business. The teamwork shows through and this means a lot to prospects.

Make sure you avoid these common mistakes and understand the rules of giving outstanding presentations. Don’t give a prospect any reason to not award you the account.

When faced with a key presentation, or a Defining Moment, or if you want to learn more details on some of these techniques discussed here, contact Sanders Consulting Group at info@sandersconsulting.com for a free, no obligation conversation.