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In the movie “Jerry
Maguire”, wide receiver Rod Tidwell famously shouted “Show me the
money!” Well when it comes to winning corporate beauty contests,
we
want to shout “show them the solution!”
In a “beauty
contest”, firms give 60- to 90-minute presentations competing for
corporate opportunities. Lawyers pitch for a company’s labor work.
Construction firms pitch for a new corporate headquarters. CPAs
pitch to analyze data.
If you want to win
such a “Battle of the PowerPoint”, focus your message on one thing:
your solution to the company’s business problem.
Don’t focus on your
firm credentials. Don’t focus on successes with other clients.
Don’t recount firm history. Give a plan for solving the problem the
prospect faces. Do that well and the prospect will show you
the money.
Let’s say that
you’re one of three firms invited to pitch for a piece of business
to a medium-sized company. The company wants help in spinning off a
division of their business.
In working with
firms to help them with these types of new business pitches, we
repeatedly see one major mistake. They focus on their own
qualifications rather than their plan for handling the spin-off.
A typical bad
presentation begins with a detailed recitation of the firm’s
history. “We were founded 30 years ago and have grown to a size of
300 CPAs working across the northeast.” Slides usually list key
clients and typical matters.
Then, maybe there
are examples of work done on other spin-offs. But there is little
discussion of how to handle this particular spin-off. That’s
a mistake.
We
have spoken with many decision-makers on “beauty contest” panels.
All of them tell us the same things. They don’t care about your
history. They don’t care about your other clients. They know
you’re qualified. That’s why they invited you to pitch.
The only thing
they’re interested in is your plan to help them.
Some people wonder
why they should “give away” a solution in the presentation. “Isn’t
that what they’re buying?” No! You outline a solution. They hire
you to implement it. No one buys a car without a test drive.
Similarly, your presentation should give the buyer a feel for
exactly what they’re buying.
That means your 30-
to 45-minute presentation should propose a solution to the business
problem they’re facing.
In the case of the
division spin-off, show that you understand the underlying business
goal. Are they trying to solve a cash crunch? Are they trying to
exit a failing business? Are they simply dropping a business that
is no longer related to core operations?
You also need to
show that you understand their key worries. Are they worried about
the way the books in this division have been kept? Are there
particular accounting issues that need to be addressed? You need to
show a plan for attacking those problems.
“What if we don’t
know the core issues?”
Find out what they
are.
Read the RFP (if
there is one) carefully. More importantly, speak with key
decision-makers. “What are you trying to achieve with this
spin-off?” “What are the biggest problems that you see?” Usually,
someone will brief you on the “hot button” issues. If they won’t,
work your inside contacts to learn the “hot buttons”.
During the pitch,
spend about half of the time on your plan for the client’s problem.
Discuss other clients in the context of showing how your solution
has worked in the past. Leave the rest of the time for answering
questions.
When a company
holds a beauty contest, they’re looking to solve a business
problem. If you want the company to show you the money,
you’re going to have to show them a solution.
At Speechworks we help our clients learn how to communicate in a way
that connects and persuades. If you’re interested in becoming a
great communicator give us a call at 404-266-0888 or check out our
website at
www.speechworks.net |
