Fearless Presentations

This is episode eight and nine of our 12-episode series on how to win group sales presentations. So far, we've covered a lot of the foundational concepts of group selling skills. And we've spent a lot of time on how valuable case studies or success stories are in winning a committee over to hiring your team. Today's episode will be split into to parts. First, I'll give you some tips on how to pick your presentation team and how to divvy up roles for each speaker. I'll also cover the absolute biggest mistakes that presentation teams make. Just a hint... The biggest one is putting a qualified SME (subject matter expert) in front of a buying committee without any basic presentation or sales training.Then, in part two, I give you some tips on how to research the buying committee. Next week, we'll cover how to design a custom presentation based on what the committee wants or needs to hear from you. The better research you do beforehand, the better the committee is going to like what you say and how you present. But you can't wing it. You have to do some research.In the last part of this episode, we'll show you how.

This is episode seven of our 12-episode series on how to win group sales presentations. Before the Christmas and New Years break, the last couple of sessions were about inserting case studies into your presentation as evidence that your potential clients can get what they want if they do what you want. I introduced a concept that I call an action/benefit statement. Just as a review, you'd tell a compelling case study. Then, add a call to action at the end. This call-to-action is another one of those breadcrumbs I've talked about in past sessions. You're leading the committee down a path. Finally, you tell the audience how they will benefit if they take this action. For instance, an action/benefit statement might sound like...When you hire our team, you’ll have fewer change orders which will lower the overall cost of the project.Or, by having me as your project manager, you’ll have fewer delays in the project.Today, I walk you through how to perform well during the Q&A session of the interview. This is the part of the presentation where you can really set yourself apart from the competition in a positive way. The good news is that the backbone of answering a question is to respond with a shortened version of a case study followed by the call to action and benefit that we talked about before the holiday.This response is very, very easy to master. And when you and your shortlist team use this technique, the committee will see you as a team of experts who really know there stuff.

This is episode six of our 12-episode series on how to win group sales presentations. For the last couple of weeks, we talked about how a case study is a story or example of how you've helped other clients solve similar problems to what this client has. And we showed how these stories help you show your experience to the buying committee throughout your presentation. We also showed how these stories capture attention, make your data memorable, build rapport, build credibility, build more of a team atmosphere, and help your presenting team reduce nervousness.So, you want to make the case studies the backbone of your shortlist presentation. Today, I show you how to take one of these case studies and show you how to make short persuasive messages out of them. This technique will be important when we get to the question and answer sessions -- by the way, we'll cover that next week. But this simple addition to the stories allows you to sprinkle calls to action throughout your presentation so that you are throwing breadcrumbs out to the committee. The goal is to get the committee members to follow these persuasive breadcrumbs until they come to the natural conclusion to hire you and your team.

This is 2nd half of episode five of our 12-episode series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, we talked about how a case study is a story or example of how you've helped other clients solve problems similar to those of this client. They are also fantastic ways to make details in your presentation memorable and a great way to build rapport with the selection committee.In fact, the only thing that makes you different from your competition is your experience. So, getting really good at delivering fantastic case studies during your presentation is the most important thing you can do to increase your closing ratio on these high-level sales presentations.In part two of this episode, we'll show you how these case studies help you build credibility with the committee. They also build more of a team atmosphere. And then, finally, I'll show you how these additions to your shortlist presentation or interview presentation are a fantastic way to reduce public speaking fear. Your presentation team is going to be nervous. So, as the leader of the presentation, you want to give your team members ways to feel more comfortable when they are presenting in a high-stakes presentation. Having them tell about past experiences in a story format will help dramatically.

This is episode five of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, we talked about how you can change the way that you introduce each team member when you present so that you edify each other and build their confidence.This week, we're going to cover how to get really, really good at delivering case studies. If you remember back in the very first episode, I talked about how most presentation teams create a bullet point called "our experience." In this session, I show you how to make the entire presentation about your experience. However, this way, you'll show how your team's experience can help the buying committee solve problems.Basically, what we are calling a case study is a story or example of how you've helped other clients solve similar problems to what this client has. They are also fantastic ways to build rapport, build credibility, and make your presentation more memorable. So these stories have a fantastic selling power for you.In fact, the only thing that makes you different from your competition is your experience. So, getting really good at delivering fantastic case studies during your presentation is the most important thing you can do to increase your closing ratio on these high-level sales presentations.

This is episode four of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, I gave you ten things you can do when preparing or delivering these presentations that will help you keep calm and poised. I also talked about how, in shortlist presentations,  it is important to "dig your well before you're thirsty," so to speak. High-level sales presentations have a tremendous amount of pressure, which causes a tremendous amount of nervousness and anxiety. If you throw an unseasoned presenter into a pressure cooker without any help, you can really hurt that presenter (and your team.)But that is one of the biggest mistakes that I see over and over again.This week, we will cover how to do the team introductions. I cover a few ways to introduce your team so that you actually look like a cohesive team. The main thing that is important to understand about shortlist presentations is that they are sales presentations. The technical presenters often forget this. They will want to score points in their introductions by just giving a laundry list of each team member's accomplishments.However, your shortlist presentation should focus on how you can solve problems for the committee. So, your introductions should be focused on how your experience can help the committee.And, if you want to really elevate your presentation, you can have your team members introduce each other. This was a technique that we discovered accidentally. But, once we tried it, we have used it in every single presentation since because it works so well.

This is episode three of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, I briefly overviewed the five biggest secrets I've discovered about these high-level sales presentations. These secrets are the things that have allowed us to win over 80% of the interviews that teams that I have coached have been on. This week, I will give you ten things you can do when you are preparing or delivering these presentations that will help you stay calm and poised. However, early on in this session, I tell a quick story about how important it is to "dig your well before you're thirsty," so to speak. High-level sales presentations have a tremendous amount of pressure, which causes a tremendous amount of nervousness and anxiety. If you throw an unseasoned presenter into a pressure cooker without any help, you can really hurt that presenter (and your team.)So, these ten tips can help reduce tension and nervousness. But you'll get a lot better results if you train your potential presenters well before they are under the heat lamp.

This is episode two of our 12-week series on how to win shortlist presentations or other types of group sales presentations. Last week, I explained what these presentations were and how I first got exposed to them. Just as a review, a Shortlist Presentation or Shortlist Interview is a very high-level sales presentation. Companies will often submit a proposal to a potential customer or client. The potential customer or client will weed through all of the proposals to create what they call a "shortlist." Then, the remaining companies will often each get a shot to come in and pitch themselves to the customer. We talked about how this type of presentation can be nerve-racking even if you are a confident speaker.This week, I briefly overview the five of the biggest secrets I've discovered about these high-level sales presentations. These secrets are the things that have allowed us to win over 80% of the interviews that teams that I have coached have been on. Next week, I'll give you ten things you can do when you are preparing or delivering these presentations that will help you keep calm and poised. So we have a lot of ground to cover!

This week, we start a new series on how to win Shortlist Presentations or Shortlist Interviews. Basically, this is a very high level sales presentation. Companies will often submit a proposal to a potential customer or client. The potential customer or client will weed through all of the proposals to create what they call a "shortlist." Then, the remaining companies will often each get a shot to come in and pitch themselves to the customer. If you think about it, this type of presentation has a number of very unique challenges. First, the stakes are really high. Some of these projects may be worth millions of dollars. So if the team does well, they may close a really big contract. And if they do poorly, they get excluded from that same contract. So, even if you are a confident speaker, this type of presentation can be nerve-racking.The next big challenge is that most of the presenters who deliver these presentations are technical experts -- they are NOT skilled presenters or salespeople. For instance, if the project is a building project, the presenters are often mechanical engineers, architects, or construction superintendents. Or if the project is a technical project, the presenters may be engineers or people who write and edit code for a living. Many of these presenters have never delivered any type of business presentation before. And this first one has a ton of pressure.On this episode, I tell about how, over the last 20 years, I and my team accidentally became experts at this unique type of presentation. Then, in the next few weeks, I'm going to reveal a few secrets that will make this type of presentation much easier. I'll show you have to reduce the nervousness and tension. We'll also show you how to master Q&A sessions and be more persuasive. Then, in the final sessions, I'll show you step-by-step how to design a really good shortlist presentation that will make the audience want to hire your team.

One of the real fears that many speakers have is that they don't feel like they are an "expert" on the topic. It actually leads to what some people call imposter syndrome.In this episode, I'm going to help you reduce that anxiety. Especially in the business world, if you are the person speaking, then, most likely, it is because you know more about the topic than anyone else in the room.Great speakers are great speakers because they are world leaders in everything. They are great speakers because they have found ways to give critical information to their audiences in ways that the audience members can easily retain that information.Guess what?You can too.