| Having made the short list of a tender process, now you are asked to present to the prospect, Lars Tewes, MD of SBR Consulting, asks what are your chances of winning and can you improve them? |
Selling in the Consulting World –
Learn to 'pitch', not just present |
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| | By Lars Tewes
The marketplace
appears to have picked
up again and SBR
Consulting is seeing a
number of its clients
being invited to pitch
for some great
opportunities. This is
partly due to their
well-developed
relationships but also
because many prospects
in their space (for
internal reasons) want
to see a few options
before choosing a firm.
If you read my
article last month, you
will be familiar with
the ‘buying cycle’ and
hence the importance of
building relationships
with key influencers and
decision makers early
on, even when they are
in the ‘satisfaction’
stage.
So, is it therefore a
foregone conclusion that
those who have built
some strong
relationships end up
winning the work? If
their relationships,
value and pricing (RVP)
are right, then they
would normally win, but
that is not always the
case. SBR has been
invited to work with a
few firms who have great
reputations and great
knowledge but still feel
they can improve their
pitch-to-win ratio.
Whether you had that
early relationship or
whether you have been
included at a later
stage to play a
benchmarking role, you
must play to win; and
this does not mean
lowering your price to a
level that does not
produce the right
margin. Complacency from
the business development
side can mean that the
work goes elsewhere, as
new influences come into
the final decision
making unit. From
procurement to the | |
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| | finance department, you
can now lose what you
thought was a certain
success. Like most
things in life, it is
fundamentally down to
two things: your
attitude and your desire
to win.
There have been
countless articles and
books written about this
topic, but it is still
amazing how bad people
are at pitching, not in
terms of giving a
standard, professional
and
technically-proficient,
mainly one sided
presentation (many have
made an art form of such
a pitch) but caring
enough about what they
do to realise the
importance of each
pitch. If you do not
believe me, you should
do at least one of two
things; make up a reason
to shadow a few of your
team and see what is
happening in reality, or
role-play and video each
of your team and watch
it with them. In any
other profession we
would not accept some of
the mediocre
performances that get
away with it thanks to
the firm’s brand and
reputation.
I am going to keep
this article very simple
but direct in order to
help those who really
want to improve their
pitching. It boils down
to learning how to bring
your pitch alive, not
necessarily by using
fancy gimmicks, but by
learning the basics of
good communication. (I
am making the assumption
that you have already
qualified the prospect
and know that it is the
right type of business
for you and that you can
provide the right
solution for them).
1 - Be genuinely
interested in others. | |
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| | provide, realise your
competition are probably
a lot worse off, and if
you are not already,
decide to be excited
about what you do. If
you are not, how can you
expect a prospect to be?
Having debated this
point with a number of
Europeans, it seems that
we Brits do not want to
be seen as “too salesy”.
Yet most of us could
move up the scale a few
notches on the
enthusiasm barometer
without appearing too
arrogant and
overbearing.
3 – Learn to use
all three forms of
effective communication:
words, tonality and
non-verbals. As we have
seen from a number of
studies (Albert
Mehrabian’s in 1971
being the most famous),
words are only a small
part of bringing
communication alive. The
importance of how a
message is delivered and
the way it is said are
self evident when you
are the one on the
receiving end. If you
really want to improve
your own performance,
video yourself and WATCH
it (maybe on your own
with a stiff drink).
This may be the best
thing you ever do for
your professional
improvement. This is
standard procedure in
the sporting world and
yet many business
development
professionals think they
do not need it. The only
way you can really
improve is by knowing
what level you are right
now. It may be very
painful, but remind
yourself that you have
been successful to this
point at the level you
are watching on the
screen; just imagine
what you could achieve
if you made a few vital
tweaks.
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4 – Check your
“self-talk” from the
beginning of the pitch
through to after you
leave. Self-talk is
your inner dialogue and
has more influence on
your performance than
almost anything else.
Going into a pitch
seconds after responding
to a reactive client
issue on your Blackberry
is not good preparation.
Turn your phone and
email off at least 10
minutes before you and
your team enter the
pitch. Decide that it is
going to be a fun and
inspiring experience for
both sides. It is your
responsibility to make
sure this happens as the
prospects are not very
giving of energy and
almost expect you to
generate it. One of the
few things you can
control is what you say
to yourself and this
internal dialogue speaks
so loudly that it
becomes self-evident in
the way you pitch.
5 – If you are
going in as a team, be a
team. I keep seeing
pitches where two or
three individuals behave
more as if they just
happen to work for the
same company than that
they are a team. Show
how well you work
together: the way you
treat each other is a
reflection of what it
would be like to work
with your organisation.
To conclude, my
challenge to you is
this: have the courage
to do what many of us
grew up doing in our
early sales careers and
bring back relevant
role-playing and
video/record yourselves.
I would be interested to
hear what you see when
you do it and how you
improve. | |
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| | It sounds obvious but it
is rarely apparent.
Pitching to win business
is not just about
presenting a solution.
If you are truly
interested, you take
time beforehand to find
out about those you are
pitching to, what their
backgrounds are, what
they are looking for,
etc. During the
introduction stage of
the meeting, a small
dose of dialogue showing
genuine interest in them
is essential. (And I am
not referring to flaky
comments about a certain
sporting picture hanging
on the wall behind
them). Throughout the
actual presentation
stage, are you
encouraging some
dialogue and involvement
from the prospect to
show that they are
important and starting
to feel a genuine
partnership beginning to
take place? I heard
someone once say “be
interested and then
interesting”. How true
this statement is to
winning a pitch.
Involving the prospect
through relevant
dialogue, even if you
have only been given a
short time slot, will
differentiate you from
the competition.
2 - Know that
“selling is a
transference of
conviction”. If you do
not truly believe in
your service or product,
then find those in your
business who do and
learn why they feel this
way. Speak to satisfied
clients and read all the
great case studies you
have at your fingertips.
Stop getting hung up on
the things you cannot | |
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