Discussion
My company are presenting to a new Client in a tender interview as they call it, we have an hour made up of our 15-20 minute "pitch" (we are not sales people by the way so out of our comfort zone) and then the Client asking questions thereafter.
We normally get our work via existing contacts or long running frameworks.
Any do's or don'ts?
Thanks
We normally get our work via existing contacts or long running frameworks.
Any do's or don'ts?
Thanks
Coxey said:
My company are presenting to a new Client in a tender interview as they call it, we have an hour made up of our 15-20 minute "pitch" (we are not sales people by the way so out of our comfort zone) and then the Client asking questions thereafter.
We normally get our work via existing contacts or long running frameworks.
Any do's or don'ts?
Thanks
How much is this contract worth? If a decent size, it might be worth getting a professional presentation coach for a day to work with the team one on one and as a group. A client of mine used one last week, the daily cost is £4,100-£4,500 for a day plus VAT and expenses.We normally get our work via existing contacts or long running frameworks.
Any do's or don'ts?
Thanks
Otherwise, some free suggestions
- Presentation should be SIMPLE, a few key bullets a page, perhaps one chart. Don't overload the content. The audience has a choice to read, or listen to you. Guess which you would prefer they do.
- When drafting the presentation, each page is part of a story. A good test is taking the title of each page, and together they should stand on their own as the skeleton of the presentation. If they don't, look at how to make them more alive (e.g. "We are the leading widget maker in your key market of the North of England" not "We make widgets in the North of England")
- Rehearse as a group, in front of a relevant audience (eg another director of the business). Don't leave this until the last moment. You WILL change the presentation as a result.
- Everyone should prepare. Write bullets, or underlined words on the page, but stand in front of a mirror and practice your speech a few times before you get together as a group. After a few times, you'll need to rely on your notes less and less.
- Eye contact. Keep looking up, and always finish looking into their eyes to emphasise your point. Don't look down as you finish the sentence, it destroys the value of what you just said.
- Don't be scared of silence during your speech, to emphasise a point or to leave a question hanging
- Don't change how you speak. Ideally, your delivery should be your natural speech pattern.
- Given a large portion of the hour is Q&A, agree ahead of time who will lead and assign the questions to the group members. Don't be tempted to jump in or talk over your colleagues, even if you think you can give a better/more complete answer. It's not your call at that point. And by doing so, you look at best uncoordinated and at worst unsure of yourselves.
- Did I mention rehearsing? Do it. Twice if possible.
Happy to give more pointers if that's helpful.
Frimley111R said:
Whoozit said:
.... it might be worth getting a professional presentation coach for a day to work with the team one on one and as a group. A client of mine used one last week, the daily cost is £4,100-£4,500 for a day plus VAT and expenses.
WTF?!!! How much??!!I used to be a public speaker in my last company and although it's been a while I would say that the key things are:
- put no more than 5 bullet points on a single slide if possible. If a slide is on show for too long it gets boring and the audience starts to get bored and read ahead. You then lose your impact.
- the bullet points help frame the 'story', they should not be a lengthy narrative. Single words or very short sentences only.
- do not read the slides. They are there to highlight the big point you're trying to make and help you remember the order of the presentation so it becomes a coherent story.
- speak slowly. There is a tendency to rush, especially if you're nervous. Be aware of this and talk at a speed that in your mind is sloooow; in reality this will probably mean you are talking at normal speed.
- rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Make sure you know the presentation like the back of your hand. Pressure, or being asked questions which destroy your flow, can do weird things to your memory so know the flow of the story so that you can stop and start seamlessly.
- try to work out what questions will crop up and practice the answers. Do this with everyone involved so that you can anticipate every question possible and have a great answer.
The first presentation you do is always nerve-racking, preparation really is your friend. You cannot be too prepared.
Best of luck!
- put no more than 5 bullet points on a single slide if possible. If a slide is on show for too long it gets boring and the audience starts to get bored and read ahead. You then lose your impact.
- the bullet points help frame the 'story', they should not be a lengthy narrative. Single words or very short sentences only.
- do not read the slides. They are there to highlight the big point you're trying to make and help you remember the order of the presentation so it becomes a coherent story.
- speak slowly. There is a tendency to rush, especially if you're nervous. Be aware of this and talk at a speed that in your mind is sloooow; in reality this will probably mean you are talking at normal speed.
- rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Make sure you know the presentation like the back of your hand. Pressure, or being asked questions which destroy your flow, can do weird things to your memory so know the flow of the story so that you can stop and start seamlessly.
- try to work out what questions will crop up and practice the answers. Do this with everyone involved so that you can anticipate every question possible and have a great answer.
The first presentation you do is always nerve-racking, preparation really is your friend. You cannot be too prepared.
Best of luck!
Lots of good advice on presentation technique.
But nothing on the most important part - content.
Only 25% of the time you have is dedicated to the presentation. You can't include everything so focus on the one killer bit of of your proposal that will differentiate you from the others.
Don't waste time selling the company - you've already done that in the written proposal. You wouldn't be there if they didn't think you suitable. Sell your proposal!
If you can, ask the client if there is any aspect of your proposal they'd like you to expand upon.
Re-read the Terms of Reference (brief) and re-read your proposal (it's easy to forget what it is you actually wrote sometimes).
As for the actual presentation, your OP suggests there will more more than one of you. ONLY ONE OF YOU ACTUALLY PRESENTS - don't do the Dragon's Den think of sharing the stage; it never works. Pick the strongest speaker and let them fly it solo.
For the Q&A; think of the three or four worse questions they could ask you - the questions you really hope don't arise. Then develop an answer for these. Then, if they do get asked, you at least have a reply ready to go and if they don't, well, everything else is a bonus.
Don't offer any information they don't ask for. It's very easy to talk yourself out of an order.
The chances are, the client already knows who's going to get the contract. Hopefully, that will be you.
Either way...good luck - go get 'em.
(BTW: If this a public sector tender, then by all means PM me for a bit more a steer; that's my area which I know very well!)
Edited to add.... If you really want to deliver a brilliant presentation; don't use notes. Not even as a back up. It demonstrates that know what you are talking about and you can do nothing but look at the people you are speaking to rather at a handful of notes.
But nothing on the most important part - content.
Only 25% of the time you have is dedicated to the presentation. You can't include everything so focus on the one killer bit of of your proposal that will differentiate you from the others.
Don't waste time selling the company - you've already done that in the written proposal. You wouldn't be there if they didn't think you suitable. Sell your proposal!
If you can, ask the client if there is any aspect of your proposal they'd like you to expand upon.
Re-read the Terms of Reference (brief) and re-read your proposal (it's easy to forget what it is you actually wrote sometimes).
As for the actual presentation, your OP suggests there will more more than one of you. ONLY ONE OF YOU ACTUALLY PRESENTS - don't do the Dragon's Den think of sharing the stage; it never works. Pick the strongest speaker and let them fly it solo.
For the Q&A; think of the three or four worse questions they could ask you - the questions you really hope don't arise. Then develop an answer for these. Then, if they do get asked, you at least have a reply ready to go and if they don't, well, everything else is a bonus.
Don't offer any information they don't ask for. It's very easy to talk yourself out of an order.
The chances are, the client already knows who's going to get the contract. Hopefully, that will be you.
Either way...good luck - go get 'em.
(BTW: If this a public sector tender, then by all means PM me for a bit more a steer; that's my area which I know very well!)
Edited to add.... If you really want to deliver a brilliant presentation; don't use notes. Not even as a back up. It demonstrates that know what you are talking about and you can do nothing but look at the people you are speaking to rather at a handful of notes.
Edited by StevieBee on Tuesday 12th December 20:41
skeeterm5 said:
When I went on a presentation course many many years ago the tutor said to make your presentation "like a skirt, short enough to be interesting and long enough to cover the important bits".
S
This is good, also 'If it won't fit on a T-shirt, it won't fit on a slide'.S
Focus on what you can do for them, not what your company does/is.
StevieBee said:
As for the actual presentation, your OP suggests there will more more than one of you. ONLY ONE OF YOU ACTUALLY PRESENTS - don't do the Dragon's Den think of sharing the stage; it never works. Pick the strongest speaker and let them fly it solo.
[footnote]Edited by StevieBee on Tuesday 12th December 20:41
[/footnote]
I do a lot of presentations similar in size and nature to the OP's and we almost always have more than one speaker - our potential clients like to know who they will be working with and it is important to them that they "meet the team" properly, which includes assessing how well the key individuals interact and communicate. It does of course depend on how long the presentation element is, and you don't want multiple people chipping in as it disrupts the flow.[footnote]Edited by StevieBee on Tuesday 12th December 20:41
[/footnote]
We sometimes find that the presentation element can overrun the allotted time - this can have a benefit if you manage to cover off some of the questions the interviewers might have lined up for later as it shows you have prepared well (assuming you are not just waffling) - downside is that it may indicate you can't run to time (and have not prepared well) or are not well organised - all depends on the individuals on the panel.
sugerbear said:
1. Practice
[b]2. Avoid using powerpoint
3. If you have to use powerpoint then keep it minimal. DEATH BY POWERPOINT - DO NOT READ THE SLIDES BACK TO PEOPLE[/b]
4. Be different
5. Engage the audience
Also on the Powerpoint subject, use the same simple slide transition for all slides and make sure all your points/charts/content appear automatically as the slide appears. There's nothing worst than clicking 7 times... ooops, sorry, too far... how do I go back?... Escape... scroll back to your slide... show as slideshow... sorry about that... where was I?[b]2. Avoid using powerpoint
3. If you have to use powerpoint then keep it minimal. DEATH BY POWERPOINT - DO NOT READ THE SLIDES BACK TO PEOPLE[/b]
4. Be different
5. Engage the audience
One click per slide!
Good advice especially from steviebee and whoosit.
On the subject of PowerPoint I would say don’t even use any slide transitions or effects. Your content is more important. Speaking of that content you need to find out who you are up against. All the talk here or minimal PowerPoint is fine but if you find yourself up against a consultancy they will have finessed PowerPoint slides to the max and your 5 bullets on a basic slide will look s
t even if it is the key information. The advice about not reading slides or using them as the script is sound but slide content wise do some googling and look at slideshare etc and look at the standard of PowerPoint decks you get from the likes of KPMG, Accenture, Deloitte and EY and match it if you want to look at all serious if it is a big contract.
Nobody has mentioned dress yet. Find out what the dress standard of the company is and match it. This means you won’t feel over or under dressed.
On the subject of PowerPoint I would say don’t even use any slide transitions or effects. Your content is more important. Speaking of that content you need to find out who you are up against. All the talk here or minimal PowerPoint is fine but if you find yourself up against a consultancy they will have finessed PowerPoint slides to the max and your 5 bullets on a basic slide will look s
t even if it is the key information. The advice about not reading slides or using them as the script is sound but slide content wise do some googling and look at slideshare etc and look at the standard of PowerPoint decks you get from the likes of KPMG, Accenture, Deloitte and EY and match it if you want to look at all serious if it is a big contract. Nobody has mentioned dress yet. Find out what the dress standard of the company is and match it. This means you won’t feel over or under dressed.
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