Why pitching with a prop can give you an edge

Crystal ball eps10Many years ago I suggested to a business pitch consulting client that they buy a crystal sphere (they paid $500 for one) to be used in their multi-million dollar Pitch-day presentation, against competition.

I’m not suggesting you do the same when you’re pitching for a significant piece of business. I do suggest that you think about what prop, or other device or fresh image you could use that would be positively memorable in the mind and eyes of the person(s) you’re pitching to. That could give you the edge in winning your pitch.

Let me explain the thinking behind recommending the use of the crystal sphere.

In one of the pitch team meetings we were searching for something that would hook the client to listen. The crystal sphere (that we would ask the prospective client to imagine as a ‘crystal ball’) was suggested because it tied into the key message of the pitch.

That is, it tied into how my client’s organisation would be able to help the client positively handle the substantial, upcoming changes in their market landscape.

Here’s how the lead presenter opened the Pitch-day presentation:

(as he held up the ‘crystal ball’, he said) “Imagine this sphere was an actual crystal ball, and we could gaze into it . . . what would it say about your company three years from now? . . . (placing the sphere on the table in front of the CEO he continued) . . . let me tell you what I see, and how we”ll be able to help you secure your leading position in your market, as its landscape is radically transformed”.

My client went on to flesh out the key message and compelling reasons for buying my client’s services. The upshot was, that my client won this substantial piece of business.

In addition to a large piece of business being won, there was an additional benefit. When the sphere was bought we had the prospect’s company name engraved on a name plate at the base of the structure on which it was mounted. We believed, that whether the business was won or lost, the CEO prospect would not discard an expensive crystal sphere with his company’s name on it.

We believed (and it was proven to be true) that the CEO would place the sphere in his office. This is where it became a long-term, memorable prop, ‘selling’ my client’s company.

That is, over the years people would comment on the the sphere and the CEO would most likely relay how he received it. Potentially he would mention the pitch and my client’s company, to people who commented on it.

There is a caution in using props. You need to discuss how the prospect will perceive your use of the prop. If you believe the prospect would perceive a prop as cheesy, don’t use it. Before deciding to buy the sphere the pitch team and I had debated the prospect’s potential perception of it.

We decided that the the ‘crystal ball’ sphere wouldn’t be viewed as cheesy. Rather, it would be perceived as novel and positively memorable. Most pitchers are too conservative when considering what props could be used to in their pitches. If your discussion about the prospect perception of your prop is positive, go for it. It could be the edge that wins you the business.

Your ‘CALL to action/HOW to apply’ for this post: Before you do your next important pitch – brainstorm what prop, image, video clip could be used make your presentation/pitch positively memorable to the client/audience.

p.s. Check out this post which explains why your voice sounds different on audiotape versus when you normally speak.

A simple greeting technique for networking events

Imagine you’re at a networking function. Imagine that a puppy prances through the doorway into the room, with its tail wagging happily back and forth. The puppy approaches a person. The person aggressively shoos it away. Startled by the aggression, the puppy moves away from the person. Now consider . . .  what would the puppy do next? Would it become depressed? Would it scamper out the room?Continue reading

Job Interview? Template to nail your first answer

A few weeks back I was having a coffee with a former 1:1 executive coaching client of mine. This man had recently landed a job at a new corporation. He shared with me that at his job interview for the new position, he had remembered to use an Open -Middle – Close speaking structure (that I had coached him on) to answer the first interview question. His answer had been well received by the interview panel. So what is the Open-Middle-Close speaking structure and why is it so important? Here’s the description of the structure. Open-Middle-Close is the deep structure for any type of interaction, meeting or presentation. Keeping this structure mind can help you speak concise messages and help you avoid verbosity. One of my clients described the structure as ‘rambling-prevention insurance’. Here are sample words, syntax, and pause gaps (that you can adapt) in using the structure, to answer a common, first question at a job interview. INTERVIEWER’S  QUESTION: ‘Tell us why you’re right for this position? (this question or a variation of it will often be the first question you’ll get from an interviewer) YOUR ANSWER: (P-A-U-S-E.) ** Open “Let me tell you why I’m best person for this role” (P-A-U-S-E) Middle “Number One . . . I have deep experience in all aspects of xyz. . . .Number Two. . . . In my last role, in less than 90 days, I took a group of under-performing software engineers that were missing 75% of their release dates – to 98% on-time releases and an ICSM score of 96. and Number Three. . . I was chosen to lead an inaugural, highly successful start-up incubator on PQR . . . let me elaborate briefly on the PQR project.” (The person would then briefly flesh out the PQR project) (P-A-U-S-E) Close “So that’s why I’m the right person for this role, because of One: deep experience, Two: team turn-around capability and Three: a proven leader and top performer on innovation projects”. **(There is a concept I’ve entitled ‘Presenters/speakers misperception of time’. This concept refers to, how time, from the speaker’s vantage point, seems to pass more quickly than from the audience’s vantage point. That’s why you need to pause longer than you think necessary before the ‘Open’, between the ‘Open’ and ‘Middle’ and between the ‘Middle’ and ‘Close’. In addition, field research with my clients has revealed that having the ‘Close’ or as one client put it, ‘landing pad’ in mind at the Open stage, can sharpen your delivery.) How well you answer the first question at a job interview will play a large part in whether you’ll land the role, or not. Interviewers will confidently assert that they consider a candidate’s entire performance in an Interview in making a hiring decision. In reality, especially when a number of candidates are being considered – the interview panel will make the hiring decision based on:

1. Your facial expression upon first seeing you.

2. How well you comport yourself in the first 75 seconds after greeting.

3. Your answer to the first interview question.

If you don’t ‘nail’ those three areas, you’re giving your competitor’s an edge. Nail them – and all things being equal – you’ll win the position. Your CALL to action/HOW to apply for this post: Within the next seven days, choose a meeting or interaction to intentionally practice the Open-Middle-Close structure, to in effect help you start ‘grooving’ the structure in your brain – so it will serve you at your next job interview. Reflect on the impact of doing so. p.s. Here is link to a prior post on Job Interviews that might interest you. Continue reading

How to forecast the reason for your pitch success

2 sentence reason, to make your pitch the winner
  When you’re planning for your major pitch presentation to your client, project your mind ahead in time – and imagine, that you’ve already won the business . . . . Imagine eavesdropping on the key decision maker chatting to a respected colleague about your pitch. The respected colleague asks the key decision maker: *’Why did you choose to give the business to x (your) company?’ Now – THINK HARD – about what the decision maker would say. The decision maker will most likely give a short, one to two sentence reason (versus a lengthy explanation). Your job is to do enough work and research on what that reason would be – and then tailor your pitch to respond to that reason. Here’s an example of using this process, from a large pitch I consulted on a number of years back. My client was a medical devices company pitching for $10,000,000 worth of medical devices to a group of radiologists. I consulted with the pitch team on their strategy, their understanding of the client and their competitors, as well as the key messages they wanted the client to retain and/or act upon. During one of the latter pitch consulting meetings I asked the pitch team members to decide what would be the response to the above *hypothetical question. The team debated alternative responses. One of the team said ‘Quality of images’. The lead pitch team member quickly said ‘No – Diagnostic confidence’. Diagnostic confidence meant that the doctors could make a confident diagnosis of the patient’s illness from viewing the images that a medical device could display. (The ”Quality of images’ message was on the right track, but ‘Diagnostic confidence’ was the more powerful message.) It was decided after discussion that ‘Diagnostic confidence’ would be the key message. At the final pitch-day presentation, only the lead pitch team member and a technical member attended. It was decided that no slides would be used and that a short presentation delivered by the lead team member would have the most impact. Following are the words the lead team member used to open the pitch. “You’ve got an important decision to make. If you agree, that diagnostic confidence, is the key in investing your medical devices dollar – this presentation will clearly show you how we can meet that need.” The presentation went for just over three minutes and $10M worth of business was won. Your CALL to Action/HOW to apply’ for this post is: Prior to an upcoming pitch or customer meeting, project ahead in time to after the meeting. Assume the meeting was successful and you’ve won the business/agreement to go to the next step toward the sale. Then think about what reason the potential customer/customer would give to a respected colleague on why you ‘won’ the sale/progress to the next step. Then keep that message in mind as you prepare for and interact in, the meeting. To benchmark how well you’re doing in pitching for large pieces of business, click on the following link and complete a 85 second questionnaire: http://kellyspeech.com.au/pitch-diagnostic/  
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How well do you pitch yourself and your ideas

Consider this. You’re always, pitching. Pitching yourself. Pitching your ideas. Pitching your products and services. In live interactions, meetings and presentations, how well you pitch and the personal impression you create –  can mean the difference between winning, and being second best.Continue reading