You’ve finalised your pitch or presentation. You’ve done your homework. Now, all that’s left is to deliver your pitch to the buyer and win the deal.
But it’s never that simple. During the pitch process, we often have to think on our feet, adapt to situations that may arise or handle awkward buyer requests.
In this article, Win Academy Managing Director Martin Coburn and Executive Coach Ian Mackenzie show you how to deal with four common, tricky situations during the pitch process.
Q: How do you convey pain points without making the client feel like they are not performing or are in a bad place?
The key is to deal with the client as a business partner. In this position, you have a duty to deliver the news as it is. If you are planning on being a successful business partner then it is important to be responsible for having these discussions.
Keep it high level and speak in terms of outcomes.
It is important to deliver the good and bad news. Structure the conversation in a way so that they acknowledge it’s not comfortable to hear but you feel aligned in the opportunity to sort it out.
Get yourself on the same side of the table as the audience. Make it feel like you are partnering with them and want to help them solve their issues. The last thing you want is to sound negative or patronising.
In talking about the issues, use more inclusive language.
Rather than:
“What we have spotted is…”
Use language like:
“What has become very clear in the conversation we have had together is…”
“You have highlighted to us…”
“In your own words, you said…”
Q: How do you handle difficult questions, particularly ones you don’t really want to answer?
A: Preparation for the Q&A is just as important as preparation for the presentation. The Q&A is where the action really starts!
Make a point of asking everyone in the team to create a list of all the questions they would like to avoid or are known vulnerabilities. Or the questions that, if they were on the other side of the table, they would be asking.
Systematically work through the toughest questions.
Most that come up will be a lot lighter, so you are preparing for a “worst-case” scenario. Anything other than those on your list will feel much easier.
Also, if you have rehearsed in advance, the pressure to remember the whole answer isn’t there, as you’ve answered it before.
The Q&A is a game-changer. It is where you really get to show your credibility.
Relish in those difficult questions. Any time you are in a pitch or meeting where there are no deep questions being asked, you need to worry!
Stay strong, stay confident and trust your unconscious mind to come up with the right answer when those questions are asked.
Thank them for the question, stay centred and give yourself some time by asking any clarification questions (e.g. “is there any specific area you would like to understand?”).
Once you have answered, make sure you check in to ask if you have answered their question. If you don’t know the answer, be honest and don’t look fearful at any point. Remember, everything they need to know about you is being displayed through your body language.
Q: If you have clients with you in the room and others joining online, how do you ensure everyone is engaged?
A: Whenever you head into this situation, it’s important to get clear on what you will and won’t see. Set up your configuration so that you can see everyone. Most people will comply, particularly if you position yourself as wanting to understand and have a conversation with everyone.
You have to pay attention. Resist the temptation to focus your attention only on those in the room. Force yourself to look away from the physical audience to engage those online and ask questions of those online.
By bringing you into this format, the client knows what they are asking you to do is hard. They will appreciate the effort you make. You will definitely gain bonus points if you take the time to engage everyone.
One of the most important things is to be very thorough in your homework as to who is taking part in the meeting (on and offline) their location, role, motivations, needs, etc. When something becomes relevant, there is no harm in talking to them directly.
At the end of a sentence, give a little pause to give it enough time to land in each location (there’s nothing worse than overtalking). Engage very directly with people.
Q: Post-RFP, we have been asked to answer clarification questions only, not give a presentation – what is your advice?
A: Above all, comply. Whatever you do, don’t try and bend the rules.
If the client is asking for more information, they are doing so to conclude why you can do the job better than the competition. Then, having complied, I would always have a couple of questions for them to follow up.
Your aim with clarification questions is to show that you have done your homework.
Comply on time, word count, visuals, everything. They will be applying a scoring device so, if you do not comply, you will make it hard for them and you will “lose marks.”
Don’t forget that embedded in the answer is an opportunity to expand a little, but take care not to take the answer too far away from the central point.
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