Presenting Strategies from My 1980s Advertising Experience
When I worked in advertising, my colleagues and I learned strategies to build relationships with clients. These tactics were geared toward helping us effectively sell ideas in advertising pitches.
One thing my advertising colleagues and I were always taught was the benefit of focused practice. I dismissed this skill as only ‘semi-important.’ After all, there was more to my advertising job than pitching and presenting.
Now I see the value in what we were taught—far beyond the pitch meeting. With my clients, I frequently share these ideas for focused practice, particularly as I work with leaders whose livelihood depends on them selling their ideas. ‘Practice makes perfect’ is trite, but true; practice should be an integral part of every leader’s success strategy.
Focused Practice
A caveat: practice isn't just reading through your presentation in your head! Leaders who believe this approach is ‘good enough’ may find themselves frustrated when their pitches don’t convert into sales. Focused practice is key; here’s what this looks like for me.
- Take your presentation and get out a piece of paper and pen. Write out long-hand everything that you are going to say. Read your notes out loud when you look at your slides. Practice this at least twice.
- Now; take the long hand-written ideas and translate them into bullet points. (You know the long-hand copy well enough now and don’t need to use it in your presentation.) Practice in front of a mirror until you feel like you are having a relaxed conversation.
- Once your presentation feels like a conversation, you are almost done. Now, practice until you don't need any of your notes to tell the story. Story is key; as you present, it should feel natural: like telling a story rather than making a pitch.
Team Practice
Solo and team practice are both crucial to your success. Potential clients want to feel a sense familiarity and camaraderie from your team, because we buy from people we like and believe we can trust. Team practice will help your team build trust with each other—and eventually, the client.
Remember that presenting--even in the most formal settings-- still needs to have a bit of theater inherent in it. Potential clients gravitate toward excitement; they want to share in your passion for their business and the subject matter.
Years ago, I was working on a new business pitch. It was a high-pressure situation due to a compressed timeline; my team and I all had a lot of ideas that needed to honed very quickly. We were stressed and prickly with one another—and it showed.
We didn't win the business. While my team and I practiced together did all of the “right” things, the client was turned off because we didn’t seem to like each other. The client could sense all our bickering and angry exchanges. The lesson: while practice is important, healthy team dynamics are fundamental.
With presenting and selling your ideas, remember that you need to find the practice mix that works for you. Find the right blend, but the most critical area to focus on is to be genuinely interested in your client's business and their needs.