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Do's and Dont's in New Business Presentations 072826 — Transcript

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0:02There we go. And good afternoon from New
0:04York. My name is Bob Lindon and I'd like
0:07to welcome each of you to today's
0:08webinar entitled Dos and Don'ts of New
0:12Business Presentations: How to Win the
0:14Room. Today's webinar leaders, Robin and
0:17Steve Bowler. As you hear that sound,
0:19more people are registering. uh from
0:21Mercer Island Group will provide insider
0:24strategies top agencies use to transform
0:27pitch presentations from adequate to
0:29unforgettable. But before we start some
0:32housekeeping, you can hear us, but we
0:34cannot hear you. If you have any
0:36problems viewing the presentation on
0:38your computer, it could be a firewall or
0:41security issue when you're in and you
0:43may need to contact your IT person. If
0:46you need to contact us via email, please
0:49send an email to bob.lindon.
0:50[email protected]
0:53and we'll help you out if you have any
0:55technical issues. And if you disconnect
0:57for any reason whatsoever, just go back
1:00to the link from Zoom that I sent out
1:02and log in again. Our webinar leaders
1:05today are Robin and Steve Bowler of
1:07Mercer Island Group, which is a top tier
1:09consultancy with hundreds of successful
1:12agency searches for over 30 years.
1:15Mercer Island Group has done searches
1:17for some blue chip clients including
1:20Discover Card grocery chain stop and
1:23shop and I had mentioned to Robin and
1:25Steve prior uh that I love their their
1:27taglines are phenomenal. Uh others US
1:31Cellular and Etsy just to name a few. If
1:34you want to increase your new business
1:36success rate, a must- readad is Stephen
1:39Robin's book entitled It's Not About
1:42You, Winning New Business in a Crowded
1:45Agency World, which came out earlier
1:47this year. I know that Stephen Robin
1:50will be covering a lot of content today,
1:52so we just might go past 2 PM and we
1:56hope you'll stay on. Joining me on
1:58today's webinar is my sagacious
2:00colleague Jeff Hiller, who will be
2:02handling Q&A. So, we hope you'll be
2:04sending in questions as we go through
2:06the webinar. No need to wait until the
2:09end of the webinar. If you want a copy
2:12of today's deck, the last slide will
2:16contain their email address. So, feel
2:18free to shoot them an email to get the
2:20deck. Would you please welcome Robin and
2:24Steve Bowler.
2:26>> Thank you. Thank you, Bob. What a lovely
2:28introduction. So, hello everyone. Thank
2:30you for joining us today. Um, we know
2:32that this is um critical important
2:36business time for you. So, we want to
2:38make sure that we jump in and um share
2:41with you stuff that hopefully you can
2:43use starting today. That is always our
2:45goal is to bring you very um usable
2:49content that uh actually impacts your
2:52ability to win new business from the
2:53moment that you hear it. So, go ahead,
2:55Steve. Let's go to the first slide.
2:59All right. What we're going to talk
3:00about today is kind of the current state
3:02of the pitch and what are some of the
3:04things that you should be doing and some
3:06things that you shouldn't be doing as
3:08you pitch today. We're currently engaged
3:10in several pitches right now so that the
3:13um the examples are very fresh. I'll
3:15share with you along the way as will
3:17Steve and his portion of the
3:18presentation things that we're seeing
3:20agencies do that work and things that
3:22we're seeing agencies do that don't
3:24work. And I will say that when I say
3:27things that work and don't work, this is
3:28in the eye of the client. We're not the
3:31decision makers when a client makes a
3:32decision about which agency to go with,
3:34which a agency to advance from one stage
3:38of a process to the next, but we get to
3:40be in the room where it happens and the
3:42meeting after the meeting all the
3:44different ways you want to say it. We
3:45hear directly from the clients the
3:47things that work and the things that
3:48don't. And that's what we want to share
3:49with you. So in today's world the most
3:53the current state of the pitch is that
3:55mo the most there are three major
3:57reasons that pitches fail overall.
4:00The first is if you do not have a
4:03compelling story. Now it doesn't seem
4:06like the most obvious thing. The next
4:08two that I'll show share with you are
4:10much more obvious. This is number one
4:12because I do think that this is a place
4:14where agencies um have not figured out a
4:18way to pull all the people together that
4:20are contributing to a pitch deck,
4:23whether it's a written deck or a a
4:25presentation deck and created a story
4:28that's easy to follow. I just want to
4:30remind you all that when you agency when
4:32clients are seeing your agency pitch for
4:35a piece of business, whether it's for a
4:37creative piece of business, a media
4:39piece of business, PR, whatever it is,
4:41they are likely looking at other
4:43agencies. So, they're going to sit
4:45through presentations hopefully in
4:48person these days now that we're able to
4:50pitch in person or over Zoom or Teams or
4:53whatever the technology is. and they are
4:56going to have to at the end of all the
4:58presentations remember yours.
5:01That's the goal, right? For them to
5:02remember yours and to feel like yours
5:04was easy to follow, easy to understand,
5:07easy to um easy to choose you. And what
5:11I what we're seeing at Mercer Island
5:13Group is that most agencies are not
5:15bringing a story to the pitch. They're
5:18bringing lists of things. They're
5:22checking off boxes of things that the
5:24that the pitch asked for, but they're
5:26not telling a story along the way that
5:30keeps the audience engaged. So, there's
5:33no audience- centered narrative. There's
5:36no emotional hook. There's no distinct
5:39perspective or point of view. And
5:41there's just generic slide after generic
5:44slide after generic slide and nothing
5:46memorable about the way it's all pulled
5:48together. And in fact, there are times
5:50when we walk into the meeting after the
5:51meeting and the client says,"I couldn't
5:53follow them." And there are times I'm
5:55sitting in one of these meetings and I'm
5:57thinking, "I can't follow you." Make it
6:00easy for us. One of the things we
6:02recommend is take take your headlines of
6:04all your slides, put them into a
6:06document, and read them. If they don't
6:09tell the story, you've got to go back to
6:11your deck. Your headlines should be a
6:13story. So that's number one and it's the
6:16most important thing that we're seeing
6:17that's a fail. The second is too much
6:20about you. I'm sure you've heard this a
6:22thousand times and I'm sure you're
6:23thinking, "Oh, that's not us." And it is
6:25a lot of you. Um it's better than it
6:28used to be. I will say that. But still,
6:31when you're in that final pitch, in that
6:34final meeting in the in the room, they
6:36know who you are by this time. they know
6:41who you are because they've already
6:43probably read a written um uh a written
6:46proposal of some sort. They you probably
6:49had a Q&A with them and maybe even some
6:51other meetings. So, when you come in and
6:53you feel like compelled to tell them who
6:55you are again and your agency history,
6:57you're just wasting time with that you
7:00should be talking about them. And
7:02finally, Steve, on the last one, not
7:05enough about them. It's got to be about
7:07their business. It's got to be about
7:09their customer. It's got to be about
7:10their um their brand and what and and
7:14the business issues that they're trying
7:15to solve. So, it cannot get the smallest
7:17section. It should be everything. And
7:20Steve will show you when we get further
7:21into this um webinar where and how you
7:25should talk about yourselves in a final
7:26pitch. Go ahead. All right. So, the goal
7:30of the presentation, Go ahead, keep
7:31building. Um, when you walk into the
7:34room, you probably think, "What we need
7:37to do is prove that we're smart." And
7:39you do. Oh, go ahead, Steve, Steve.
7:44But more importantly, you have to prove
7:46you're the right partner. So,
7:49focusing on the smart piece. Absolutely.
7:51You if you're you're a smart bunch of
7:53people, you want to show how you're
7:54smart and that is table sticks and you
7:58have to prove you're the right partner
8:00for them. So, if you're if you're I
8:03always actually tell my clients when
8:05when we're about to go into a pitch
8:06room, we do a briefing before we go into
8:09see agency's pitch. And I say to them, I
8:12talk to them a little bit about how they
8:13should evaluate what they're about to
8:15see because it seems obvious to you
8:17probably how they should evaluate your
8:19work. It seems obvious to us. We sit in
8:20these presentations um almost every week
8:23at this point, but uh it's not obvious
8:25to clients who have maybe have never
8:27done this before. They don't know how to
8:29choose an agency. They don't know how to
8:30evaluate what they're about to see. And
8:32what I tell them in kind of our closing
8:34moments is you want the smartest people
8:36in the room. You want smart people to be
8:38able to go with you to the board a
8:40board, your board or your leadership. So
8:43that's what's on the left. But that's
8:45not enough. You also have to prove
8:47you're the right partner. You have to
8:49show that you understand their business,
8:51not just that you're just these
8:52generically very smart people who don't
8:55understand their industry. That doesn't
8:57work. You can't you can't just be the
9:00very smart people whose team doesn't
9:02really seem to care much about the
9:04problems they have to solve. That fit
9:07piece is real and it's very hard for you
9:10to um get people to know and love you
9:13when you haven't had a chance to break
9:14bread. But this is the moment, the
9:17in-person time or even the Zoom time
9:19when you're getting to present your
9:20thinking. This is the time for them to
9:22feel your passion, feel your eagerness
9:26to want to win their business and to be
9:28and to work with them. Go ahead.
9:34So, here are the I'm going to share with
9:36you um I think five don'ts and six dos
9:40for this presentation. So, the first
9:42don't
9:44bring a don't this the first one I'm
9:46going to share with you is a momentum
9:47killer and that is don't lead with your
9:49history. Don't lead with yourselves.
9:51Don't lead with the credentials trap. So
9:5420 minutes and literally we've seen
9:56this. 20 minutes of your founding story
9:58and I know it's important to you. 20
10:00minutes of photos of your office, your
10:03pins of where all the places at your
10:05offices are. They they don't learn
10:07anything that's important to them. The
10:10only thing that they care about is
10:12whether or not you can help them,
10:15whether or not you understand their
10:16business. um whether or not you
10:18understand the challenge that they have
10:20to solve, whether you're the right
10:22agency to to leave their current agency
10:24for, which is really scary for them.
10:28It's really scary. It's a moment of of
10:30um it could break your career if you
10:33choose the wrong agency. So, clients are
10:35very very concerned about understanding
10:37and knowing that you get them. I will
10:40also say that when you have the the the
10:43fortune of inviting an a client to your
10:45agency
10:47to get to see where you work and get to
10:49meet more of the team which is means
10:51you're probably a finalist a real strong
10:54they very well likely could choose you
10:57it's probably you and one other if
10:58they're visiting starting with an office
11:01tour is off
11:03strategy
11:06I know you guys love to show off your
11:08space maybe at the end. But what they
11:11really want to know is what it's like to
11:13work with you and for you to dive in up
11:15to your elbows, up to your shoulders,
11:17whatever it might be to show them that
11:19you really get their business and that
11:21you're responding to whatever questions
11:23are that they have for you. So those
11:25agency tours is the same thing as 20
11:27minutes of a founding story when it
11:29comes to the agency visit versus the
11:31agency presentation.
11:34Next slide.
11:37Don't number two is redundant
11:39presenting. So hopefully what you're
11:42getting here is I'm not reading you my
11:44slides and I have very little text on my
11:46slides. Your job is not to stand up in
11:49front of the room and read your slides
11:51to them. Your job is to be able to share
11:54your expertise, show what your it's like
11:57to work with you by getting to an
11:58understanding of kind of how you talk
12:00about things. Go ahead and add the
12:02build, Steve.
12:03um and um lots of visuals.
12:07It's your voice. It's the way that you
12:09talk. It's the way that you lean in to
12:11the content that gives the agency or the
12:14client a sense of who you are, how you
12:17think, um and and a little bit of sense
12:21of your personality. If you put up a
12:23slide in the room that says, "We know
12:25this is an eye chart."
12:27I ask myself every time, "Then why are
12:29you showing it in the front of the
12:31room?" If you've got slides that have
12:33lots of text, and this happens a lot for
12:35media agencies in particular,
12:38put some handouts on the table so that
12:41you don't have to have up on a screen
12:42something nobody can read.
12:45Make sure that your presenters are
12:47practiced, that they they know what
12:49they're presenting, and they know why
12:50they're presenting the slides they're
12:52presenting as opposed to just getting up
12:54and reading the story as you go through
12:56your slides.
12:58And this is particularly true, by the
13:00way, on Zoom. people who have their
13:02presenter notes on Zoom underneath their
13:05slides. We can't see them when you're
13:07presenting. We know you're reading.
13:10It's really hard to present when you're
13:12reading as if it's a presentation. I
13:15think newscasters do it pretty well with
13:17their teleprompterss, but unless you're
13:19that well practiced, we can pretty much
13:22tell based on the the the um the places
13:25where you pause or don't pause, we can
13:28tell you're reading. And it the the
13:30issue isn't that reading is bad. The
13:33issue is that the client wonders if
13:34you've got the confidence and the
13:36subject matter expertise to lead them.
13:39They're not looking for an agency they
13:41need to pull along. They're looking for
13:42people who will pull them along to get
13:44to better places. So there it's a
13:46confidence issue.
13:50Go ahead to the next slide. All right.
13:52Problem number three or don't number
13:54three is the brief versus the business
13:57challenge. And I actually just exchanged
13:59emails this morning with an agency that
14:00we're helping with a pitch um with
14:03asking, I think the brief is um hiding
14:07something. I think there's a secret in
14:08the brief that we're missing.
14:11I want you to think there are two things
14:13that are happening when you're pitching
14:14a piece of business. There's a brief,
14:16the RFP, the RFI, whatever it's called.
14:19There's a brief that the client wrote or
14:22if they have a search consultant, the
14:24search consultant may have written it
14:26with the client. And you have to answer
14:28whatever is in that brief. Period. You
14:31can't skip things. You can't decide,
14:34well, that's IP. I'm not going to share
14:36that even though they asked for it. The
14:38brief is the brief. You've got to answer
14:40the brief. And that, my friends, is t
14:43are the table stakes.
14:45The more more important thing on top of
14:48the brief, within the brief, if you look
14:51the right way and carefully, is what is
14:54the problem they're trying to solve or
14:56the challenge they're trying to solve
14:59with whatever the services are that you
15:01offer. So, if it's a media agency, if
15:04it's a creative agency, if you're
15:06whatever kind of agency you are, they're
15:08not hiring you because they want
15:10creative. They're not hiring you because
15:13they want media. Who wants media? It's
15:14not fun. Say media. What is media? Just
15:17media. No, it's because they want to put
15:20messages in front of the right people to
15:23impact their behavior, to do something,
15:26to do more of something, to do less of
15:28something, to do something new, to drive
15:31their business. And if you don't talk
15:33about or you can't talk about what their
15:35business challenge is,
15:38you're just responding to a brief, not
15:41to the business challenge itself.
15:43there's a um a a um a review that we've
15:46been doing where there is a um an
15:49increase in five a 5% market share for
15:51the the CPG company that we're working
15:53with. Um so there's all the stuff that's
15:56in the brief and then there's this
15:58statement that we have a goal over the
16:00next 3 [clears throat] years, I don't
16:01know how long it is to improve our
16:04market share by X%.
16:06Well, I'll tell you that we had agencies
16:08that got up and they never talked about
16:09that. They just answered the brief. They
16:12just answered the things that were they
16:14they did all they checked all the boxes
16:16but they never leaned in and talked
16:17about the market share growth and the
16:20client wondered if they understood why
16:22they were on an agency. If you don't
16:24know what the business challenge is
16:26because it's not in the brief, you need
16:29to ask. Ask the client.
16:32And one of the questions that I think is
16:34a really great way to get there if the
16:36client just doesn't seem to want to
16:37answer that question is to ask them a
16:40year after you hire your agency, if
16:43everything is going well, what might
16:45have changed or what will have changed
16:47on your business?
16:50That is a killer question to ask and
16:53that answer is the business challenge.
16:56Let's go to the next slide.
16:58All
17:00right, the the next don't is to be the
17:02know-it-all agency. So, yes, be smart.
17:05Yes, be thorough, but don't have this
17:08kind of attitude thing around
17:11condescension to the client that they
17:13don't really get their business. Now, I
17:14know this sounds so obvious cuz who
17:17would go in and be, you know, like be
17:19defensive or um uh be condescending? And
17:23I have to tell you that we see it. We
17:26see agencies come in and um when the
17:29client asks them questions about the
17:31creative choices or ask them questions
17:33about their media choices or does this
17:36also include that or the other thing we
17:38see I have seen it personally in the
17:41last 6 months agencies who um get pretty
17:45condescending and show behavior that's
17:49not appealing um and this particularly
17:51happens when they get feedback.
17:54Confidence is quiet,
17:57arrogance is loud, and clients can tell.
18:00And yes, I read that because I think you
18:01need to hear those very words.
18:05When you get feedback from a client,
18:07which agencies always say we don't get
18:09enough feedback along the way, when you
18:12do get it and you push back in a way
18:15that is not to learn more and understand
18:18more, but to but your own reaction to
18:21their feedback shows in your
18:24disappointment or your um I even had a
18:27um a an agency bisdev person say, "Well,
18:31they're just wrong." when I gave them
18:33feedback about creative. That's the
18:36kill. That's the end of a relationship
18:38before it begins. So, you think about
18:41how you're going to be in the room when
18:43the client comes back. Don't ask
18:45questions you don't want the answer to.
18:47And when you ask those questions about
18:49the creative or the media plan or the PR
18:52ideas or whatever it is that you're
18:53presenting, be sure you know how you're
18:56going to respond when they share with
18:57you what they didn't like.
19:00Go ahead.
19:02Um, and the logistics. Don't neglect the
19:05logistics. The tech failed. Be on time.
19:08Know where you're going. Make sure you
19:09have the right address. Show up on time.
19:11Be a little early. Be very early. Um,
19:14make sure your audio works. Make sure
19:17that um, uh, your screen's going to be
19:19able to share. Make sure your fonts are
19:21going to be able to show up on someone
19:23else's machine or screen. Um, make sure
19:26that you know what's coming before your
19:28section, what's happening after your
19:29section. So when you hand it off to the
19:31next person, it feels like you're
19:33finishing each other's sentences. Um,
19:35and make sure that you're within the
19:37time that you're that you're given
19:38because they're likely not going to let
19:40you go over. Typos,
19:43please, no typos. The thing it just
19:46hurts my heart when an agency
19:49sends in a written proposal that is so
19:52stinking good, but there's so many typos
19:54in it that I have to pray the client
19:56doesn't notice them because they're
19:57going to say something. It's such an
19:59unforced error and it's very
20:01heartbreaking uh for you and for us to
20:04see. So, make sure you've got a um a
20:06proofreader and save enough time for
20:09that to happen. What clients will say to
20:11us after a tissue session or even a Q&A
20:14or in the presentation itself is, "Wow,
20:16they didn't manage their time very well.
20:18That could be a problem working with
20:20them."
20:22So, those are the things that they walk
20:23away with all that great work that you
20:26did. And that's the thing they remember.
20:28Again, another unforced error.
20:32Go ahead. So, let's let's keep going
20:33here and and talk now about the things
20:36you should do. Things we see that we we
20:38love. Number one is show you know their
20:40customer.
20:42If you're pitching a a retailer, walk
20:45their store. Walk several of their
20:47stores. Read reviews for whatever
20:49product you're pitching. Listen to
20:51listen to the earnings call if you can.
20:54um interview um buyers on the street,
20:57even people who may not use that brand,
21:00show up with an a customer insight
21:02that's just going to knock their socks
21:04off. Uh it beats it's way better to
21:08bring strong strategy and an insight
21:10about their customer than it is to just
21:13show framework after framework about how
21:15you might work with their um with their
21:17business. Knowing their customer,
21:19knowing their target audience is a
21:22gigantic key to success.
21:25Next slide.
21:28This is an example from um we have
21:31permission to share this from um
21:32Hannerford and Chemistry. Chemistry won
21:35the business, the Hannerford business.
21:37Hannifford is a grosser in the in the
21:39Northeast. Um and this was a slide that
21:41Hannerford showed in their pitch saying,
21:44"We've done our homework and our
21:46validation." and they shared all the
21:48work they did to get to the pitch which
21:52totally blew the client away. So they
21:54did qualitative work, they did a
21:56category audit, they did um uh they did
22:00a deep dive on their on fans, cultural
22:03insights, quantitative validation and
22:05notice on the right hand corner they did
22:07Hannerford store visits. They our team
22:10visited 12 locations.
22:12Chemistry is in Atlanta. Hannerford has
22:15no stores in Atlanta. Their stores are
22:17in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and
22:20part of New York and Massachusetts, I
22:22believe. Um, uh, so there, yeah, you
22:25have, we did them in Maine,
22:26Massachusetts, and New York. Um, and
22:28they spoke to team members and brand
22:30fans alike. Um, and as we speak, we're
22:33concept testing. Blow away slide. It's
22:38got to be true. But this is what gives
22:40clients confidence that even if you're
22:42not in our footprint, you can get us.
22:46Next slide.
22:48Focus on the handoffs. Practice.
22:51Rehearse. Please rehearse. Rehearse.
22:52Rehearse before you show up in the room.
22:55The chemistry lives in the transition.
22:57So they watch your teams. They will
22:59We've had clients actually see in the
23:00meeting after the meeting. I don't even
23:02know if they like each other.
23:04It's I mean it these are things they've
23:06got 75 minutes, an hour, two hours,
23:09however long your presentation is, and
23:10they make all kinds of judgments about
23:13who you are and what your life is like
23:15and whether you're in a good mood or a
23:16bad mood. It's really kind of stunning
23:18and it's a little unpleasant sometimes,
23:20but it happens. So, make sure you're the
23:22ones whose handoffs are perfect, who's
23:25your team knows each other. Um, rehearse
23:28it, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse before
23:30you show up.
23:33Um, another do um, uh, turn the critique
23:37into a partnership moment. So if they
23:39ask you a pointed question,
23:41answer it with grace.
23:44Um, if they if they give you feedback in
23:46the room, take it with grace. what they
23:49they're looking for agencies that grow
23:51with them along the the journey and
23:54you're actually being graded on things
23:56when they don't that they don't like and
23:58how you react to those as much as the
24:00things that they do like and how you
24:02react to that. Feedback is a gift.
24:06Think in advance about how you're going
24:07to take feedback that feels a little
24:09pointed.
24:12Next slide.
24:14Um the real team is the deciding factor.
24:17So, what we mean here is that clients
24:19hire the people that do the work. I
24:21cannot tell you how
24:24this is a really um this is one of those
24:28uh situations where this is one of the
24:30issues that really gets me the most with
24:33agencies when we tell them from the
24:36beginning and I'm I'm going to tell you
24:37this now and it's true for every pitch
24:39you're ever going to do for the rest of
24:40the time that you're in business.
24:42Clients want to meet the people they're
24:44going to work with. They are desperately
24:47afraid of a pitch team. And when you
24:50wheel out senior leaders who are going
24:52to supervise and have 80 hours a year on
24:54the business, that is a pitch team. They
24:57want to meet their day-to-day
24:58strategist. They want to meet their
24:59day-to-day planner. They want to meet
25:01their day-to-day account person,
25:04whether it's on camera or in the room.
25:08And then when you send them the scope of
25:10work and none of the people, I literally
25:11had this happen just yesterday. an
25:13agency sent me a list of people that are
25:15going to be the presenters. Zero hours
25:17in the scope of work,
25:20they're they're done. Unless they change
25:22it up based on the feedback. The client
25:25wants to know, did I meet the people I'm
25:28going to talk to the day after you win
25:29the business.
25:31This is table stakes. This is not big
25:34clients, small clients, any size
25:36clients. All clients worry about a bait
25:39and switch. Don't do it. Be clear up
25:42front. If your people aren't good
25:44presenters, train them up. If they're
25:46client facing in real life, they should
25:48be able to present. Next slide.
25:52And the the um uh I think we have two
25:54more. So, architecting the room, make
25:57sure that you when you walk in the room,
25:59ask if you can move the tables around if
26:01it doesn't suit you. The seating order,
26:03where are you guys going to sit versus
26:05where's the client going to sit? Do you
26:06have place mats you can put down so the
26:08client knows where they should be
26:09sitting in the room? Make sure you've
26:10got ey line so that someone can be
26:12watching clients reactions along the
26:14way. Orchestrate who's going to answer
26:16which questions for a Q&A or for any any
26:19time when clients are asking questions.
26:21Don't pile on. One person answers a
26:23question. That's it. Because the more
26:25people that pile on, the fewer questions
26:27you get to answer and you want that
26:29interaction. If you're presenting
26:31online, who's going to monitor the chat?
26:33How are you going to deal with that?
26:34That's the direction. So treat the room
26:37or the screen like a set because this is
26:40a presentation.
26:42Okay, last one for me. Um, so you the
26:46thing one of the things that we love to
26:48see clients do is focus on the so what.
26:50What I mean by that is every time you
26:52describe a capability and you translate
26:54it to the client, it should be here's
26:56what we do and what that means for you
26:58is X, Y, or Z. translate every single
27:02feature that you're going to bring into
27:04the the pitch directly to them. What
27:08what is that going to mean for the
27:09outcome of their business for the
27:10outcome of what you're going to work on
27:12with them? That's what they want to
27:13know. Just hearing capability after
27:15capability or tool after tool. And by
27:18the way, tools are boring in a
27:20presentation for the most part. If you
27:22need to present them, make sure that
27:24you're showing how the tool works for
27:26them versus just what the tool does. So,
27:29as I say here on the slide, if a slide
27:31can't finish the sentence, which means
27:33for you that
27:35dot dot dot, cut that slide.
27:40>> All righty, De, I think you are up next.
27:44>> I am. Thank you. And uh what we're going
27:46to do now is we're going to talk about
27:49how we recommend agencies organize and
27:52deliver an effective, compelling, uh
27:55presentation that actually can win the
27:56business. And this is this is a question
27:59we get all the time from agencies, which
28:02is how do I put together a great winning
28:06pitch? And we've we've seen the best,
28:09we've seen the worst, and we've seen
28:12hundreds in the middle of those two uh
28:15two grades, if you will, of
28:17presentations. Uh, and so we're going to
28:19share with you a a process that we've
28:21developed that we believe is is pitch
28:25perfect, frankly, for putting your best
28:27foot forward and for winning business.
28:29Now, to get to this, now I'm going to
28:31unveil in just a moment, but to get to
28:32this process, uh, what we did several
28:36things. One is we studied hundreds and
28:38hundreds of pitches that we've seen over
28:40the years because we've been involved in
28:42it. As Robin was saying, we're in the
28:43room before the pitch, we're in the room
28:45after the pitch. we know how clients
28:47react to how agencies are pitching them.
28:50Uh the other thing that we did was we
28:52actually worked closely with one of the
28:54leading sales consultants in the
28:56industry uh who had trained folks at
28:59Microsoft and a whole bunch of huge huge
29:02challenging consultative selling kind of
29:06companies on on how to deliver an
29:09effective sales story from beginning to
29:12end that was all about the prospect.
29:15That was all about putting the prospect
29:16right there in the middle of the room
29:18and focusing the the discussion on them.
29:22And the result is what we call the
29:24interactive pitch. I'm going to walk you
29:27through in each step how we suggest that
29:30you organize yourself, what you present
29:33when, and how you interact with your the
29:35prospect in a way that makes it really
29:38crystal clear that you are your agency
29:41is all about serving them and their
29:43business needs uh and and helping them
29:47succeed. So, there's an eight-step
29:49framework we're going to walk through.
29:50Um, and then after we walk through this,
29:52we'll have plenty of time for some Q&A
29:54when we get towards the top of the hour.
29:58So, step one, agency introductions. This
30:00is um is this is a s a surprise to us is
30:05how often we'll be in an agency pitch
30:09with our client and the agency folks
30:13will not introduce themselves. often
30:15they'll say something like, "Well, we're
30:17going to forego introductions in uh the
30:20interest of time. We have so much that
30:22we want to present to you." Um, and
30:25these are the same agencies that
30:27undoubtedly over a beer would suggest
30:29that they believe that clients really
30:31want to get to know them if they're
30:33going to hire them. Uh, so our our our
30:36advice here is do not skip this step.
30:41This is a way of getting chemistry
30:43points from the outset because smart
30:48clients know that they're hiring a group
30:49of people. Sure, there's an agency name,
30:52there's an agency reputation, there's an
30:54agency history, but they know that
30:56they're developing they're hiring
30:57potentially hiring a really specific
30:59group of people and they want to hire a
31:01group of people they want to work with.
31:03And so the agency introductions is just
31:05a simple way of getting every everybody
31:08from the agency team to to introduce
31:11themselves quickly and begin that
31:14bonding bonding experience. Um, one
31:18small trick or tip is if you do have a
31:21champion in the room from the client
31:23side, prep them. Have them introduce
31:26you. Have them explain why you've been
31:28invited in. have them say something good
31:30about the experience they had previously
31:32at a different company or what they'd
31:34heard about you or or what they've what
31:37something about your reputation so that
31:40they are prepping they are pre-elling
31:42your presence in the room. Uh regardless
31:46whether whether you have that kind of a
31:48a um champion in the room or not keep it
31:51short. This is simply
31:54your name and the role on the business.
31:58That's all they really want to hear
31:59about. They don't want to hear about
32:00your last experience with their brand
32:03because they want you to be talking
32:04about their business in their context,
32:06about their need. Uh they don't want to
32:09hear about your childhood or the fact
32:11that you like dogs. They they simply
32:14want to know who you are and what you'll
32:16be doing if you win the business. So,
32:18this is a a quick it's it it sounds like
32:21a checking of the box, but it's not. And
32:24it's because the agency business
32:25continues to be a people business. Sure,
32:28you've all got tools, but this is a
32:30people business. We want to make it
32:31crystal clear that these people that you
32:35have people that they may want to work
32:36with.
32:38Now, the second step then is to turn the
32:40table and to have the client introduce
32:43themselves. And we recommend a really,
32:45really specific way to do this. Well,
32:48one of one of the one of the really
32:49fascinating parts about this, if you do
32:51your own introductions,
32:54professionally, but quickly, you are
32:56going to give the floor right back to
32:58the client right away in the
33:00presentation. Instead of talking about
33:02yourselves, instead of droning on and
33:04on, you're going to get them talking.
33:06And so, and we recommend, in fact, I I
33:08recommend you actually use the language
33:10very similar to what's on the screen.
33:12And I'm going to read it because it's so
33:14important. something like, "We'd love to
33:17better understand your roles and
33:19expectations.
33:21Please introduce yourself, share your
33:24role in the business, and one thing you
33:26hope to accomplish today." Now, you'll
33:29have been briefed, of course, as Robin
33:32was talking about earlier, undoubtedly.
33:34Um, and there may be a formal RFP that
33:36you're reacting to,
33:39but
33:41hearing them talk about what they really
33:43want to hear about in the meeting is
33:45really important. And there's for a
33:48number of reasons.
33:50One reason is there may be new people in
33:53the room. Often when we get into a pitch
33:56situation and there's finalists
33:58presenting to the client, there'll be a
34:02new decision maker that's shown up for
34:05the very first time in the in a pitch
34:07process. It could be the CMO, it could
34:10be a CEO. It's also very possible that
34:13that person that just showed up that's
34:15new in the room has paid very little
34:18attention to the RFP process. They may
34:21never have read it. They may not know
34:23exactly what the business challenge was
34:24that you were tasked with. And I know
34:26that I'll what I've just said probably
34:28makes everyone's head explode as you're
34:30thinking about this, but it's a real
34:32thing. And that person may come in may
34:34have a very different view of what they
34:37want to hear in their presentation than
34:39what you've been briefed on. It does it
34:42does raise the stake on how you address
34:44how you address that but it gives you an
34:47opportunity during the presentation to
34:48make sure that you can give a nod not
34:51just to the brief into the business
34:53challenge but to whatever new just
34:55showed up. So we actually recommend that
34:57you make great show of capturing on a
35:00whiteboard or on a flip chart the one
35:02thing answers that you get to the
35:04question when you go around the room of
35:06the one thing you hope to accomplish
35:09today. So, you've got it all there. You
35:11can then, by the way, at the end of the
35:12presentation, you can refer back to it
35:14and check the box on everything, showing
35:17what great listeners you were and how
35:19you're leaning into what they really
35:21need.
35:22So, you've you've introduced yourselves,
35:25you've had them introduce themselves,
35:27and then you dive in. Uh, and the step
35:30three is really to showcase that you
35:32really understand their challenge. Uh,
35:35and so what we recommend is that you
35:38have a a slide or a flip chart or
35:41whiteboard that shows the issues that
35:44you've heard about to date in the
35:47review. So probably stuff that was right
35:49from the RFP or maybe from added to that
35:52maybe stuff you've learned in the Q&A or
35:55in other interactions you've had with
35:56them about what their challenges are,
35:58what their business issues are, what
36:00they need to accomplish. So you have
36:02this list of four, five, six really
36:04important things that are that are
36:06critical to uh that they need to solve
36:10that they need their agency to help help
36:12themselves.
36:14We make we suggest you make great show
36:16of that list and and ask them is there
36:20anything that they would add to the
36:21list. So again this gives them yet
36:24another opportunity to talk. It also
36:26gives them another you another
36:28opportunity to hear if if there's
36:29something else going on. It's very
36:31possible that there's some new issue
36:33that's arisen in their business that
36:35wasn't an issue when they released the
36:36RFP. It wasn't an issue when you started
36:39the Q&A. And if you go and use this
36:41approach, you'll be the only agency
36:43pitching them that is picking up on this
36:45new learning right in the moment. And
36:47it'll give you an opportunity to react
36:49in the moment or during the
36:50presentation.
36:52We're looking to share create sort of a
36:54shared understanding here in your
36:56presentation about what they need so
36:58that you can help accomplish it. Uh
37:01here's an example of what one of these
37:04slides might might have looked like. So
37:07this is actually from uh the Fidium.
37:09It's a regional high-speed internet
37:12business. The Novvice uh agency media
37:15agency was pitching them. uh we have
37:18their their uh approval to share this as
37:22an example. And they got up and they
37:23were they were very crystal clear about
37:25what the goals were that they heard in
37:28the RFP and in the Q&A about what Fidium
37:31needed to accomplish and what they
37:32needed help from their media agency
37:34accomplishing. They needed 116,000 net
37:37new customers. They needed 20%
37:39penetration growth penetration in growth
37:42markets. A different penetration
37:43reappraisal markets. Now just imagine
37:47that the new player in the room had
37:49decided that the entire focus of their
37:53business now their marketing should be
37:55on growth markets or just on reappraisal
38:00markets or just imagine that before you
38:02showed up they decided to enter a new
38:04market and that's what's was really on
38:07the mind of the CMO.
38:09If you don't set up the meeting the
38:11proper way, if you don't ask them what
38:13else might be on their mind, you'll
38:15never know that. If you do, you'll be
38:17the agency that can pivot and not only
38:20respond to the brief and the business
38:22challenge, but to respond what what's
38:24really on their mind at any given
38:25moment.
38:27Here's another slide. I'm not going to
38:28spend a lot of time on this. It's in the
38:30deck. If you ask for the deck, you'll
38:32see it. But this is a masked uh retailer
38:36uh pitch that we were involved in and it
38:38shows how they captured the assignment
38:41as well as the business challenges and
38:43they were they went to the extent of
38:44incre actually laying out what the
38:46budget was and what the timing was. So
38:48it was um crystal clear right up front
38:51of the presentation that they they got
38:54the client and what by doing all of this
38:57groundwork.
38:59What you really want is the client or
39:02the prospect to in the meeting after the
39:03meeting to think they really get us.
39:06They listened. They understand what our
39:08challenge is. They really they really
39:10sort of get us. And that's frankly what
39:13almost all prospects are looking for in
39:15their client relationship
39:17in their agency relationship. All right.
39:19So
39:21we've all aligned you've been able to
39:23align with the prospect on what they
39:25need to solve. Step four is actually to
39:27address those problems. And we're not
39:28going to spend a lot of time here
39:30because the problems vary and there's no
39:32one way to present their solutions. But
39:35we do suggest that you make it crystal
39:37clear when you're moving from the
39:39challenge to the self
39:41uh with whatever language makes sense to
39:43you, but it's got to be straightforward.
39:45Something like, well, let's tackle these
39:46issues and then and then you recap what
39:49you've learned from them as well as the
39:52new analysis and new insights you may be
39:55bringing to the business. Recapping
39:57briefly what you've learned from them
39:59actually is important because
40:02they want to know that you've been
40:04listening,
40:06but then taking it a step further and
40:09adding new value. That's what they're
40:11hoping to see from the agency. So this
40:15this this is about building showing them
40:19how you would build the right strategies
40:20for success
40:22and then and showing basically you've
40:25started the work. You've put you've put
40:26your shoulder into that. You care enough
40:28about their business that you are
40:30already digging in.
40:33Now, you're probably
40:35half to threequarters, probably maybe
40:3860% of the way through your
40:40presentation, you haven't talked about
40:41the agency other than your
40:43introductions.
40:45You've summarized your analysis. You've
40:48shown them a great insight that can
40:50drive a solution. This is a good time to
40:53pause and frankly give what we would
40:55think of as a really simple agency
40:59commercial and acknowledge the fact that
41:01they have alternatives. It's a
41:04respectful thing to say. You could
41:06simply say something like, "Of course,
41:09we know that there's a lot of agencies
41:10that you could use." Or you could do
41:12this yourself.
41:14To put into context the solutions we're
41:16going to share with you, we'd like to
41:19remind you a little bit about our agency
41:21and why we believe our solutions offer a
41:24better result. And then and if you if
41:28you've read our blogs, if you've read
41:29the book, if you've seen us present in
41:32other venues, you've probably heard us
41:34talk about the five slides. This is when
41:36you introduce the five slides of the
41:37agency. It's only five slides and this
41:40is the only time you talk about the
41:42agency. Those five slides are an agency
41:45philosophy that tells you what tells the
41:47client what makes you distinctive and
41:50special. It shows your process is the
41:52second slide. The third slide is what we
41:55call the interaction process which what
41:56it's like to work with the agency. Uh
41:59you have a capability slide to remind
42:01them your suite of capabilities and you
42:04have a logo slide and the logo slide of
42:06course confirms that other really smart
42:09clients and challenging clients and
42:10maybe hopefully clients they admire
42:13chosen to work with you. This is brief.
42:16It's a couple of minutes maximum and it
42:19puts into perspective how you think
42:21about their problem. And by the way,
42:24remember, as I mentioned, there's going
42:26to potentially be really senior folks in
42:28the room that haven't been exposed to
42:30the agency before. This provides them an
42:33opportunity to catch up quickly and to
42:36see especially those other clients that
42:38you've supported. So that as you're
42:40about to present your solution for their
42:43for their challenge, they have added
42:46reason to believe that you've earned the
42:48right and that you've done it for other
42:50folks. So now it's time to present the
42:53solution. So this is pretty simple. You
42:56you share the solution. You recap why it
43:00flows from the strategy work and the
43:02analysis you've done and especially map
43:05it directly back to the business
43:06objectives that they had that they
43:09identified for you or that you uncovered
43:11through the process. Remember those
43:13items that we suggested you put on the
43:16sort of a a flip chart or a slide early
43:19on. Whatever those needs were, like the
43:21growth market uh the the new numbers of
43:26uh customers in a growth market for
43:28Fidium or the new numbers of customers
43:30in reappraisal markets for Fidium.
43:33Map your solution directly back to the
43:36really specific business issues that
43:38they have. Make it more than a marketing
43:40and advertising or PR presentation. When
43:43you connect the dots between your
43:46solution directly back to their real
43:48business issue, the reason they need to
43:52spend the investment, you will separate
43:54yourself from the pack.
43:57Close the presentation. So, walk back
44:00through all the things. We recommend
44:02that you quickly walk through back the
44:04checklist of the things that you laid
44:06out at the start that they had briefed
44:08you on their business challenge and
44:11anything that that was on the the one
44:13more one thing you'd like us to talk
44:15about or accomplish today list and check
44:18make a great show of the fact that you
44:20addressed each of those things during
44:22the presentation.
44:26This should lead up to a a really simple
44:28summary uh for the business uh for your
44:31presentation. It's sort of the the why.
44:34It's what you want them to remember
44:35before they leave when they leave the
44:37room. So, quick restatement of the
44:39problem. Make it crystal clear once
44:42again that you get their business and
44:44why they need this investment and why
44:46this why your agency can help. Reframe
44:50that the opportunity using a simple
44:54clear sentence about the insight that
44:57you develop for them that will give them
45:00a better solution than the next agency
45:02or the prior agency and then wrap it up
45:06with a little bit bit of assessment of
45:08the the fit. So come up with a couple of
45:11really specific reasons why you think
45:13your team is the right team to support
45:15their business. But do it really
45:17briefly,
45:18not a lot of words, very compelling. So
45:21the those three things which brings us
45:24to the next step
45:26uh
45:27the next step is to sort of is it's
45:30critical to help them define a next
45:32step. Help them make the decision you
45:36need them to make. Help them move
45:38forward in the process with you. Uh you
45:42might say something like this is a
45:43really important decision deserves a
45:45diligent process. As you deliberate,
45:48we'd love to invite you to visit our
45:49offices so you can see how we actually
45:52work and we can talk through practical
45:54considerations related to partnering or
45:56next steps. The the the issue is not to
45:59try to make the sale right then. The
46:03issue is to try to make next steps easy.
46:07So you're making it easy for them to
46:09make a good decision.
46:12One way to do this is to what we call
46:14the intentional ask. You don't have to
46:17ask for the business, but you do have to
46:20ask for what we would call a best next
46:22step. So asking for the business is
46:24great. Be clear, direct, and confident.
46:27We'd love to be your partner. Make sure
46:30that does come out. They It's amazing in
46:33the meeting after the meeting how often
46:35we hear clients say they never ask for
46:37the business, which is sort of a silly
46:39silly comment on the surface because
46:41you've just invested all this time and
46:43energy getting ready for the meeting.
46:44You've probably had multiple meetings
46:46getting there. You've done all this work
46:47on your own. You haven't been paid to do
46:50it and they they somehow needed to hear
46:53you ask for the business. Well,
46:56for better or wor for worse, find a way
46:59to ask for the business. And though
47:02there's a both a brave and smart ask
47:05which could be that this notion of
47:08defining the next step. So make it clear
47:11we'd love we'd love to be your agency.
47:14Uh but maybe maybe a great next step is
47:18for you to come visit us so you can see
47:20how we work.
47:24All righty. That's my show. Robin
47:31You're muted.
47:34>> Top five takeaways and then we'll move
47:36on to the Q&A. Number one, make it about
47:38them from minute one. I think we've been
47:40pretty clear about why that's important.
47:42Number two, cut the credentials. You
47:45earn your credentials in the work. Show
47:48them rather than tell them. Sell the
47:50team that's going to do the job rather
47:52than a pitch team. Please, please,
47:54please. That's very important to clients
47:57and can be actually the biggest unforced
47:59error you make. Uh treat every question
48:02like an invitation. Love questions. You
48:05if you say you love questions, love
48:07questions. And then end on the next
48:09step, not just on a thank you. A thank
48:13you and we'd love to continue the
48:15conversation in some form or fashion.
48:20All righty. So this is uh this is our
48:22close here. It's um your drop your
48:24questions in the chat and Jeff will hand
48:26it to you to kind of navigate the
48:28question the Q&A time.
48:31>> Okay, fantastic. You may also want to
48:32put up your uh email address for folks
48:35that are interested in getting a copy of
48:36the presentation. Just shoot uh Steve or
48:39Robin an email and they would be
48:41thrilled to give it to you.
48:43>> Uh Dan had a question that I think is
48:46absolutely critical. He's talking he he
48:49was asking about how do you encourage
48:51clients to participate more directly
48:54throughout the throughout the
48:55conversation providing feedback which I
48:57think is an inevitable thing people ask
49:00about oh my god the client sat there for
49:01an hour and they never asked anything is
49:04that a bad sign of course it's terribly
49:06bad so do you have any suggestions for
49:09thoughts techniques how to get that
49:12happening throughout and maybe a little
49:14bit about the logistics of it uh Dan had
49:17a suggestion. Do you create a purposeful
49:19break uh during the presentation to
49:22encourage it? What what are your
49:24thoughts on that topic in general?
49:26>> Yeah, I love that question. So, the
49:27first thing I'm going to say is if you
49:29really want questions, make sure that
49:31you have time in your presentation for
49:32those questions because I've heard
49:34agencies say we really want questions
49:36along the way. They get questions and
49:38then somehow they didn't build in any
49:39question and answer time and they don't.
49:41They actually have 75 minutes of slides.
49:44So that's the first thing is be careful
49:46what you wish for. Make sure that you
49:48actually have a little room in your
49:50presentation to take those questions.
49:51And I love the spirit of the question.
49:53Um in terms of what are some ways to get
49:57the client involved
49:59um I do think that meaningful pauses,
50:02meaningful spots to stop um with the
50:06question should be planned into your
50:09your presentation. An example, when you
50:13um when you finished the strategy
50:15portion, you have talked about their
50:17target audience, you've talked about
50:18their brand, you've talked about their
50:20competitive set, and you've landed kind
50:22of on what you think the white space
50:23might be for them. The insight where
50:25their brand can meet the the consumer or
50:27the the the customer in a way that the
50:30competition either can't or doesn't
50:33claim to. Um, before you show your work,
50:37your media plan or your creative or your
50:40your activation ideas, if you're
50:42experiential, whatever it's going to be,
50:44that's a good time to pause and say,
50:46"We'd love your reactions to the strate
50:48the strategy portion. Did we think right
50:51about your target audience? What did we
50:54miss in the competitive um conversation?
50:57Is there anything here that was
50:58unclear?" Try to make sure you don't
51:00have just yes or no questions. Don't ask
51:0350 questions. Ask one or two very smart
51:07questions that are very open-ended
51:10and then wait. That's the key. If you
51:14asked a great question, we'd love to get
51:16your reactions to our feedback. How did
51:18you feel about our um characterization
51:22of your target audience?
51:24Then you have to pause and you have
51:26>> which also gives you a chance to focus
51:28the conversation that it isn't just a
51:30general thing waiting for the end but
51:32gives it creates that opportunity as you
51:34say keyed to particular sections you
51:36went through.
51:38>> Well, one of the things you said Robin
51:39that kind of struck me you said the
51:41example the theoretical example hey I
51:44have 75 slides and I can't get through
51:45them all. Do you have a rule of thumb
51:48about how many slides should you go into
51:50a presentation for say an hour? I
51:52believe you said today's presentation
51:53when we were going over it yesterday was
51:56like 29 slides for an hour. Do you have
51:59a rule of thumb on that? Is there is
52:01there a suggestion you would make?
52:03>> I don't have a a hard and fast rule of
52:05thumb. I mean it's usually three minutes
52:07a slide is what if you look it up in
52:09Google that's what they'll tell you.
52:10Three minutes a slide. It just depends
52:11on how what's in your slides, right? So,
52:14our slides today were specifically set
52:16up to be short and sweet so we could
52:19talk through them and hopefully leave 10
52:21to 15 minutes for present for questions.
52:24So, um there wasn't a lot of content on
52:27the slide. So, I could have waxed poetic
52:29for days and days on any of those
52:31topics, but I also knew and I've got a
52:33timer so I can see where how long I'm
52:35taking. So, there's not a hard and fast
52:37rule of thumb. Your rehearsal will tell
52:40you if you've got too many slides or too
52:42much content.
52:44Gotcha. Oh, Mark asked a couple things.
52:47One was, "How much data should be part
52:50of your analysis? How detailed do you
52:52get? Do you just give a summary slide?"
52:54You gave an example in your deck of
52:56someone a pitch that was made that had a
52:59very simplified thing.
53:01I know it's dependent upon the client,
53:04dependent upon the research you have and
53:06whatever, but thoughts on that summary
53:08style versus getting into some detail?
53:12Yeah, it's a really good question and I
53:14think um
53:17I think it's important to set up that
53:18you've done all the work. So I love that
53:20chemistry slide, right? Because it it so
53:23showed that they did so much work uh to
53:26get ready to develop their strategies in
53:28part of their analysis. But but in terms
53:31of the actual presentation
53:33uh I think um there's there's uh there's
53:36a quote that the the sculptor that
53:39created the David is is attributed which
53:42is they asked they asked him how did you
53:44create such this magnificent uh
53:47sculpture and he said that I carved away
53:50everything that isn't David right and I
53:52and I think the notion of how much data
53:55you have to show relates to what the
53:58story is you need to
54:00And I think you have to do all the work
54:02and it's going to be a mountain
54:04potentially of analysis and data, but
54:06you don't have to show all of that. You
54:08have to show just enough to make the
54:12point that that builds to the solution
54:15that you're leading them to. And so I I
54:18wish I had a clear a more definitive
54:20thing than just enough, but it literally
54:23is just enough because you don't want
54:26them rambling around in the data itself.
54:29You want them thinking about what the
54:31data means and you want them nodding
54:33with what you're that you about what you
54:36are telling them the data means. And and
54:38and
54:40I I think I would just leave it at that.
54:42just enough
54:43>> in storytelling. If it back to Robin's
54:46point about the slides, if you when you
54:49look at the headlines, the headlines
54:50should tell the whole story.
54:52>> The data, the only way the data shows up
54:55should be is if it's supporting one of
54:57those critical headlines.
54:59>> Definitely. Well, and you a good point,
55:01which is the more you show, the more
55:03likely there's going to be some
55:04controversy. Someone's going to find
55:06something to pick apart or get stuck on
55:08some meaningless detail. And you can
55:11also obviously have backup slides if
55:13someone really wants to get into it. You
55:15have no intention of showing it, but you
55:16can quickly flip to something that's a
55:18little more detailed and then get right
55:20right back on track. He also Mark also
55:23had a question about the HC
55:24capabilities. That was one of your five
55:26slides that you mentioned, which I
55:28presume means a single slide. So his
55:31question was, how detailed do you get in
55:32on that? Should you just do a snapshot
55:35and then in words describe what you can
55:38do again to the appetite of the audience
55:40or what's your thought on that in terms
55:42of detail on capabilities?
55:45>> Go ahead, Steve. You can answer that one
55:46as well.
55:47>> Well, I think it's very high level. I I
55:49think I think if if if you're let's say
55:51a full here's an example. be a
55:53full-ervice advertising agency. And so
55:56you do creative and you do you have a
55:58med paid media practice and you might
56:00have a social media practice and maybe a
56:03little bit of PR and shopper marketing.
56:07It it's it's stuff at that level for the
56:10most part because you don't want to
56:12spend a lot of time there. You just want
56:14them to know that you have a breadth of
56:15relevant capabilities that lead back
56:18that relate to the ask that has you in
56:20the room.
56:22>> And probably verbally you'd highlight if
56:24you had a process difference, something
56:26that really sets you apart without
56:28having to do it for every single thing
56:30that's that's up on the wall.
56:32>> Yes. People don't want to hear about
56:35your tools. Okay. That so so that
56:37literally and they don't want to dive
56:39too much into the capabilities. They
56:41they're there because they want to hear
56:42you talk about their problem. The rest
56:44of this stuff is just uh checking boxes
56:47to make sure that you you show that you
56:50have the background and experience that
56:52matters.
56:54>> Terrific. So Christa, so much has
56:56changed in the last several years. CMO
56:58urgency uh to do more with less, AI
57:02expectations that are changing uh in
57:06speed and efficiency and expectations
57:08there. new ways to approach challenges
57:10etc. How do you see pitches evolving as
57:13a result of these kind of technological
57:17uh uh things that are changing the way
57:20presentations in general are done? Do
57:22you have you seen some early
57:24developments in that area or the things
57:26you would suggest that people has become
57:28maybe a new price of entry?
57:31Um, you know, I I no, I don't. Um, I I
57:35think it's still the basics are still
57:37the basics, which is you've got to show
57:39them that you understand their business
57:40and that you've got solutions that can
57:42solve their business challenges, plain
57:43and simple, that you understand their
57:45customer, you understand their brand,
57:46you understand their competition, and um
57:49then everything else just becomes the
57:52way you show how you solve their
57:54problem. So leading with AI, leading
57:58with tools and technology, as Steve
57:59said, none of that is um is compelling
58:03to a client. Uh I I I think um weave in
58:08how you how AI helped you get to
58:11whatever it is that you're using AI for.
58:13You can use AI to gather data. You can
58:15use AI. We've seen a lot of agencies
58:18recently talk about testing creative um
58:21using AI panels instead of using real
58:23people panels which is compelling for a
58:26start with you know with lookalikes but
58:28clients always ask afterward did you
58:31test with any live people with any real
58:33people and are they our customers or are
58:35they people in our footprint are they
58:37people it's all impressive but at the
58:41end we still see clients asking for the
58:44stuff they can touch Um, I I honestly we
58:47just saw five uh pitches for creative
58:49for a financial services institution two
58:51weeks ago and all of the agencies talked
58:54about testing the creative with AI
58:56panels and every time someone on the
58:59client team asked about testing with
59:00real people. They're just not all the
59:02way there yet. So, it's good to show
59:04that you're fluent in AI and that you're
59:06using AI in in ways that help the client
59:09move forward, but it isn't the thing
59:12that wins the business in any way,
59:14shape, or form.
59:16Okay.
59:17>> So, early on in the presentation, you
59:19talked about uh a CEO that that
59:21[clears throat] shows up in the meeting.
59:23And Todd asks, "Hey, what what should
59:24that I guess I would start with, should
59:26they even be there? Do you want a CEO?
59:28Do you want an EVP or an SVP? Are those
59:32appropriate to have in pitch meetings?
59:34And then if they are, what should their
59:37role be? What should they be doing
59:38there?"
59:41this and just to be clear my my point
59:44was about the CEO of the client showed
59:47up
59:48>> or might I thought Robin said earlier in
59:51her opening comments about that but just
59:53curious so should the agency senior
59:56management be involved and if so should
59:58they have a defined role
1:00:02>> I yeah I think I think it's I think it's
1:00:05uh I think it's compelling for a senior
1:00:08person from the agency to open and close
1:00:13a session and that and and unless
1:00:16they're going to you know and and this
1:00:18is a it's a blanket statement certainly
1:00:20very small agencies
1:00:23where a senior person is going to be
1:00:25active daytoday doing work you've got a
1:00:27fivep person agency sure that that
1:00:30person can have a very robust part of a
1:00:32presentation because in essence usually
1:00:34the client is buying that person plus
1:00:37their team but in most cases most
1:00:40sizable businesses with with agencies
1:00:43that are um bigger than 30 or 40 or 50.
1:00:49They want to hear the client wants to
1:00:51hear from the people that are going to
1:00:52be that's that are going to be on the
1:00:54phone with them that are going to be in
1:00:55meetings with them. They're going to be
1:00:56answering the phone. And so literally
1:00:58have it's nice for the senior person
1:01:01have have a senior person there. Show
1:01:03the flag, show the interest,
1:01:06show enthusiasm, but it's opening the
1:01:08meeting and it's closing the meeting and
1:01:09then it's being really quiet the rest of
1:01:11the meeting so that you they're showing
1:01:15confidence in their team. There's almost
1:01:17nothing worse, frankly, than the senior
1:01:20executive that during the middle of the
1:01:22meeting
1:01:23builds on every single thing that their
1:01:26people say.
1:01:27>> Interesting.
1:01:29Gotcha. So Patrick asks uh about the
1:01:35natures of uh intro introductions which
1:01:38was a topic that was covered a couple
1:01:39times by you and he's saying that often
1:01:42times at least their early calls are
1:01:45extremely limited in time maybe only a
1:01:48half an hour for that first meeting. So
1:01:50how do you balance the need of getting
1:01:53effective introductions done or do you
1:01:56skip them for in a context of a meeting
1:01:59of a very short uh meeting?
1:02:03>> So in almost every case I would not skip
1:02:05them anyway unless they're unless you've
1:02:07got a client team that's like 25 people
1:02:10right? So, if you've got a gigantic
1:02:12client team, because sometimes you get
1:02:15that in health care. We've seen that in
1:02:16healthcare. Um, where everybody has to
1:02:19there has to be every single person in
1:02:20the room or even sometimes in financial
1:02:22services, we see it. There's certain
1:02:24categories where you just it's a big
1:02:26team that shows up for the
1:02:27presentations. If you've got, you know,
1:02:29more than a dozen people, you probably
1:02:31can't do introductions. Um, but anything
1:02:34short of that, you should. And the the
1:02:36key to success is to ask the exact right
1:02:39question, which is tell us your name,
1:02:41your role, and one thing you you're
1:02:43hoping to hear hear today. If you if you
1:02:45feel like you've got the time for that
1:02:47second last question, if it's your final
1:02:50presentation, that third question is
1:02:52really important. Um, so but also
1:02:55discipline on your team side. So when
1:02:59your team introduces themselves, just
1:03:02their name and their role in the
1:03:03business, that's it. Don't share why you
1:03:06love Louisiana if it's a Louisiana
1:03:08client or what your pet's name is if
1:03:10it's a pet product. No, no one cares
1:03:12yet. You haven't formed a relationship
1:03:14enough to start sharing your personal
1:03:16details. They just want to know who you
1:03:17are, what role you'll play. That's it.
1:03:20So that they know how to think about you
1:03:21and evaluate whether or not you'd be a
1:03:23good fit for them. So that's the way to
1:03:25do it. Um it is important. It's valuable
1:03:27information and it's a bonding that
1:03:29happens. When agencies just skip it, it
1:03:32just feels so cold.
1:03:34Um, and so there's, you know, there's
1:03:35that chemistry piece that you can build.
1:03:38>> Sure. Well, that's that sparks the
1:03:40question I had, which is what's the
1:03:43ideal number of people on the agency
1:03:45team? I've heard in the past that, hey,
1:03:48you don't want to outnumber your
1:03:49clients. That's very odd and off-putting
1:03:52to them. Any thoughts on the number? And
1:03:55again, I'm sure you're going to say,
1:03:56hey, sometime appropriate for different
1:03:58clients, different situations, but do
1:04:00you have thoughts on that? There's not a
1:04:02number that I would recommend. It's more
1:04:04what functions do you need to represent
1:04:07in the room based on the scope of work
1:04:10that you are pitching. So if there's if
1:04:13there's a strong social component, bring
1:04:16your social person. If social is not a
1:04:19big part, but it's a small thing as part
1:04:21of the mix, maybe you don't need a
1:04:23social person in the room. So I mean,
1:04:26you've got to have a strategist. You've
1:04:27got to have creative if you're a
1:04:29creative agency or media planner, a
1:04:31media buyer if you're a media. It's
1:04:33really just depends on what the scope of
1:04:35work is. Um and um how big the scope is,
1:04:39how much to show how many people that
1:04:41you know that they're going to need to
1:04:42hear from in the room. An analytics
1:04:44person, if analytics is an important
1:04:46part or measurement, someone's got to be
1:04:48able to share those things. And always,
1:04:50always, always bring the account person
1:04:52or at least the group account director
1:04:54who you think is going to manage the
1:04:55business in some form or fashion.
1:04:57>> Gotcha. And on those individual
1:04:59capabilities, if it was media or what
1:05:01have you, do you need multiple
1:05:03representatives or is it sufficient to
1:05:06have one expert who's going to be doing
1:05:08a lot of the work?
1:05:10>> One expert who's going to be doing a lot
1:05:11of the work is likely enough for an
1:05:13in-person presentation. If it's on Zoom,
1:05:15you can have more. Sure. But you know,
1:05:18you also you're it's on you, right?
1:05:21You're paying for this. So don't travel
1:05:23people. You don't have to travel just to
1:05:24show up as a big agency. And everyone
1:05:27should have a significant speaking role
1:05:29if they're going to be in the room.
1:05:31>> Excellent. Excellent point. So Nisha
1:05:34says, "We've heard that some perspective
1:05:37for you who sees hundreds of these
1:05:38things. We've heard that some agencies
1:05:40are submitting decks in response to an
1:05:43RFP u versus a written proposal. What do
1:05:47you think about is that I will asked is
1:05:49that in fact happening? Are you familiar
1:05:50with agencies doing that? And what do
1:05:54you think of the approach?
1:05:57>> Uh it's a really good question and so I
1:05:59I I think I think a couple I'll give you
1:06:01a a handful of quick reactions. Number
1:06:04one is sure you can use a deck instead
1:06:06of like let's say a word document uh
1:06:10provided you're responsive to what they
1:06:13need to see and make and so the the
1:06:17advantage of a deck is that you can make
1:06:19it more visual in an easier way. It
1:06:22usually encourages you to keep the words
1:06:24to a a limit just just enough words sort
1:06:27of goldilocks not too many not too few.
1:06:31Um, and in stepping back, consider the
1:06:34fact that if they are you are submitting
1:06:37a written response, there's probably a
1:06:39whole bunch of other agencies submitting
1:06:42a written response. Maybe if you're
1:06:44lucky, it's three or four. It could be
1:06:4610 or 12. Um,
1:06:49put yourself in the position of the
1:06:51people evaluating those responses. You
1:06:54want them to focus on the things you
1:06:57want them to focus on. So if you get 120
1:07:02if you if if I'm reading these and I get
1:07:05120 page deck that is thick thick with
1:07:09words
1:07:10or 120 page word document that's
1:07:13wallto-wall words and by the way this
1:07:15happens all the time in our world
1:07:19you're g the agency is gambling that I'm
1:07:22going to read every word and find the
1:07:25right important stuff. Uh, so and if
1:07:29you're one of five, six, 10 agencies,
1:07:32the odds are that the clients aren't
1:07:34reading all that stuff. They're going to
1:07:37be skimming. They're going to be looking
1:07:38for the things they really want to read.
1:07:40They're not going to read a thousand
1:07:42pages. And so make sure that whatever
1:07:46format you use is visual, easy to
1:07:50follow, crystal clear, just long enough
1:07:53to make the point, but also just short
1:07:56enough that the agent the reader isn't
1:07:59going to view it as work to have it have
1:08:01to read it. Also make sure that you
1:08:02organize in a way where it's very easy
1:08:04for them to find the brief that you
1:08:06received the answers that whatever they
1:08:09needed, they asked you to provide. make
1:08:11it crystal clear how they can find those
1:08:14answers and get quickly into the data
1:08:17the detail.
1:08:20>> Uh someone else asked when you say share
1:08:22your strategic process can you elaborate
1:08:26a little bit on ways of doing that in a
1:08:28compelling fashion.
1:08:30>> Yeah. So um you know we're not telling
1:08:33you to you have to invent a new
1:08:34strategic process but most agencies have
1:08:36a four step a three-step a fivestep
1:08:39process right. So something like um
1:08:42discover
1:08:43um uh uh insight
1:08:48uh the work and then measure and
1:08:50optimize, right? But that's boring.
1:08:53Saying it that way, the way I just said
1:08:55it is boring. It's ubiquitous. It's not
1:08:56differentiated. So we've seen agencies
1:08:59that um build their strategic process
1:09:02off their um agency philosophy or off
1:09:06some clever pneummonic. So um uh there's
1:09:11what you could use all one letter like
1:09:13the five E if your agency starts with an
1:09:16E or someone we've seen agency use the
1:09:19word idea ID EA and each one has a
1:09:23different description. So it's just a
1:09:25way of branding your process. Um uh
1:09:29there's an agency um uh called uh
1:09:33Pinnacle. Um they're a creative agency
1:09:35in Chicago and they um pinnacle so top
1:09:38of the mountain um and so and their
1:09:40agency philosophy is um help me Steve um
1:09:44uh
1:09:45>> uh the creative pursuit of serious
1:09:47results
1:09:47>> the creative pursuit of serious results
1:09:49pursuit up the to the pinnacle right so
1:09:51then their philos their agency um uh
1:09:56process they show three steps going up
1:09:59and then the visual is going up to the
1:10:01summit right and So, and it starts at
1:10:04the bottom and they have a word that
1:10:05they So, it follows the same creative
1:10:08look and feel. So, that's the idea here.
1:10:11We're not creating a process. We're
1:10:12branding it. My our thoughts are that um
1:10:16you're not showing the whole way the
1:10:18sausage is made here, just enough to
1:10:20have them give them confidence you
1:10:21actually have a way of working. So,
1:10:23three, four, even five steps can work.
1:10:25If you go beyond that, no one's ever
1:10:27going to read it and it's going to feel
1:10:28really boring. Once they get to know you
1:10:30more and they want to understand each of
1:10:32these steps in detail, then you can dive
1:10:33in. But this is just a way to give them
1:10:36confidence that you have a way of
1:10:37working
1:10:38>> and as you say, make sure that you
1:10:40differentiate it, right? Put some
1:10:41personality into however you describe
1:10:43it. So, we got one last one, then we'll
1:10:45we'll we'll break for the day. Uh Megan
1:10:49made a very good interesting confession
1:10:51saying, "Hey, visiting our office is not
1:10:53an exciting place. We're a small team.
1:10:55We're remote." And that probably is a
1:10:58lot of people, right? Remote workers.
1:11:00Um, is there another suggestion cuz I
1:11:03think what she was sparking to I did as
1:11:05well and thinking that was one of your
1:11:07strongest recommendations I thought was
1:11:09have a specific next step at the end of
1:11:11your presentation. Don't just any
1:11:13questions. There never are. Um, but that
1:11:16thought of hey, come visit us at our
1:11:17place. Is there some other uh event so
1:11:21to speak or some other thing you might
1:11:23suggest if you really don't want them or
1:11:26can't to bring them to your office?
1:11:30>> Yeah, I I would tailor it to what's
1:11:31practical. I'd love to hear what Robin
1:11:33was about to say. But in other words,
1:11:35and if you're all virtual, then it's
1:11:38it's as it could be as simple as uh
1:11:40let's let's jump on another call and we
1:11:42could talk a little more about how we
1:11:43work and how we would uh and you can
1:11:46meet more of our team virtually and we
1:11:48talk about how we would get started. We
1:11:50talk about how we get onboarded or
1:11:52something like that. But I I think it's
1:11:55just craft it in a way that makes sense
1:11:58for how you do business.
1:12:00>> You know, they want to spend time with
1:12:01you at that stage. Right. So now we're
1:12:04deciding between agency A and agency B.
1:12:06And some of it is, you know, agency A
1:12:08showed their measurement better than B.
1:12:10So we'll lean on there. But B, they
1:12:12really need to, you know, I really
1:12:14didn't understand their point of view on
1:12:17their media plan. I really need them to
1:12:18dive in deeper on how they geoarget or
1:12:21something like that. But they also want
1:12:23to get to know you. They want to break
1:12:25with you. They want to feel like what it
1:12:27would be like to be partnering. So this
1:12:30is a moment where you can say while we
1:12:32don't have an office we would love to
1:12:34invite you to whatever the city is where
1:12:37the most of your people are that are
1:12:38going to serve the business or host them
1:12:41close to where they are if your people
1:12:44really literally are all over the place
1:12:46and say we'd love to host you so you can
1:12:49meet more of our team and we can spend
1:12:52more time and spend three or four hours
1:12:55have lunch together and talk through you
1:12:58know any outstanding questions that we
1:13:00have. And then um we saw um Peter Bray
1:13:03before he opened his office in New York
1:13:05for Bray and Co. there was space that he
1:13:08you know one of these it wasn't a wei
1:13:09work. It was a little more upscale than
1:13:11that that had really nice rooms and
1:13:14great catering and he invited um two
1:13:16clients and he won both by the way. Two
1:13:20different clients. He invited them to
1:13:22that space and he had his team there.
1:13:24They came from all over, but you could
1:13:26feel they felt like a team. And that's
1:13:28what the client wants to see. And they
1:13:30served lunch and they were able to put
1:13:31boards up and they did some activities
1:13:33and it was really great. And um uh and
1:13:36both times they won that business and
1:13:38they didn't have an office at the time.
1:13:42>> Excellent stuff. Well, wonderful having
1:13:43you again, Bowlers. Terrific job as
1:13:45always. I'll turn it back over to Bob to
1:13:48wrap it up. Thanks everyone who joined
1:13:50today.
1:13:50>> Thank you, Jeff. Um, Steve, can you put
1:13:52up the previous slide because I've been
1:13:54getting a lot of emails the title of
1:13:57your book.
1:13:58>> In fact,
1:13:59>> I'm certainly happy to. My goodness.
1:14:02>> In fact, someone just someone while
1:14:04you're online just purchased the book.
1:14:06There you go.
1:14:08>> And I will and I will put it in the body
1:14:10of the email I'm about to uh to send
1:14:13out. I I thank you both. That was
1:14:15terrific. uh to the group Steven Robin
1:14:18will be back with us on October 8th for
1:14:20a repreeze of their highly acclaimed
1:14:23webinar how to get on the pitch list
1:14:26which was done earlier this year and I
1:14:28think we had over 200 attendees. I will
1:14:31put a link in the email I'm about to
1:14:33send out so you can learn more about
1:14:34this webinar. If each of you can fill
1:14:37out survey monkey that will be sent out
1:14:39now about today's webinar, it would be
1:14:41greatly appreciated. I'm also getting
1:14:44requests for a copy of the deck. And as
1:14:46we said twice before, if you want a copy
1:14:48of the deck, uh the next slide, Steve
1:14:51will show your email addresses. If you
1:14:54send Steve or Robin a request for the
1:14:56deck, they have graciously agreed to
1:14:59send it out.
1:15:01>> Our thanks thanks to Steve and Robin. We
1:15:03thank everyone for tuning in. Have a
1:15:06great day and really enjoy the rest of
1:15:08the summer. Thank you all. Take care
1:15:11everyone. Bye-bye.

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