THE BARD GROUP, LLC

OBJECTIVE

To tell a compelling story that makes it easy for the client to understand your value and remember the key points about who you are and why you are the right choice.

CHALLENGES

We think that if we have a deck, we have a story.
As soon as we hear of a meeting, we go straight to PowerPoint and start to build the deck. We don’t think we have time to put off building the deck.
We avoid starting with an outline because let’s face it, that seems like unnecessary work. The problem is, without the big picture, we get lost in the details and end up cobbling together a story from the slides in front of us. Our story for this client and their situation never gets a chance to form.
You go into the meeting with an over-engineered presentation deck that you and your client get lost in.

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TECHNIQUES

Before you even think about building your presentation deck, outline your story. The outline will give you the big-picture view that will make it much easier to build your deck, a deck that's worthy of your story. The story comes first, and the presentation is then a natural outgrowth of that.

A. Ground yourself in what’s important to your client

1. Who are they?

Age, job responsibilities, other demographics?

How knowledgeable are they on the topic you are presenting?

How many people like you do they see each year?

What relationships, if any, do they have with your organization or your people?

2. Why are they meeting with you?

What’s happening in their market?

What challenges are they facing that you can solve?

What do they want to learn from you, and why?

What is the purpose of the presentation from their point of view?

What is most important to them?

What are their buying criteria?

B. Do, Know, Feel, Learn

1. Before every meeting, answer to the following four questions:

What do you want to client to do, or said differently, what action step should result from this meeting — a desired decision, takeaway, or next step?

In order for that to happen, answer the following:

What do you want the client to know?

Knowing that they will remember very little, decide up-front what 3 things you want them to remember after you leave. These are the things that align what you do uniquely well with what’s most important to them. These are your differentiators.

How do you want them to feel?

We know that decisions are based more on how they feel about what you say than on the facts you share. It is human nature to hang onto how we feel about things long after we forget the facts.

Imagine they meet up for dinner 5 hours after your presentation, and they are talking about how it went. What do you want them to say?

Examples:

“I really liked them…”
“I feel like they were a good fit for what we are looking for.”
“They feel different from the other firms we’ve talked to…”
“I feel like they really “get us” and understand what we need.”

When you create awareness around how you want them to feel, and you set this intention beforehand, you will engage with them differently.

What do you want to learn from them?

What you DON’T know can be as important as what you DO know. You have a great opportunity when you are in front of the client to find out things that will help you moving forward. It may be something around how they are thinking about their challenges, how they feel about what you do, or how they will make their decision.

What do you need to know to align your solutions with their challenges?

What questions can you ask to learn more?

Who might seek out the answers to these questions during the meeting?

C. 3 key messages and 'So What'

1. Focus on 3 key messages.

Why 3? Because our brains can comfortably store 3 chunks of information in our short-term memory. Any more than 3 creates a backlog and may be forgotten or result in frustration on the part of the buyer.

As you prepare your 3 key messages, think about completing this sentence as if you are saying it to the client at the end of your presentation:

“If you remember nothing else, I would like you to remember 1, 2, 3.”

2. See if your 3 messages pass this test. You must reply ‘yes’ to all:

Is it unique to you?

Important to the client?

Defensible (can you prove it)?

3. For each of the 3 key messages, figure out the ‘So What’.

The ‘So What’ is why they should care, why the point you are making is important to THEM or how it benefits them directly. The more specific you are about the ‘So What’, the easier it is for the client to link your solutions to their needs.

D. Select your proof points

1. Select the data points or facts you want to share around your 3 key messages that prove what you do works. Facts can come in the form of:

Case studies
Real-life examples
Statistics
Or, other quantifiable results

2. Every detail you share should tie to your bigger story and build a bridge between your world and theirs, between what you do and what they need.

E. Outline your story

1. Outline your story before diving into PowerPoint.

Once you have the big picture it is then much easier to build the deck.
Keep in mind your presentation is simply a tool, a visual to support you and your story. It is not the main attraction.

2. Follow a standard outline format:

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ADVANTAGES TO YOU

Thinking it all through ahead of time allows you to feel good about the message and this will translate into confidence at the meeting.
Creating the presentation deck is much easier and quicker when you are working from an outline.
During the meeting, you are able to pivot based on where they want to go because you are clear on the story, and you’ve been selective about the content.
You are able to better manage time at the meeting.
You are able to engage them more because you are not trapped in the complexity of the slides.
It makes the process of creating presentations and preparing for them more efficient in the future because it’s repeatable and consistent as you do more meetings moving forward.

ADVANTAGES TO THE BUYER

They will feel like the meeting is specific to their situation.
You make it inviting for them to engage because it's all about them.
You make it easy for them to hear your story and understand your value.

EXERCISES

1. DO, KNOW, FEEL, LEARN

Take a few minutes before you build your presentation to answer the following four questions:

1. What do you want the client to do, or what action step should result from this meeting?

In order for this to happen, now answer the know, feel, and learn questions.

2. What do you want them to know when the meeting is over?
If they remember nothing else of what you tell this client, what are the three (3) most critical messages you want them to remember? These are your key differentiators, specific to their situation, that will make it easy for them to understand your value.

3. How do you want them to feel?
We know that decisions are based more on how they felt about what you said than on the facts you shared. How do you want them to feel when you are all done?

Examples:

They felt you were a good fit for what they are seeking.
They felt confident in what you do and how you do it.
They felt like you “got them” and care.

4. What do you want to learn from them?
What things will help you understand them better? What things can you learn that will help you shape your story for this client?

2. KEY MESSAGES, ‘SO WHAT’, AND PROOF

List 4-5 key messages that you might use in a meeting that differentiate you, why that information is important to the client, and some proof that validates it or provides a magnitude of impact.

We'll narrow this down to 3 key messages in Exercise 3 below.

3. STORY OUTLINE

Decide which of the 3 messages from Exercise 2 above are most relevant to this client’s situation and build your outline in a logical flow. Build your outline BEFORE you build your presentation deck. This will make it easy to build your deck.

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