THE BARD GROUP, LLC

OBJECTIVE

Accomplish your goals within the time allotted. This is the responsibility of every member of the team.

CHALLENGES

Time is limited and often constrained by factors outside of your control. The client is late to arrive. Your team members speak longer than planned. The client gets distracted and goes down a path that takes time away from the things that they had said were most important to them.
You build your presentation under the ‘best case’ scenario that assumes you get your allotted time and things roll along exactly as you expected.
You want to be ready for whatever question they ask or whatever direction they want to go in so you build your presentation to include every possibility.
In your desire to be accommodating you lose your way to the finish line, running out of time before you get your key points across.

TECHNIQUES

The minute you schedule a meeting with a client you have entered into an unspoken contract. The contract says they will give you their time, and in exchange, you will get across your value within the agreed upon time. It is up to you to uphold this contract.

A. Prepare for the meeting

During the week leading up to the meeting, prepare so that you can be confident of your timing during the live meeting.

1. Identify the 3 key messages for this meeting with the client. (Typically done by the Team Lead)

These are the three most important messages that align what you do uniquely well with what is most important to them.

2. Select the data points or facts you want to share.

Data and facts provide the client with proof that what you do works. The proof points you select should be specific to your 3 key messages. If you have data that is interesting but does not support one of your 3 key messages, leave it out of this presentation.

3. Put your story into outline form (before you build your slides).

Ideally, the Team Lead provides the team with an outline for the full presentation. Then, each subject matter expert outlines their own section of the presentation in line with the 3 key messages and supporting data points. The outline helps you focus on what is most important, both when you build your slides but also during the meeting.

4. Agree on who owns what and how much time you each have.

Answer these questions to build your blueprint for the meeting:

Who is playing what role?
What topic are you covering?
What order are you going in?
What key points do you absolutely need to get across in each section?
How much time do you have?

People need to know what their swim lane is so they can stay in it! When you stay in your swim lane you make efficient use of the precious time you have, and you come across well-coordinated and organized to the client.

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5. Build your pitch book assuming your time will be constrained because it almost always is!

Assume you will have less time than you have been given for reasons beyond your control.

Additionally, reserve time to engage in conversation with the client.

Build your presentation with these time constraints in mind. If you have 15 minutes, then prepare a 10-minute presentation. 30 minutes means a 20-minute presentation, 60 minutes means a 45-minute presentation, etc.

TIP: Avoid including everything you might need — just in case — hoping that you can narrow in on the critical points on the fly. This is a common mistake. It is much easier to expand your messaging during the meeting than it is to shrink it.

6. Rehearse so you know how long you will really take.

Rehearse in character, aloud, and exactly how you intend to do it with the client.

Merely thinking about your presentation, or talking about it with the team does not allow you to get the time down. Only practice, in full character, will tell you how long your presentation will take.

B. Manage time during the meeting

1. When opening the meeting, confirm how much time you have.

Example:

“I understand we have 90 minutes which will take us to 2:00. Does that still work for you?”

This simple courtesy lets the client know that you respect their time. And, it lets you and the team know right up front if you and the team need to start thinking about adjustments you will need to make.

The added benefit of a time check is that it makes the meeting about the client, not you. They will pick up on and appreciate this nuance.

2. When you move to a new section, give the client a sense of how much time your section will take.

Example:

“Over the next 15 minutes, I want to review ...”

When the client knows how long they need to listen they are more likely to stay attentive because they know there is an end-time to this section. You have not left them in the dark to wonder.

This statement also lets the Team Lead know how long you plan to go and gives him/her an opportunity to jump-in and adjust your time.

3. Keep track of time during the meeting.

The Team Lead is the official timekeeper, but every member of the team should mentally track where you are relative to what you had planned.

Write the time assignments for each section of the presentation on your copy of the agenda or on a notepad.

Discretely keep your eye on the clock so you know what time you started and how much time has passed. Glancing at your watch or phone is noticeable and can be distracting. You do not want the client to see it as you being concerned about your time, not theirs.

As the meeting progresses, be prepared to condense your section if needed.

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4. Reallocate time when things get off track.

Inevitably, one of the sections will go longer than expected and you will need to adjust from there to be sure the other speakers have time to cover their key points. When things get off track the Team Lead should redirect the team. This must be done in a way that is respectful of the team and focused on the needs of the client.

Invite the client to prioritize where the discussion goes. This allows you to reallocate time under the guise of it being all about the client and you watching out for them and respecting their time.

Example:

“I want to jump in to do a quick time check. We agreed to end by 2:00. It is now 1:40. You had said originally that you wanted to be sure we cover X, so I want to be sure we focus our remaining time on what is most important to you. How do you want to use the last 20 minutes?”

Once they answer, you will have your new roadmap and can get everyone back on track.

Example:

“Perfect, thank you. Edmund, why don’t you take 15 minutes to close out your last few key points. Then we will give Jade 5 minutes to share key points on X, and use the last 5 minutes to wrap up and discuss next steps. How does that sound?”

In the event the Team Lead does not redirect the team, the next person to speak should take the reins.

Example:

“It is now 1:40 and I know you have a hard stop at 2 pm. I planned to talk for 15 minutes but knowing you wanted to spend time on X, I can condense mine to 7-8 minutes, leaving time for Tim to cover his section. How does this sound?”

Even if the client gives you more time than originally agreed, use this opportunity to allocate out whatever time you have remaining.

Reallocating time wins you points with the client while getting your team repositioned around how much time they have and the key messages they need to cover.

5. Always end on time! It is a golden rule of respect.

You never want to go long — ever! If the client feels disrespected you will rarely ever recover from that.

On occasion, the client may seem to want to continue the meeting past the agreed upon time. If this happens, immediately do a time check. Tell them you are aware that you have reached the end-time and ask if they would like to continue. This could go one of three ways.

Option 1: They might genuinely be interested in continuing the conversation in which case set a new end-time and be sure to end then.

Option 2: They might try to extract, in the few remaining minutes, what they need from you because they have not heard it yet. You should be able to pick up on this from their tone. This is a signal to you that you did not get the job done. Close as quickly as possible (2-3 minutes max).

Option 3: They may give you more time because you asked, not because they want to. This is a “sympathy extension”. Listen for their tone. They are likely annoyed and have already checked out, so you are losing ground with them at this point. Again, close as quickly as possible (2-3 minutes max) without talking faster.

C. Debrief the meeting

Schedule a debrief right after the meeting, before you even leave the location. The purpose of the debrief is to continuously improve your performance, as individuals and as a team.

The Team Lead runs the debrief and is responsible for creating a safe space where everyone is open to hearing and sharing feedback on how the team performed.

Example:

“This is our opportunity to learn and get better. I want us all to share our perspectives on what went well and where we can do better as a team next time. None of us can improve, myself included, without feedback from others.”

Ask “What went well?” and “Why were we so successful?” Celebrate and feel good about these successes!
Move on to “What could have been improved, or what do you think we could have done differently as a team?” These are opportunities to elevate your performance even higher next time.
Be sure to ask “How well did we manage time?”

ADVANTAGES TO YOU

Having clarity on who does what and how much time they have makes it easier for your team to perform at their best. They can prepare and rehearse their presentation to hit their time mark, and feel confident about what swim lane to stay in during the meeting.
Time checks force the client to prioritize, telling you what is most important to them and allowing you to get the team focused accordingly.
You can more effectively manage the messaging. You get to dial sections up and down based on how the client is prioritizing the time.
You uphold the unspoken time contract and are able to get the job done within the time you have been given.

ADVANTAGES TO THE CLIENT

They feel respected and they see how much you value their time.
Your time checks make it easy for them to track with you and stay focused.
Your focus on time helps the client zero in on what is most important to THEM.

EXERCISES

1. DEFINE YOUR 3 KEY MESSAGES

If you do not know what is important to your client it is challenging to manage your time. You have a lot of information you could share but it is far better to be selective. Focus on 3 key messages because your client can only remember3 new chunks of information at a time.

Here's how to prioritize what you should share in this meeting. (This exercise is typically done or led by the Team Lead)

Step 1: The ways you are different

List all the ways you, your product/service, and company are different from or better than your competitors. What has driven your company's performance? What would your clients say? What are you most proud of?

Step 2: Your client’s business objective and challenges

What is your client trying to accomplish? Use what you have been told and do additional research. What challenge(s) are making it difficult for them to achieve this business objective?

Step 3: The differentiator test

Which of the statements from Step 1 pass this test? You must reply ‘yes’ to all three of these qualifiers:

Unique to you
Important to the client (based on #2 above)
Defensible (you can prove it through facts, figures, results, stats, etc.).

Step 4: Your 3 Key messages

Pick the top three messages from Step 3. These are your 3 key messages around which you will build your story and your presentation.

2. IDENTIFY PROOF POINTS AND 'SO WHAT'

For each key message, describe why the client should care, and identify proof points to validate that what you do works. It will sound something like this: “We do….which is important because…and results in (some concrete number/percentage, case study, etc.)”

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3. OUTLINE THE PRESENTATION

Outline the presentation before you build out sections and pages. This outline will make it easy for you to then build each section of the deck.

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4. REHEARSE YOURSELF

Rehearse on your own and track your time. Here are a few ways to rehearse that will help you manage time and hone your message and delivery:

Option 1: Practice out loud, ideally in front of a mirror.

Be in full character and practice as though you are with the client. Track your time!

Option 2: Record yourself and play it back.

Use your smartphone to record yourself and track time.

Option 3: Mimic real world conditions.

Invite colleagues to play the role of the client. Practice in full character rehearsing the dialogue as if speaking live with the client and responding to questions you anticipate the client will ask.

This option is the best test of the real time you will take!

5. REHEARSE AS A TEAM

Merely talking about what you are going to do does not help you anticipate the amount of time you will take in the live meeting. Only by practicing, altogether and in character, will you know how long your presentation will take.

Assign each member of the team a specific time allotment.
Rehearse as a team like it is real-time. Do it in character, aloud, and exactly how you intend to do it with the client so you have a sense of how long it will take.
Make adjustments as needed, being sure to leave ample time for questions.