You receive the following email:
Congratulations. You’ve been selected as one of the three supplier finalists in our RFP process for our (fill in the blank) service contract.
We’re requesting your firm make a presentation to our selection committee to help us make the final supplier selection.
You’ll have 45 minutes to present and another 15 minutes for Q&A. We’re requesting you address the following agenda:
- Tell us about your company
- Tell us how you’d approach serving our sites
- Your experience serving similar facilities as ours
- Describe the quality processes, safety programs & technology you use to support the delivery of your services
The Supplier’s Strategy Questions
So now you have to decide how you’re going to prepare for this presentation. And as importantly, how you’ll lead your presentation and your team. If I were you, I’d be asking myself the following questions. And since I am myself, I’ve answered them IMHO.
Q: How do we present all our firm has to offer in 45 minutes plus another 15 of answering questions?
A: You can’t.
Knowing you can’t do it all provides the freedom to be creative and do what’s needed in the presentation.
Q: If we can’t present everything to the selection committee, what do we present?
A: Whatever is important to the decision makers.
Whatever they need to hear to help them make their decision in your favor.
Q: How do I know what that is?
A: Ask them.
Right there, right then, in the presentation, ask what information they’re specifically looking for. Each decision maker will have a slightly different interest, they bring their own agendas.
You’re job is to serve their data gathering needs in those few minutes you’ve been given. They’re looking for info about what you’ll bring to them.
If you’re highly capable in an area they’re interested in, but don’t get to bring it up because of poor presentation skills….well, too bad.
Those decision makers won’t think you cut the mustard. You’ve failed in the presentation, even though your firm is stellar in that area.
Ideally you’re due diligence had dug that info up pre-RFP, and you’d included it in your written proposal.
Q: How can I present the info they’re interested in when I don’t know what it is until I start the presentation?
A: Two requirements.
#1. You’re presentation slideshow needs to be interactive and client-driven. Think hyperlinks and navigation.
#2. You’re presentation team needs to engage decision makers in a conversation, not talking at them for 63 slides. Think dialog, not monologue. Think length and depth of spoken responses, concise and compelling. Think which of your team speaks on each topic.
Presentation Strategy Pitfalls
You don’t want to do these:
Follow the agenda without deviation
Good children do this and get a few points for following directions…while bad children win the contract by taking the agenda as a guideline from which to selectively deviate for their own good.
Try to cover too much
Honestly, what will decision makers remember when you’ve dumped 52 programs and processes on them?
Have your most senior team member speak a lot
Decision makers know that person won’t be doing the day to day work. It’s more likely to sound like the top dog is arrogantly stating their own self-importance.
What presentation strategy do you use when short-listed?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris Arlen
President, Revenue-IQ
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great topic Chris. Let me give you the customers perspective. To many time presentations are not thought out. In most case information on the company has already been submitted, and it is this information that usually determines who makes the presentation.
It would be nice, in fact the prospect should provide points of concentration:
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM
SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM
TRANSITION PROGRAM
USE OF LATEST TECHNOLOGIES
The above points would be points that are issues of concern. Putting yourself in the place of the customer will assist you in what to concentrate on.
I am not one to interact during these presentations, remember you are the experts! From your experience and knowledge of the cleaning segment (COlleg/Hospital/…) what has your compnay developed to satisfy your customers.
The ability to to present uniqueness, creativity and knowledge of your industry will separate you from the rest. The prospect knows the you cannot be to specific, because of having not yet received the rfp, but certainly they can distinguish between a cleaning expert and a sales pitch.
Good insight. IIntroductory presentations should be about a supplier presenting their qualifications. The goal is to be placed on the bid list for the future RFP. In that situation, the topics you’ve listed make sense.
When suppliers have already submitted their proposal (they’ve already made the buyer’s short-list) then there are specific questions decision makers have. Not all decision makers are clear on what those questions are, even to themselves.
And that’s what makes the supplier’s job a little more challenging. They must begin a conversation with the decision makers and through it, lead them to reveal what it is they want to know. At the same time covering their most important competitive advantages.
Thanks