By Alissa Heirigs On Other, Sales Enablement
Picture this: You’ve been working on a big project for weeks (or maybe months). Now it’s time to present your ideas. It could be a proposal for a prospect or client. Or a marketing campaign you’re showing to your CMO. Or maybe it’s something else entirely. The point is, you’ve worked your tail off. You’ve studied up on what makes a message effective. You’ve conducted interviews. You’ve done your research. (No, not just the google kind. You’ve actually done research research.) You’re excited to present all your brilliant thinking and rationale.
You spend 45 minutes guiding them through your polished PowerPoint. And when it’s finally time for them to respond? It’s — not great. It’s not negative. But it’s not exactly enthusiastic, either. They’re taking it all in. They’re processing your ideas. They’re raising questions. It’s a reasonable reaction. It’s just not what you hoped for. You expected, after all that work, that they’d be as pumped up about the whole thing as you are. So, when it’s finally your chance to respond, what do you say?
Freeze. We’ll come back to this moment in, well, a moment. Time for a quick basketball analogy.
Our Memphis Grizzlies are a young team this year, but they’re really talented. Recently, they went up against the L.A. Lakers, a team of veteran superstars. For the first three quarters, the
Grizzlies stayed ahead. In fact, it looked like it might be an upset. But when the fourth quarter rolled around, the Lakers seemed to flip a switch. They took it to another level. Veteran teams just know how to do this. They can play three quarters of the game at 80% effort. They don’t let themselves get too far behind, and they conserve energy. Then they stomp on the gas and win with an unbelievable effort in the last few minutes. In basketball, this is called “winning time.”
Now back to our critical moment of response to our presentation audience.
For 45 minutes, you’ve been killing it. But the real adversity hits in the last 15 minutes of the meeting. This is your “winning time.” Because it’s not enough to present a brilliant idea. You’ve actually got to win approval. This is an art in itself.
How to sell to the customer: First, you have to understand them.
The first key to winning approval isn’t an art. It’s a discipline. And it doesn’t start in the presentation. It starts way before that. As part of your preparation, make it your goal to find out all the issues that might be tangled up with what you’re proposing. Learn the audience’s concerns. Find out about inter-office politics that might affect their thoughts, feeling, and opinions. Then, assess your ideas through that lens. Construct rationale that anticipates those concerns and addresses them. All this work, combined with your own objectivity (and some experience under your belt) should help you head off most of the potential objections. Of course, you can’t anticipate everything, but even knowing that will give you an advantage. You’re prepared for curveballs. You’re expecting the unexpected.
Attitude really is everything.
When does the art come in? During the meeting itself. The way you win here is all about attitude. It’s good to have passion and conviction about your work, to fight for what’s right, and explain your thinking. But the key is to avoid getting defensive. Avoid debating with your client. Your goal is not to convey that you’re right. It’s to convey to the audience that they are. If you do this masterfully, it will seem like you’re not seeking approval, you’re giving it. To get deference, you have to give it.
Is the client always right?
They might not technically be right. But they always have the right — to ask questions, raise concerns, and make suggestions. And when they do, it’s your job to acknowledge their validity. Even if you don’t agree with the question or suggestion, assume the intent behind it is good. If you don’t understand, that’s OK, too. Try saying, “That’s interesting and I want to understand. Can you tell me more?” And when you do understand, say things like, “You’re right.” “Good point.” And “I definitely think we should consider that.” It’s not smooth-talking or deception.
It’s showing client empathy.
Invite client participation.
Now comes the even tougher part. You should be ready to bend on some things. Yes, you’ve labored over this. Yes, you love every syllable of the copy and every detail of the design. But does it really matter if they make small changes as long as the big idea is intact? When you’re making suggestions about how someone can improve their strategy or their process or their brand, be respectful of the fact that it is theirs. They’ve worked to build and improve and preserve it, and they want to contribute to its evolution. By being flexible, you allow client participation in the process, and you give their ideas validation. If you want their buy-in, you have to let them in.
In client relationships, trust is key.
Whatever you’re proposing, it’s going to require the client to take a leap of faith. That’s especially true when it comes to big, important matters. Their trust in you is paramount at this stage. They’re most likely to trust you if they feel like you’re listening to them, you truly understand and respect them, and you’re on their side. Even if they have personal reservations, that trust will give them the confidence to take the leap and go with your recommendation. Because you’ve proven to them that you’re their counterpart.
