Preparing and Writing a Presentation-Sales/Consulting

Perhaps you own and operate Right Advisory, a consulting firm that helps large companies execute their growth strategies more efficiently and effectively. You’re scheduled to meet with an executive who runs a division of a multi-billion dollar company. How can you persuade him that, even though your company is small, you can handle his group’s challenges? And how should you go about preparing and writing this presentation?

Let The Fast Track Way show you how:

Before writing your presentation, do Step 1-Analyze Your Situation: You met this executive two years earlier when you were just starting your business. Consequently, he may doubt that your company has the experience necessary to address his division’s situation. In other words, he may have a negative perspective toward your firm. Your purpose will be to talk about what you’ve achieved during the past two years and, by doing so, convince him that you’re ready and able to help his organization.

To ensure an effective presentation, do Step 2-State Your Main Point, Message, or Theme: “When we met two years ago, I was just starting my business. But, since then, I’ve had several engagements with divisions of large companies, including the Drilling Division of Global Oil Corporation, the Account Management teams of Oilfield Services Company, and the Infrastructure organization of Mega IT Inc. That being the case, my firm has the expertise to help your Market Focus Division.”

You’d next use Steps 3 and 4 to develop your PowerPoint slides. But, before you begin, first read 8 presentation no-nos AND How to write and format a school, work, or client presentation.

Example of client presentation:

For 1^st PowerPoint slide (title page):

Presentation to Asia-Pacific Division, RBC Inc. (middle of page/slide)

Right Advisory, LLC (lower 1/3 of page/slide)

March 10, 200Y

For 2nd PowerPoint page:

Agenda (or Topics for Discussion) (title)

• Experience with Other Large Clients

• Asia-Pacific Division’s Potential Challenges

• How We Might Work Together

For 3rd PowerPoint page:

Experience with Other Large Clients (title)

• Global Oil’s Drilling Division:

• Problem: Management wanted to outsource drilling function

• Resolution: Helped General Manager and his team analyze situation; developed plan to address problem areas; communicated plan to management

• Oilfield Services’ Account Management teams:

  • Problem: Division teams didn’t fully understand clients’ needs nor perspective on service

  • Resolution: Led teams in self-assessment; devised approaches to improve customer service and build stronger client relationships

• Mega IT’s Infrastructure organization:

  • Problem: Ineffective approach to resolving problems; clients dissatisfied

  • Resolution: Guided teams in prioritizing issues; established small group to identify and resolve problems effectively

For 4^th PowerPoint page:

Asia-Pacific Division’s Potential Challenges (title)

• Client satisfaction status quo—understand why strong dissatisfaction exists and how to turn around

• Cooperation among teams—identify specific problem areas and determine how to resolve

• Communication—improve with clients and management and also among division personnel

For 5^th PowerPoint page:

How We Might Work Together (title)

• Client satisfaction—survey select external and internal clients; share with Asia-Pacific Division leaders

• Cooperation and coordination—speak with Division personnel to determine most important problems and develop pragmatic ways to resolve

• Communication—devise communication vehicles to connect with clients, management, and Division personnel; also improve informal communication

For tips on how to deliver your presentation, see How to deliver a presentation.

Typically, you get questions during and after your presentation. To learn how to deal with these queries, see How to prepare for and handle questions during presentations.

But, sometimes things happen that you didn’t anticipate. To be ready for such events, see How to handle the unexpected during presentations.