One of my clients, a government contractor, has been awarded $750 million in government contracts this year with the proposals and presentations I designed. A typical proposal requires two or more binders of information covering every aspect of the proposed work including a thorough description of the scope of work, a plan for implementation, specific design approach to solving problems inherent in the work, description of the team of individuals responsible for each part of the work, description of previous experience which qualifies the team to undertake this project, and tables for all costs involved.

Well-designed proposals which feature a comprehensive assessment of the proposed project with graphics which visually support the company’s credibility are required in getting a large contract award. How well the proposal information is presented is viewed as an indication of how well the company can follow through with the actual work, even if that work may be about moving dirt or building a runway. Several copies of this set of information are delivered to the contracting agency in advance of the due date so that various decision makers each get their own copy. For one proposal project, I produced a total of 108 binders of information (54 were delivered in cartons to the agency, and a duplicate set of 54 were available to express ship in case the first set is lost in transit).

After the proposals are reviewed, my client has hopefully been selected to present an oral presentation in person to the agency. For that, I produce PowerPoint presentations, or printed marketing collateral which can be left with the interviewers to help sell the company after the interview. So far 2009 has been a successful year for my client, with the potential of adding to the list of contracts they have won.

Some companies have their own staff of engineers, designers and editors to prepare their proposals, presentations and marketing materials. I am available on a freelance basis to contractors who need to outsource their proposal design services. Call Jim Hance at 619-203-0522 to discuss your proposal project and needs.

Frances Cole Jones in her book, How To Wow, lists 13 words which she says are most persuasive. Those words begin with “you” (though she is careful to explain that putting the word “I” before “you” as in the statement, “As I remember our conversation, you agreed to be in charge of X,” is important as well.) The other 12 most most persuasive words include money, save, new, results, health, easy, safety, love, discovery, proven, and guarantee.

Individuals at a client organization of hers play the game of trying to get all of these most persuasive words into each of their business presentations each meeting. “Because they are financial-types, the word ‘love’ was giving them trouble. The day they solved this they were so proud they called me up. Their solution? When they get to a particularly intricate slide on their PowerPoint handouts, they say, ‘I love this slide!’”

A couple of other interesting tips: only 7 percent of your impact comes from the words you say — 38 percent comes from your tonal quality while saying it, and 55 percent comes from what your body is doing while saying it. And when you give your listeners a “because” for your decision, you increase buy-in from 60 to 94 percent.

Have you ever done a sales presentation to someone, and left thinking “I could have said this, but I just didn’t think of it until I had left the meeting?” You had 15 minutes to make an effective presentation, but somehow you overlooked telling them one important thing?

It is always a good idea to make a list of topics you want to cover with your audience, and even practice the delivery of that message before the meeting. Don’t wait until the potential customer asks about your products or services, because the question may never be asked. Here is a list of some types of information you should at least consider putting in your presentation before you try to “wing it.” I am also assigning an amount of time for each topic so you can plan for an adequate presentation of each without rehashing the same thing over and over.

1) Introduce yourself and state your objectives for this presentation. “I design printed sales and marketing material and Websites. I want to give you an overview of some of the projects I have done for companies just like yours, and I have brought some samples which are probably similar to what you need to produce.”  (1 minute)

2) State your company’s “LCD” or least common denominator (what differentiates your company from all the rest). This could be your rate of success, your specific experience in a particular industry, a special product no one else has, your leadership in the local industry as an expert, or the one-time-only discount which is available to those who decide to buy now. You can have more than one LCD, but spend two minutes talking about just one at a time. (2 minutes)

3) Ask for some feedback about this LCD, and get “buy in” that this LCD is important to the audience. Reinforce this LCD with an example of how it helped another company or individual. Listen for clues that this is important to your audience. (1 minute)

4) Repeat steps #2 and #3 with a second and third LCD, giving each topic its three minutes for presentation and response from the others in the meeting.

5) Ask if they can see buying your product or services in the near future, or know other professionals who need the benefits of what you’re selling. Often a company is not in a position to buy what you are selling at that time, but do see the value in what you are presenting for others. A referral and introduction to someone in need of your products and services is a valuable key to more business. 

6) Closing Call-To-Action. Ask for the sale, or to go to the next step. Be very clear that you are sincerely interested in their relationship. The relationship can be more valuable than a sale because of the possible business referrals they can make.

I just happened to have reviewed these topics with someone giving a sales presentation tomorrow morning. It is extremely helpful to have a structured presentation in mind before meeting with others you wish to influence. By the way, my LCDs are: (1) ability to write and edit effective sales copy as well as produce quality design work; (2) specific industry experience if I am presenting to someone in the building industry, visitor and conventions industry, or financial services industry; and (3) cost efficient, moderately priced and affordable by small businesses and non-profits. Jim Hance produces graphic design for advertising, marketing, sales promotions, company logos, publications, menus, special events and Websites. Give me a call at 619-203-0522.

Times like these require different strategies to keep your clients thinking about you. Jim Hance Graphic Communications can help with design for special promotions.

Just when things look worst, the smart guys are buying stock. And smart business people are promoting more aggressively to new customers with special needs at times like these.

Some promotions to consider: Printed and emailed newsletters. Free sample coupon. Sale banners. Newspaper and trade publication advertising. New Website for your product or service. Redesigned PowerPoint presentation with extra emphasis on much needed services. Targeted direct mail appeals to potential clients. Search engine optimization for your Website to ensue you’re coming up in Google searches. Coop advertising with other businesses. 

We will get through this setback as we always have. In the meanwhile, it’s time to keep promoting our businesses. As they say, “the strong survive.”