Tag Archives: presentation

Capture Their Attention

In preparation for your next presentation, here are two simple tips that can dramatically help capture your prospect’s attention and put them in the right frame of mind.

The first is, just prior to starting your presentation, begin with these words, “Mr./Mrs. Prospect, in preparation for this meeting we have put a great deal of effort into coming up with the recommendations we are about to make. We …” (Explain everything you did, i.e. brainstorm(s), research, reading, writing, visited their competitors, etc.)

 In Dr. Robert Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Influence, he refers to Principle #1 as “Reciprocity”. People tend to want to repay others for what they have done for them. While explaining your efforts won’t seal the deal, it will show the prospect the amount of time, effort, and energy you put into this for him/her, and psychological reciprocity suggests they will want to return the favor.

The second tip has to do with the headline of your presentation. Most radio sales proposals or presentations begin something like this, An Advertising Proposal for (client name) prepared by (media rep’s name); plain and simple, nothing fancy, except for maybe the business’ logo and your station logos.

It’s boring! There’s nothing that states what’s in it for them!

Instead, make a statement upfront that will put your client in the right frame of mind. You already know the power of good headlines or benefit statements, and if you have done your homework, you should know exactly what the prospect wants to accomplish. You have already explained the effort you have put into preparing this plan, now tell them immediately what you are about to present and what it is intended to do for their business. For example:

An Advertising Proposal for

(Business Name / Logo)

Designed to (say exactly what the plan/program is designed to do), i.e.

Designed to Increase after-hour Emergency Room Visits

Strategically Designed to Increase Traffic and Sales in the Bedding Department

Designed to Increase Traffic to your Website and Increase Online Sales

Exclusively Designed to Increase Happy Hour Traffic on Wednesday, Thursdays & Fridays

Again, this won’t seal the deal, but you will have grabbed their attention with a statement about them.

In preparation for this article, I read five different articles, re-read part of Dr. Cialdini’s book, The Psychology of Persuasion, and dug into some of my old notes.

Good Luck with YOUR next presentation!

You’re a Genius, but Wait to Prove It

Here’s a scenario. You’re in a meeting with a potential client, and like magic, you come up with a “BIG IDEA” that you know is the answer to helping the client make a ton of money, no less yourself. In your enthusiasm to show the client how smart you are as a marketing and advertising professional, you blurt out your “BIG IDEA”!

You’re a genius, right? Wrong!

If you do have a good idea, as in this situation, and you throw it out spontaneously, the chances of it being excepted are greatly diminished.  There’s a much better time to reveal you’re a real genius. It’s when you make your presentation!

Ask yourself this question. Do you think your client would put more value on a great idea that someone came up with on the fly, or one that took a week or two to come up with after much consideration and brainstorming? The client will think, “Wow, they really put some time and thought into this idea!”

Instead of blurting out your “BIG IDEA” during the first meeting, say something like, “I think I may have some good ideas, but I want to do some additional research and give some extra thought to these ideas before deciding and making our recommendations”.

While most good ideas take time to develop, we also know that occasionally we get lucky and come up with that GREAT idea on the spot.

It’ll take discipline, bite your lip, but whatever you do, WAIT, and don’t give away that “BIG IDEA” so quickly!

Making Radio Tangible

The dictionary defines ‘tangible’ as; ‘able to be perceived by a sense of touch‘.
Radio is only an intangible if you let it become so. And if the only ‘tangible’ your clients receive from your station is an invoice, you’re headed for trouble.
At cutback time, the media with the most tangibles in your clients’ files often wins and escapes the knife!  How thick is your client’s file of your tangibles?
  • Do they have a presentation on file that clearly outlines what you proposed to do for them and how you would achieve their objectives?
  • Have you delivered trade articles about marketing your customers’ categories?
  • What about wrap-up reports with testimonials from their customers, a summary of what you delivered, and of course, an outline of how you over-delivered?
  • Does your client’s file include all of the scripts you’ve delivered, audio copies of their commercials and proofs of performance?
  • Do they see your station-logoed swag every day, or do you make your presentations against a backdrop of your competitor’s swag?
  • Do you conduct post-campaign analysis and deliver written summaries of those analyses?
  • What about regular helpful tips and branding tools like our SoundADvice, complete with your photo and station logos?
  • Have you used your cell phone to forward pictures of their customers lined up at a successful event or remote?
            At cutback time, the media with the most tangibles in the advertiser’s files wins!  Don’t let the newspaper tear-sheets, or the billboard tent-cards and photos ‘out-tangible’ what you do, and certainly, don’t let an invoice be the only tangible advertisers receive from you!

P.S. If you don’t have a post-campaign analysis process, or want to learn more about our SoundADvice radio e-marketing system contact [email protected].