By Carol Doscher

The sales presentation - it's where the rubber meets the road, where the decision is made, where everything has to come together. So how do you pull it off? Success comes from understanding your goals, sticking to them, and organizing the process. It's about focus and priority. There are too many things to do in too short an amount of time. It can be a juggling act. But if everyone agrees on the priorities, knows what they need to do, and is committed to the process, the team has a great shot at delivering a winning presentation.

You are shortlisted-now what? Some key questions need answering, and there is definitely a preferred order for the process.

#1. What is your team's message? What are you going to say?

This is the first and most critical question. The answer is based upon several factors:

• Who is the client?
• What are the client's concerns?
• What are the needs for the project?
• Has the RFP outlined specific issues to be covered?

You must speak to the client's interests and concerns. Don't spend a lot of time talking about your firm. They already know you can do the job, otherwise you would not be shortlisted. The client wants to hear about themselves, about their project.

#2. Who will go? Who will represent the team?

This decision is directly linked to #1. Be sure to include those who can deliver your message.

Bring anyone the client has specifically requested. More and more, the client wants to hear from the people who will be performing the work; don't just bring the partners or marketing staff who can do a sell job. If the client allows, do bring a marketing representative-they can offer both moral and logistical support.

Find out who will be on the panel and try to bring a variety of "minds" to the interview. Each of us processes data differently, according to our thinking preferences. Make sure to bring people who can relate to the various types of people there.

#3. What graphics will you use?

Know your client (mentality, tastes, and comfort level), the community, the size of project, and the size of the presentation. Is it formal or informal?

Know the room. Make sure it can accommodate the type of graphics you are planning. Check out the lighting constraints (windows, curtains, and dimmer switches). Visuals must be seen but avoid turning off the lights-that's a sure-fire sleep aid.

Decide on your message FIRST. The graphics decision then follows and must SUPPORT your message. You don't want to form your message to support the graphics. (This is a tough one: Since the graphics take time to produce, it is easy to focus on their creation-putting the cart before the horse.)

Your graphics should adhere to the following guidelines:

Graphics should support your message. The graphics are to visually reinforce your message; they must not upstage or overshadow the presenter. They are to support the presenter, not the other way around.

Graphics should be meaningful. All graphics should be necessary and directly linked to the message. Don't include something just because it's cutting-edge or it took so long to prepare.

Graphics should be appropriate. Graphics need to suit the project concept and the selection panel. For example, if the job is a high-end computer facility, use computer graphics, go high-tech. But if the project is more low key, and you know the decision won't be based upon which firm has greater technical capabilities, consider overheads or boards. Be sensitive to the project and the selection panel and consider how they will best receive or "hear" you.

Graphics should be connected with the speaker. Although not involved in the actual production, presenters must be involved in the creation of their graphics. The graphics need to reinforce their message.

Graphics should be "user-friendly" to the presenters. Bottom line, the presenters have to feel comfortable with their props, otherwise they won't present well. If the project screams for a PowerPoint presentation and the presenters are not comfortable handling it, then they must practice until they do feel comfortable. If possible, it is preferable for the presenters to operate the computer. But if you choose to have someone else run the equipment, factor in additional rehearsal time for smooth coordination.

Graphics should be attractive. Graphics should be appealing. Use color if possible-this makes graphics more interesting.

Graphics should be consistent. Make sure design layouts, colors, and fonts remain consistent throughout all pieces. They must "hang" together. This visually unifies the team-a very important issue! This can be tricky when getting boards from out-of-town consultants. It's best for one company to produce the graphics. If that's not possible, make sure to give graphic standards to all firms.

For that matter, make sure your presentation is consistent with the written proposal. Your proposal got you shortlisted. If something has clearly changed since then, be up front about it. Don't ignore or try to slide the changes under the rug.

As the marketer, you may be the ringleader of this juggling act. The following organizational logistics will help you keep your team on track, even ahead of the game.

1. Begin to strategize before the shortlist comes out.

Bring the potential presenters up to speed on the project. Begin to brainstorm the issues, the message, who will present, the graphics, etc. This investment of time is invaluable-and has proven very effective for those firms that do it! It gives the presenters the opportunity to actually rehearse the presentation instead of scrambling at the last minute to remember their parts.

2. Schedule strategy meetings and rehearsals.

Letting the presenters know the schedule ahead of time will help them to get there. Set due dates to get information to the graphics department. The time frame may help determine the graphic choices you make. If you know you will need to make last-minute changes, producing the graphics in house is best.

3. Get management support for the rehearsal schedule.

If the principal asks everyone to make the rehearsals a priority, this helps set the stage for a positive, fruitful experience.

4. Provide strong, reliable support for the presenters.

One of the best ways to keep your presenters focused is to give them plenty of support. Relieve them of any jobs someone else can do. Just presenting is a huge task in itself. (Not to mention handling their ongoing projects.) Although the presenters will offer the conceptual and technical information required for the graphics, they should not be involved in producing them. Their main focus should be to get their "story" together and practice.

5. Make sure everyone knows what he or she is responsible for. Be organized.

If everyone's time is valued by the team and not wasted, this process can be positive, rewarding, and one that will repeat itself.

Now that those "necessities" are under control, let's move on to the . . .

#1 Priority-The Human Connection

Having conducted workshops for many years on the importance of making "The Human Connection," I thought by now I would be preaching another message. What I've found is that I cannot deny or change the fundamental truth. As presentation techniques become more rooted in technology, the value of The Human Connection becomes even more important and will continue to be so as long as people are presenters. Though fundamental, this connection is challenging to accomplish but profoundly effective when achieved.

Edward M. Hallowell, a practicing psychiatrist and instructor at the Harvard Medical School, wrote a fascinating article titled "The Human Moment at Work" for the January/February 1999 issue of the Harvard Business Review. Hallowell discusses the dangers of losing our human moments due to e-mail, voicemail, and other technological advancements. The lack of human interaction affects people personally, emotionally, and corporately in the workplace. "The human moment has two prerequisites," Hallowell believes, "people's physical presence and their emotional and intellectual attention...(It) is like light in an otherwise dark room: It illuminates dark corners and dispels suspicions and fears...The human moment provides the zest and color in the painting of our daily lives; it restores us, strengthens us, and makes us whole."

The need for The Human Connection is here to stay. No matter how high technology escalates or how fast computers compute, businesses grow by building relationships. As marketers, we know that-we'll turn cartwheels to personally connect with a potential client in any way we can. But this Human Connection truth must also take priority in the presentation interview.

The whole point of a live sales presentation is for the presenters to connect with the client. Otherwise, you may as well just deliver a copy of your written proposal. The client now wants to see and "get a feel for" the people behind the written word. You can have all the other presentation pieces in place (technically perfect scripting, drop-dead gorgeous graphics, everyone remembering their points, and looking good, etc.), but if the presenters don't connect with their audience on a human level, all the rest doesn't matter. The audience won't hear them. Remember, clients hire people to do the job. The client is already convinced your firm can technically perform the work; that's why you're on the shortlist. Now's the time for the chemistry, trust, Human Connection-call it what you will.

The ability to make this connection comes with understanding and practice. Yes, presenters can be made. But the truth is, it takes desire, courage, and commitment to become a strong presenter. It is not for the faint of heart. The following three tasks will help your team make this Human Connection.

Be yourself. If we are honest, most of us tend to be afraid to be ourselves, to let our real selves be seen. In this day and age, we have learned very well to hide behind our masks, our facades, our titles. Experts have rated the possibility of public speaking as more frightening than the thought of dying. When presenting, we get nervous and our masks appear almost immediately. The walls go up and we are instantly separated from our audience. At this point, there is no chance for The Human Connection. In fact, the number one reason for boring presentations is that the speaker gets nervous and hides behind nervous habits (masks), withdrawing from the audience.

So your first job as presenter is to identify your own masks and begin to let them go. One of your toughest challenges as a presentation coach is to guide others to do this. Here's a quick theatrical comparison: Most of an actor's training consists of learning to be oneself, of taking off the mask that conceal one's true self. In presentation/communication training, the lessons are the same. Your presenters must learn to trust themselves and not try to be people they're not. Through understanding and practice, they can learn to take off the masks and personally communicate with others.

Find the message. The presenter's second job is to find the real message and deliver it. Keep it simple by encapsulating the message into one word or a very short phrase that is personally meaningful. The presenter's connection with the message must go beyond intellectual understanding. The presenter must personalize the material and make it his or her own-you can't tell someone else's story. Otherwise, the presenter will only be saying words, the presentation will be boring, and there will be no Human Connection.

Help the listener. Believe it or not, public speaking is not about the speaker-it's about the listeners! The audience came to learn or receive something from you. So in the moment of presentation, whether speaking to one person or a large audience, you have only one task-to help the listener get the message. Your third job is to do whatever you have to do to help the listener understand. This creates a win/win situation. When a presenter focuses on the audience members, they feel and sense your interest immediately. Being more concerned with others than with yourself is extremely powerful in the presentation situation. By taking the attention off yourself and helping the listener get your message, believe it or not, you immediately become more relaxed.

Now you know (and I hope you are convinced of) the Number One Priority. The presenters must connect with the panelists and deliver the message with truth, meaning, and vitality. Everything the team does to prepare should aim toward achieving this goal.

However, quite honestly most of the time this priority gets pushed aside or is not dealt with at all. Those "Necessary Necessities" outlined earlier take precedence-they somehow seem more important. The truth is they are familiar and, therefore, easier to do-and we tend to do what is familiar and easy. We avoid addressing the more challenging, less comfortable, less "tangible" issues. What do I mean by "tangible"? Creating the graphics is a very tangible effort. We can see and touch them, and we know they have to be finished on time. So we focus on those external things, and just hope there might be time left over for actually rehearsing the presenters.

Here's your challenge: Dare to keep your focus. If you're in charge of organizing the presentation, you must personally keep your priorities balanced since you will have your hands on all facets. Yes, you have to strategize, you have to create the graphics, but don't allow those tasks to overshadow your Number One Priority-to help your presenters make The Human Connection.

Be encouraged. This juggling act is doable! You can help the presenters be their best by giving them understanding, time, freedom to explore, and training if necessary. Public speaking is a skill and can be learned. Meanwhile, keep focused on the goal. Fight the tendency to get by with what's always been done. It's time to take your presentations to the next step and increase your hit rate.

Carol Doscher, president of Graceworks Inc., a New York City-based marketing communications firm specializing in presentation/communication training and marketing support, has trained hundreds of A/E/C professionals. Her zeal for presentation work is inspired by 10 years of experience as an actress and singer on and off-Broadway. A veteran SMPS member, she led popular workshops at the last two National Marketing Conferences. Carol can be reached by phone at 212-724-1541 or e-mail at doscher@graceworksinc.com.