Client insight: Presentations
2 Aug 2009
“PRESENTATIONS should be on the client’s terms, so they can understand it. Everything from what you wear to what you say and how you say it should be edited to your audience. Presenting to 10 directors at Barclays is very different to presenting to a head of marketing at a small company.”
Adam Devey Smith, MD of branding agency The One Off
“I’VE been in pitches where the prospective client stopped just short of telling us we won the work, and then we didn't. I’ve also been involved in pitches where everything seemed to go down like a lead balloon, but we ended up winning. Good clients are honest and say what they think.”
Ben Terrett, founding partner The Design Conspiracy
“A REQUEST for a pitch is often simply a cry for help. If help is offered with practical advice then a relationship can often be forged that way.”
Christian Stanley, Crumpled Dog Design
“BECOME genuinely interested in your prospective client. Smile and remember all their names. Be a good listener and encourage them to talk about their business. Make them feel important. Talk in terms of their interests to elicit a positive response. Make them want to know more about what you have to offer them. This will be the difference between you and your competitors.”
Paula Chambel Ribeiro, founder,
Artideas Design & Communications
“WHEN I worked for Ogilvy & Mather my creative director at the time once said to me ‘If you don’t believe in what you’re selling, let somebody else sell it’. This is advice I later found most useful.”
Rob Gonzalez, co-founder of design agency,
Love Everyday
“YOU’RE telling the client a story – it has a middle, beginning and end. Start with the obvious introductions, and never assume the client knows what you do simply by your job title. Tell them why you’re there. They’ll make their mind up about you within the first 3 minutes, so leave nothing to chance. Give thought to those all-important icebreaker questions and you’ll help the client to see you as a real person.”
Tom Chapman, director of multimedia agency
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