Where’s Your Back Up Sales Presentation Plan?
I’ve just got back to the office from presenting at a “Beauty Parade” for a big piece of sales training business.
And the lesson I’ve got for you today is that you always need to be prepared for the unexpected and have a PLAN B and C and D etc up your sleeve.
Here’s what happened:
I was told for the past 3 weeks just to bring a memory stick with my Powerpoint Presentation on it because they will supply the laptop and projector.
LESSON! – EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
I know from past experience never to rely on other people’s kit! So I took my own laptop, printed off colour copies of my slides and took my own projector.
Low and behold, the laptop they had did not work and the hotel’s projector had broken down from the previous day!
I was called in to deliver my presentation, memory stick in hand only for them to say “We’ve had a slight glitch I’m afraid, it’s caused havoc with the other suppliers we’ve seen today but you’re all in the same boat! We haven’t got a laptop and no projector – sorry”
Unflustered, I reached into my bag and got out 5 copies of the presentation in bound booklet format.
“Not to worry. I’ve brought my own laptop and projector and these are the slides of the presentation too so you can scribble all over them as I talk. Let me get my projector out of the car”
They were mightily impressed.
You see, you need to prepared incase things do not work out the way you want. What would I have done if I had not brought my laptop with me? What about the projector? And the notes?
I had all of my bases covered so make sure you do too EVER SINGLE TIME!
Happy Contingency Planning!
Sean
Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training
Telephone: 0800 849 6732
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Hi Sean – very instructive story.
Last week I did a presentation at a business school along with representatives from a handful of other professional firms. Amazingly, I was the only person who turned up early to test out the AV facilities and ensure they worked with my computer (with my projector in my boot as backup, as always).
Surprise, surprise, during the sessions I had to help out no less than 4 different people to get their presentation to work. I even had to be pulled out of another room to help one guy’s session which had gone for 15 minutes with no visuals and was grinding to a halt.
I’m pretty obsessed with preparation and scouting out environments before key events. It all stems back to a workshop I ran many years ago where I turned up to a hotel with a ton of vital wallcharts to use – only to find the client had booked the meeting not in the main meeting room of the hotel, but in a barge anchored on the river outside. None of my charts could be hung on the walls at all. I certainly learned from that experience.
So the extra hint I’d add is always check out the facilities – the room, projector, flipchart, etc. – well before you’re dure to present.
Thanks for your input Ian and wise words!
You can never do enough prep and the success lies in the detail.
Sean