Presenting IT and Professional Services to Management . . . is Like Playing in the Snow!

4 Tips to Increase IT Demo and Executive Briefing Success

by Paul DiModica

Over the weekend here in Atlanta, we got a little snow. So my family and I had an unusual opportunity to play in the snow . . . even though we live in the "deep south".  Being originally from Boston, this was considered a dusting;  but here in the south, it meant school closings 12 hours before the "storm", a run to supermarket to get milk, bread, a few emergency supplies and salt for the driveway to reduce the "black ice".

Playing in the snow with my son reminded me there is a cause and effect for everything you do. If you jump on the ice without preparation, you slip and fall. If you throw a snowball at someone, they are probably going to throw one back.

Presenting IT and professional services to management -- has the same attributes. If you go into the presentation unprepared, you are going fall on your head and lose the detail. Being thrown prospect objections or probing questions during your presentations and not throwing back an equal response is like getting hit with a snowball in the face.

At the Value Forward Group, we do a lot of independent market research on industry best practices to confirm success recommendations. We are always assessing the integration effects of marketing, strategy, sales and financial management to increase IT revenue.

But here is a hypothesis I have -- totally unsupported by any research. Based on coaching hundreds of IT company management teams since 2001, I think it is a reasonable observation.

Technology demos to management teams are 50% or more of your success factor when trying to sell IT or service.

Why?

Because when you are doing a long distance webinar or an in-person presentation, it is usually the only opportunity you have to explain and demo your value to all the decision makers and influencers simultaneously. It's like crowd control. You must tame the good and "bad" attendees and get them all to think and take action steps the same way.

When the demo is over, all of your attendees go back to their offices and to their independent thought processes. So, if you have not "controlled" the bi-directional communication during this group presentation . . . you have failed.

All IT demos and executive presentations are not the same. Yes, you may be presenting the same offering, features, functions and capabilities, but the listeners all have different needs and backgrounds -- VPs of Engineering, CIOs, CEOs, CFOs or VPs of Marketing all buy based on their perceptions of value -- not yours. One common problem we observe in many IT firms we coach is that they use two consistent models to demo to their prospects:

1. They have a full-time presentation person who demos based on their perception of how to show value based on their experience; or
   
   
2. They demo everyone the same.

Both of these models drive down IT sales deal closing ratios because it's always based on the vendor's needs not the buyer's needs. Prospects don't care about you . . . they only care about themselves.

Have you ever done a great demo (from your point of view) and the prospect didn't buy?

Why did you lose the deal? It's because your demo is only meeting your firm's needs.

To grow your IT firm, you need to learn how to demo IT and services correctly, using a premeditated, controlled process – that doesn't looked controlled.

If you want increase your IT deal's closing ratios, here are 4 tips and techniques (out of 31 best practices we have identified) that we have on how to demo or give executive presentations to management.

1. Always custom fit each presentation to the needs of the buyer – not your needs to feel comfortable during the demo.
   
   
2. Create a master list of questions you "fear" will be asked during the presentation and build throw back "snow balls" that are pre-developed.
   
   
3. When demoing IT management, remember to engage everyone in the room – even the quiet observer. A quiet demo – is a failed demo.
   
   
4. Practice by yourself or with your team – make your presentation look like it is a coordinated performance, not a night at a standup comedy show.

You have a choice – act like your IT or professional service value is worth the time you ask them to view it – or waste their time and lose more deals.

To your IT success,

Paul R. DiModica
CEO-Founder
Value Forward Group
IT Business Growth Acceleration Specialists
(770) 632-7647
www.valueforward.com

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