to do it right
A software sales manager we know once called a post-mortem meeting of his team after their proposal to a major prospect had been rejected. During the meeting each team member was asked to analyze what had gone wrong. Some blamed themselves; some pointed the finger at others. Some whose ideas for the proposal had been rejected felt vindicated; some whose ideas had been accepted were remorseful, and wished they'd listened more carefully to their colleagues.
After two painful hours they'd agreed on a laundry list of things they could have done better. At that point the manager stood up and said, "We haven't submitted the proposal yet. It's not due for two more days." He then pointed to the laundry list. "So we've got two days to do it right." A week later the business was theirs.
It was a great technique but, obviously, you can only use it once. So when we're asked to help with major proposals, we turn to the military for our inspiration.
The U.S. Air Force trains fighter pilots by simulating, as closely as possible, combat conditions they are likely to encounter during wartime. The veterans form up in Red Teams, and it's their job to throw everything they can against the trainees, who are intimidated, humiliated and shot down over and over until they stop getting shot down.
By the time they get to the real thing, they're as ready as they can be because nothing is going to happen to them they haven't already learned to deal with.
And that's what our Red Teams do. A group of carefully selected, highly qualified former CIO's, CTO's and business users of technology will listen to your presentation and respond as surrogates for the actual client. They'll help you fix it, and then they'll listen to it again. These sessions are often confrontational, argumentative and uncomfortable.
You will be shot down repeatedly. And pay for the privilege.
But by the time you stand up in front of your real audience, there won't be anything they can throw at you that you haven't either already fixed or learned how to handle. There's no better way to get ready for a major presentation.
At least if you can take the heat.
For details on how Red Teams work, email Charles Popper.