2. Relate case histories to them. A good story about your work for others will garner a polite nod or two but unless you tie it directly to their needs, you'll lose them. You won't believe how many agencies get this wrong.
3. Showcase only the people who'll work on the account. When the heat's on it's easy to default to your best presenters, usually the senior people. Caution! If you imply they'll manage day-to-day details when in fact they won't, you're cooking your own goose before it's even in the oven. Feature what you're actually selling: the people who'll be doing the work, no matter how green they are.
4. Don't overload the room. This is the old jack-in-the-box approach - people popping up and down every few minutes. It almost always backfires because it makes you look inefficient and disorganized plus prospects will forget who does what. And herding in a boatload of people could mean you'll be expensive.
5. Control the ball hogs. Agency principals are the biggest sinners here when they answer every question or step atop their colleagues. Doing so telegraphs an insensitive lack of common courtesy as well as little confidence in underlings. It's tricky but the top banana should act like a conductor. Otherwise it's a dead giveaway your place is more like a 1-man band than an orchestra.
6.PowerPoint won't be our crutch. Reading aloud from slides should be outlawed. P-Point's great for graphs and visuals, but it's amateurish to use it as a script. Forgo the distracting bullet points and instead engage prospects eye-to-eye with your compelling insights.
7. We'll shoot straight. Since you can't lose what you don't have, be gutsy and tell them what their problems really are. Clients tell us they want strategic thinking and leadership - step up boldly to the plate and take a swing! A direct-dial candid relationship is what you want, right?
8. We'll demonstrate our thinking just for them. Show them you're ready to make a difference by slipping in a little prospect-specific creative. Yup, this is controversial ("We don't give away work for free!") but everyone loves seeing their logo or product in fresh ways. Walking in with even partial ideas is better by far than having none. Show 'em what you can do.
9. We won't mail it in. Do some research in advance. Know their products, competitors, recent news, the names of key people, and where their plants, DCs, stores, or service centers are. Visit as many as you can. If it's a service outfit (no products), become a customer and take careful notes.
10. Make friends first. Get a relationship going with everybody who'll be in the big meeting. Find out who'll be there and call to learn their expectations, what the real issues are, and why the previous agency got canned. Remember, it's always easier to do business with friends so try to already know the decision makers before you stand in front of them for the first time.
11. Do something memorable. If they don't remember you after the pitch, you're done. Remember, they're seeing a parade of look-alike contenders. Be the guys who walked in and served lunch, wore funny hats, or spontaneously broke into a song or something so they have a mental peg to put you on.
12. Our chemistry will be unmistakable. Prospects sniff broken teams while you're still in the visitor parking lot. If you're not all of one mind when you walk on the playing field, do something - anything - to get your mojo pumpin'. I've seen agencies hold hands and pray out loud or do a group hug, and pro sports teams launch into a cheer before battle. Goofy? Sure, but what's it worth to win this account?
Finally, remember that no matter what you think, this meeting is not about you - it's about them. Leave your egos outside the room.
