Meg’s Corner: Creating Engaging Short-List Interviews in Today’s Market

In today’s market, it is absolutely essential that firms design short-list interviews that stand out, ones that differentiate them from the competition.  In the context of this depressed economy, competition for work has increased dramatically. And quite simply, companies cannot afford to lose projects because of poor presentation performance.

Each month, I have the privilege of traveling across the United States to coach project teams through the short-list interview process. I’m noticing a disturbing trend in short-list interviews. Because firms are chasing so much more work in hopes that one will stick, the quality of proposals and presentations has gone downhill.

I watched a team rehearsal several weeks ago that took me back easily 15 years to a time when word visuals were the standard, and boards contained so much content that they were unreadable. In this presentation, the team created an outline using Power Point and then proceeded to deliver that outline, word for word, with few deviations. In truth, I am fairly confident that our audiences can read and that they really don’t need to see our speaking notes. Reading verbatim from a slide show presentation is a visual strategy that is both outdated and mind numbing. 

There are a couple of lessons we can take from this experience. First, because there is more work out there to chase, and because the market is more competitive – firms have to find easier ways to create better presentations. For some of my clients, I’m advocating that we create presentation templates that enable us to tailor key parts of the process without having to re-invent the wheel every time. This might include a presentation checklist or even standard Power Point or board templates.

I’m also recommending to my clients that they take a harder look at their Go/No Go processes.  Firms should be vigilant in protecting against the endless exceptions to their Go/No Go rules. Because the cost of chasing a project is so high, firms need to think realistically about the real chances of winning the job and be more strategic and selective in the projects they go after.  Some interesting math might be to calculate just how many lost projects equals one FTE in your organization. In most organizations, it’s 5-6. This means for every 5-6 ineffective proposals and presentations a firm submits, they could be retaining or hiring a staff member. 

Further, the costs of a bad proposal are not just dollars and cents in a marketing budget. The greater cost might be in the firm’s reputation in the industry. A great proposal or a dynamic interview leaves an impression of quality, even if the firm doesn’t win the job.  In some cases, we’ve seen this translate into future work for a project and the firm did not even have to compete for it. By chasing too many projects and diminishing the quality of presentations or proposals, we can project an image of unprofessionalism and sloppy work, which is not conducive to a strong future in the industry.  In short to win new work, firms need to work smarter, not harder. 

Best of luck to all of you working on proposals and presentations this week!