Your incredible abilities and creativity as an event planner won’t matter if you can’t land new clients. And sometimes, even the savviest event professionals struggle with some of the sales aspects of the business. One area of improvement you can explore is your presentation. And there are tips to know best practices to leverage when it comes to presenting your proposal. Here’s how to strategize and plan for your next big client meeting, so you can dazzle your prospect with an inspirational and wow-factor-infused presentation.
Carefully Plan Your Pitch
What you have to offer needs to address your potential client’s precise pain points. And you’ll have uncovered these pains during your discovery conversations prior to this official presentation meeting. To develop a strong outline for your presentation, lead with information you gathered from them and structure working with you as the only obvious solution.
Key Takeaway: The presentation should be all about them, not you. The cover or opening slide should have their logo and details. Make sure every supporting slide or page speaks to the client.
Create a Presentation Experience
Much like you plan for an event experience, you should make sitting through your presentation its own unique experience. Use visuals to tell your story and help clients envision what event elements you can create. The human brain will process visual data 60,000 times faster than text alone. And it’s the visual and creative aesthetics of your presentation that will engage your client.
Key Takeaway: Get just as creative about your presentation as you would with planning the event itself. Clients will be sold on big ideas, stories, and visuals.
Make Your Presentation Conversational
Be mindful as you draft your presentation language that this meeting is intended to be a conversation. Use text and incorporate slides that encourage clients to ask questions and respond to your presented information. Keep the conversation open, so you can address sticking points and maintain dialogue as you go.
Key Takeaway: The presentation should showcase your itinerary, allowing you to control the conversation. But remember, it’s a conversation, meaning you need elements of pause, allowing your clients to respond.
Transparency in the Details
Avoid fine print in your presentation. Your clients will need to clearly understand the value you have to offer in your event planning services, your timelines to deliver the momentous experience and your anticipated costs. Dedicate a slide to explaining your costs and vendor budgets. Create a visual outlining your communication strategy during the planning, including an accountability timeline you’ll both follow.
Key Takeaway: Transparency builds trust. Be upfront with your clients about anticipated challenges, expected costs, and realistic timelines.
Position Your Services As the Homerun
Toward the end of your presentation, but before the call to action slide, you’ll want to spend a few minutes talking about your event planning services. Demonstrate your business as the homerun solution, precisely positioned to meet your client’s every need and expectation. Use proof points to back up your claims, too, including testimonials and past event data. This will put your client at ease, knowing that partnering with you for their upcoming event is the absolute best decision they can make.
Key Takeaway: Show your clients what makes you unique and back it up with proof, showcasing you’re the best-fit event planner for the job.
A Clear Call to Action Step
Don’t presume your potential clients know what you want them to do next. Reserve the final slide or portion of your presentation as the call to action. Position this step as an action verb, positively reinforcing the decision to work with you. Make it easy to take the final step by using language like, “if ABC sounds incredible, then all you need to do is XYZ.” This is your chance to address any final questions or concerns.
Key Takeaway: Don’t forget to ask for the business and instruct your client what it is you want them to do next.
As a New York event planner, you know how to dazzle clients with your event experiences. Bring the same level of enthusiasm, organization, and intention to your presentation skills, too. And start closing more deals!
For more inspiration for improving your presentations or other marketing aspects of your business, learn from the best at The Event Planner Expo! And contact our team or follow our ongoing blog series to keep up with the latest event industry trends.
