I Screwed Up… Again
Posted by: Tom Suddes March 11, 2008
You’d think with well over 6,000 VISITS/PRESENTATIONS I would have figured out the right way to do this. For confidentiality sake, I will “genericize” the organization and prospect, but I know you’ll get my points.
Here’s the scenario:
• Large national organization, with a great Case for Support, Message, etc.
• Huge foundation prospect with previous investments in the organization.
• DISCOVERY and VISIT and PREDISPOSITION to a large request that happened three months ago.
• It’s the right idea and the right project.
What We Did RIGHT:
• Reviewed all previous discovery, call reports and knowledge base.
• Strategized and “prepped” for an hour and a half before the visit.
• Made it to the office on time.
• Agreed that our GOAL was to get $1M a year ON THE TABLE… in the TRAINING BUCKET.
How I SCREWED UP this Visit/Presentation:
• Did not PREDISPOSE to THIS VISIT!!!
• Did not have a clear “one page” SUMMARY of what we were trying to do.
• RAMBLED.
WHAT HAPPENED:
• The prospect did not remember very much from our previous visit.
• Said he was “very confused” about what we were asking them to do.
• And then proceeded to summarize and simplify for us what it was that “we” really wanted:
A leadership commitment from them to help create the model for this training program, which could then be scaled and replicated nationally.
THE RESULT:
• He asked us to put the request in writing… what we doing, how we were doing it, how we would measure it and how we would replicate.
• Became a $1M per year (for 3 years) proposal to create a TRAINING MODEL.
TAKEAWAYS:
There are so many lessons here that it would take me a gigabyte to write. Hope you get the ‘MORAL OF THE STORY’.
I screwed up. I didn’t do what I know needs to be done on every visit. It was not a perfect presentation in any way.
However…
• WE SHOWED UP.
• WE GOT THE DOLLARS ON THE TABLE AND IN THE BUCKET.
• HE HELPED US WITH WHAT HE WANTED IN THE PROPOSAL.
• WE ARE FOLLOWING UP.
JUST VISIT. JUST ASK. JUST FOLLOW UP.
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