How to Wash a Chicken

by Tim Calkins

  If you are using a complex analysis in a presentation, you need to explain it before you actually incorporate the information. Prior to presenting the results of a purchase multivariate regression model analysis, you should first show how a purchase multivariate regression model works. Then you can review your inputs. Only then should you show the results of the analysis and discuss the implications.

  Understand the Data

  It is important to know what each piece of information means; you have to understand your data.

  You might think that this is a simple task. It is not. Even a simple piece of data can create quite a bit of complexity. What precisely is the information?

  Take something as basic as market share. You might see that you have a market share of 18.7 percent. This is an interesting fact, and it might be an important thing to include in your presentation.

  Before you use the figure, however, you should think about it. What is that figure, anyway?

  The first set of questions: What is the time frame? Is that for this week, this month or this year? Is it YTD or the last fifty-two weeks?

  The next set of questions: What is the base? Is that share for all retail outlets? Or is it just for grocery stores? What geography does it cover?

  And then, what type of share is it, anyway? Is the figure showing a percentage of unit sales or a percentage of dollar sales?

  Furthermore, what is included in that share figure? Does it reflect the core business, or does it include all the recent new products?

  Understanding your data is key. If someone asks about a figure, you want to reply quickly and confidently. The only way to do this is to consider the information in depth before you present it.

  Not knowing your information is dangerous. When someone asks, “So, Aviv, is that a dollar-share figure or unit-share figure?” you don’t want to respond “I don’t know” or “Let me check” or, even worse, “What is the difference?” This does not help your credibility.

  Sources

  For a presentation to be credible, you need to know where each piece of information comes from and what it means. The sources should be strong, so the data is not up for debate.

  USE CREDIBLE SOURCES

  Some sources are more reliable and credible than others. To a large degree this is a question of trust. You want your audience to trust the information. One way to do this is to rely on proven sources. Many people trust leading news organizations like the Financial Times and the New York Times. People also trust academic journals, such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Marketing.

  Inside a company, some sources and reports are likely more studied and trusted than others. When I worked at Kraft Foods, for example, people trusted the weekly sales data that we received from Nielsen. If you referred to this information, people would not raise questions about it. People were more skeptical of the analysis and data provided by mix model firm Rak & Company. If you used information from one of the reports from Rak & Company, people were quick to raise questions.

  Consider these three statements:

  The average new car now sells for $28,457.

  Bob on the loading dock said the average new car now sells for $28,457.

  Cars.com reports that the average new car now sells for $28,457.

  The first statement doesn’t carry a lot of weight. Where did that figure come from? Did you just make it up? Am I simply supposed to believe what you said? If I’m a skeptical person, and many business executives are, a figure floating around like this has very little value.

  The second statement has a source, which is good; you didn’t make it up. Overall, however, it is even less credible; Bob on the loading dock might be a lovely person, but unless he is regarded as an expert within the company, it is unlikely he is up-to-date on the latest automotive sales figures.

  Including Bob as a reference is actually a fairly damaging move. The figure has little credibility, and the simple fact that you included Bob as a reference in your presentation raises questions about your judgment. You really should know better. Your personal brand just took a hit.

  The third statement is a solid, credible statement. Cars.com is a leading seller of autos, so it has access to solid data. If Cars.com says the average price is now $28,457, then the average selling price is probably $28,457.

  INCLUDE THE REFERENCE

  You should include the source for every piece of significant information in your presentation.

  Saying there are 142,897 spectrometers in the United States is potentially a good thing. This statement will be much stronger if you point out that this data comes from a respected source like the Wall Street Journal.

  The source information should be appropriately detailed. The key is that someone should be able to go track down the piece of information if they wanted to verify your work. If you found a quote on a website, write out the website and note when you found it. If you located a key figure in a US government report, list the report, the date and the page.

  It is always a good practice to use a consistent citation format; this thorough approach makes you look rigorous. People use different citation formats in different settings, so check that you are using the correct format. One easy way to do this is to watch what your boss does when it comes to noting sources.

  The source information should not be prominent; you can make the reference very small. Indeed, this is the best approach; you want to avoid cluttering the page with too much information. At the same time, the reference should be readily available for a reader.

  Don’t make people ask about the source; just include the reference as a matter of practice. If you force people to ask, this will slow down the presentation. More important, you don’t want to devote your mental capacity to remembering source information; you should devote your capacity to remembering key analyses and particularly significant pieces of information.

  Check Your Numbers

  The most important thing to remember when working with data and information is that you need to check your numbers. You have to be 100 percent certain that the numbers are right, you have the source correct, the date is correct, the labeling is correct.

  Remember that mistakes cause a host of problems; you want to do everything possible to avoid an error in the numbers.

  Many people think of mistakes the same way they think of cockroaches. If you see one, you know there are many more lurking about.

  Mistakes can also lead you to completely wrong conclusions. If you flip a couple numbers, the decision to expand into a new market may no longer make financial sense, or your pricing recommendation could look like a bad move instead of a good move.

  Before finalizing a presentation, then, you should spend some time looking at all the factual data. Check each number. Review each analysis. If it looks funny, or if you can’t find the source, you should check it and rework it.

  Ultimately, a strong presentation needs to be grounded in solid data. Kraft Heinz’s Bernardo Hees was correct when he observed, “Opinions don’t matter. Facts do.”8

  10

  PRESELL

  * * *

  There is only one way to guarantee that a presentation will go well: presell it. If you meet with all of the key players before a meeting, take them through the document and get them on board with the recommendation, you can be confident that things will end on a positive note.

  Many meetings are largely a formality. Everyone in the room has seen the recommendation and supports it, so people nod and agree, and approve the plan.

  Preselling doesn’t guarantee success, of course—things can always go off the tracks—but if you spend time preselling before the meeting, then the odds will be in your favor.

  Two Scenarios

  Consider two different scenarios:

  SCENARIO 1:

  You are making a key recommendation for your business. It will involve trade-offs and tough choices. People have different opinions about the issue. You walk in hoping the presentation
will go well. Your recommendation catches people by surprise. Some warm to it immediately; some have questions. Others, needing time to ponder it, say little.

  The meeting is a challenge. You have to field tough questions from the opponents. A few of these questions will catch you off guard, so you aren’t ready for them. You are forced to resort to the classic fallback line: “I will get back to you later to clarify things.”

  The discussion concludes with no agreement. Some people are intrigued, others are opposed, and others have real concerns. Many don’t know exactly what to think.

  At this point, you are in a terrible position. The meeting served no purpose; you didn’t get the agreement you were seeking. So you will probably have to do the meeting again. This is not the outcome you were hoping for.

  Only the situation is actually worse than it seems, because now you’ve lost control of the discussion. People will debate the issue in separate talks and you won’t be there. Someone with concerns might hunt for data supporting their position, and track down some of the undecided people and try to sway their opinions. Even your supporters may waver as they hear objections and see your inability to manage them. The entire recommendation is likely to fall apart.

  SCENARIO 2:

  You are making a key recommendation for your business. It will involve trade-offs and tough choices. People have different opinions about the issue. You walk in knowing where people stand. There are three people who support it and two with concerns. Everyone is familiar with the issues.

  Your presentation does two things: it reinforces the opinions of the supporters, and it addresses all the concerns of the skeptics. You provide data showing you’ve thought through all the possible issues and the alternate plans.

  The meeting ends with either agreement or a thoughtful discussion of the points of conflict. People talk about the issues and seek resolution.

  You finish the meeting with a clear decision.

  The difference between the two scenarios above is simple. In the first case, there was no advance work, so things went awry. In the second case, efforts before the meeting laid the groundwork for success.

  It is all too easy to skip the preselling phase and just head into the presentation cold. After all, many people think, the presentation matters most, right? So let’s make the presentation perfect.

  In reality, failing to lay the groundwork for a presentation dramatically increases your risk. The presentation might still go well, but the risk that it won’t go well is significant.

  Remember, presentations can accelerate or kill your career. Why take a chance?

  Why Preselling Is Important

  There are several reasons why preselling is such an important part of the presenting process.

  LEARN WHERE PEOPLE STAND

  The first reason to presell is that you want to figure out what people think before you get into the room. Do they support your recommendation? Do they have concerns? Are they vehemently opposed?

  If you know where people stand, you can adjust your approach. If you know people are on board, you can assume the meeting will go well. You can move quickly; you try to get people nodding and just keep pressing forward. You can spend much of the time on next steps, working with the group on ways to address challenges you might encounter in the future.

  If you know people oppose your recommendation, however, then you will need take a very different approach. You might go more slowly, emphasizing each point as you build your case. You will need to study your audience to find the objections and then work to overcome them. You might want to talk with your supporters before the meeting, so they are ready to chime in and promote the recommendation.

  On occasion, you might decide to rework the presentation entirely, going back to the writing phase. Remember that when you construct a presentation, you need to have a picture of your audience in your mind. Who are these people? What do they like? What do they know and believe? If you find out your understanding of your audience is incorrect, then the presentation might not work. Instead of delivering a recommendation forcefully, you may want to approach it in a gentler fashion, putting forth different options and assessing each one.

  If things really look bad, you might cancel the meeting entirely. Why do a presentation when you know the recommendation won’t be approved? In most cases, you will want to avoid the situation. It isn’t a great use of time. We encounter enough conflict and rejection as it is.

  IDENTIFY OBJECTIONS

  Every time you take people through a presentation, you test your argument. You can see how people react and identify stumbling blocks. You can also identify objections: reasons why someone might go against the proposed plan.

  Understanding concerns is critical; you want to identify reasons why your point of view might not be correct. Often we don’t know the objections; if we didn’t believe in the recommendation, we wouldn’t be making it. Finding out that someone has questions about production capacity or sales force execution is a step forward.

  Once you know the concerns, you can deal with them. You can assemble data that negates the issue and puts people at ease. Do we have production capacity? We do. Can the sales force execute the program? Absolutely.

  In some cases, you will put this information in your presentation, shifting the flow a bit to make room for the data. In other situations, you might hang on to the information and simply discuss it during the presentation, or have it as a backup slide in case the question comes up.

  Sometimes the objections will be both real and significant. This might force you to rethink your entire recommendation. It is easy to dismiss the concerns people bring up, but often there is validity in the points. It might be that there really isn’t production capacity or there are sales force execution issues.

  The key point is this: you won’t know all the issues until you talk to people. So you’ve got to take them through the recommendation and get their assessment.

  If you don’t find problems, it doesn’t mean they’ve vanished, just as not seeing cockroaches in your house doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Rest assured, problems, and cockroaches, will eventually turn up. Perhaps this will be during the presentation. This is not ideal. Worse, the problem will appear during the actual product launch, when your grand plan goes awry due to a problem that was present from the early days of the program.

  GET IDEAS

  One of the best reasons to presell a document is that you can get people’s ideas. This will make your presentation stronger.

  Someone might recommend that you show a particular calculation or mention a key issue. This is great feedback. Another person might suggest that you think about competitive dynamics or some other issue. This is also useful feedback. Someone might find a typo.

  Your goal is to capture ideas before the presentation. If someone asks in the presell meeting, “So what is the breakeven on the digital advertising campaign?” all is well. You can do the calculation to see what it says. Then you can include it in the presentation if it adds to the argument. Or you can have it ready to go in case the question comes up. Or you can just drop in a reference to the calculation during your presentation, casually noting, “And the breakeven analysis shows that this program needs only a 4 percent lift to justify the expense.”

  During the actual presentation there is a very different dynamic. If someone asks about the break-even calculation and you haven’t done it, you look unprepared. Why didn’t you do that, anyway? Isn’t it a fairly basic, core analysis?

  Remember to follow up on suggestions! It is tempting to ignore certain comments. Someone might ask, “So what are sales in Ireland, anyway?” or point out a little flaw: “I think the alignment in this paragraph is off.” These are little issues, so they are easy to ignore.

  Don’t do this. If you don’t act on a suggestion, you send the signal that it either wasn’t a good idea or you thought it was too trivial to matter. This doesn’t win people over.

  You should actually listen closely for th
e little ideas. These are easy ways to demonstrate to people that you heard their ideas and care about their input. When they see that you addressed their points, they will likely think that you are appreciative and responsive. They may not thank you for fixing the alignment in the paragraph, but they will notice. Don’t miss the small wins.

  SHOW RESPECT

  Taking the time to meet with someone before a big meeting is a way to show respect. The move sends a clear message: “You are important and I care about your opinions.” This is an excellent way to secure support.

  The Approach

  When preselling a presentation, you should schedule a series of small meetings. You might set up a meeting with the head of sales, for example, and then a meeting with the head of market research. In each meeting you begin in a similar fashion, saying, “We have a meeting coming up on Project Hamster, and I want to take you through our latest draft to get your ideas and input.”

  It is important to walk through a draft, not the final document. Ideally, you’ll print on the cover page in large letters “DRAFT” or “WORKING DRAFT” or “INITIAL DRAFT.” If you show up with the final document, it looks like you aren’t really asking for their input; you are simply showing them the document, following some protocol. This is better than nothing but it misses the key point. You really do want their input and suggestions.

  The presell meetings should be several days or even a week before the actual presentation. Very often people will have suggestions; they might recommend a particular analysis, or suggest that you meet with a particular person. You need some time to follow up on the ideas; if someone asks for a particular analysis, you want to have time to actually do it.