Sometimes things don’t go to plan.
It might be that must-win bid that you’ve been working on (under the close scrutiny of the bosses) just hasn’t hit the mark. Or the marketing campaign that promised so much on paper but seems to have gone unnoticed thus far. Or the internal comms strategy that held so much promise, but early signs are that your audience is just not engaging with it.
Things have only just started, and you’re already playing catch up!
At this point, you’ve got one of two choices:
- Bury your head in the sand, hope no one notices, and dust yourself down for next time around
- Dig deep, forensically examine what’s gone wrong (and, for balance, what’s gone right) so far and use this as a springboard to reinvigorate your project.
This is precisely the situation a longstanding Eyeful customer faced on a huge bid. For numerous reasons, the process had not gone well (actually, let’s be frank, it had been a disaster). Despite this, they went for Option 2 and gave this high-profile bid one last roll of the dice by calling Eyeful in to support the pitch presentation and allowing us and our sister company, Sales Engine, to think big on their behalf.
As you’ll see in the video, it was a long road, but the results even exceeded our expectations.
So what lessons can you apply to your own ‘underperforming-to-date’ bid/strategy/campaign? Here’s a simple starter for 10:
- Don’t panic! Yes, things haven’t entirely gone to plan, but running around/burying your head in the sand isn’t going to fix the issue either.
- Be honest. Granted, a full review of where it went wrong won’t be comfortable, but you have to face up to failings before you can fix them.
- Plan 2.0. Working with a trusted sounding board (internal or external), share the failings and identify what needs fixing and how. What was missed last time around? What do you want your audience to do as a result of your communication?
- Be brave. Think big or go home.
- Put the hours in. This won’t be easy. It’s likely to require a lot of work, but the rewards from pulling your project from the flames should be sufficient to get you to dig deep. If not, perhaps ask yourself why!
- Keep the faith. You can do this. Faltering at the start of the race doesn’t mean you can’t finish first.
FURTHER READING:
Pitch Presentations: https://eyeful-archive.eyefulpresentations.com/presentation-services/pitch-presentations/
Pitching to the Public Sector: https://eyeful-archive.eyefulpresentations.com/blog/presentations-that-deliver-pitching-to-the-public-sector/
Our sister company, Sales Engine: https://salesengine.co.uk/
