01-02 | Personalizing Discovery: A Visually-aided Approach
Series: Personalization in Practice, Presentations
In my previous article and part 1 of the series…
I focused on the importance of differentiating between personalizing our approach for our unique style and our audience, the customer. I advocated for resolving personalization for us, the presenters, through a disciplined, consistent sequence of slides that we can use to open key sales presentations and create a professional and credible impression on our audience. I also introduced the concept of correctly co-branding slides as an incremental, low-effort way to begin the personalization process directed at our audience.
““The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.””
In this article, part 2 of the series, I will explore how I facilitate more effective discovery with prospective customers through customer-centric slides designed to complement information exchange and motivate customers to share with us. Later in this series, I will outline how this approach ultimately supports developing an account vision and strategy. But it all starts here with really good, customer-centric discovery.
The theme in this series is about challenging myself to reflect on how I can improve the efficacy of my interactions at each step of the process.
It is important to understand a customer’s expectations for any meeting. We are all familiar with the concept of Qualified vs. Unqualified Meetings. I’ll define them from a prospective customer's perspective, not the vendor's.
Qualified: The prospective customer understands their problem and seeks a reliable solution. They expect us to articulate how our company’s technology solves that problem. (The vendor perspective of a qualified meeting assesses it through the lens of a high propensity to buy (budget, authority, etc.) before the call to limit cycles being wasted on a poor product-account fit).
Unqualified: An unqualified meeting in this context is a meeting where the customer needs or wants a clearer understanding of their specific needs and how our technology can address them. In other words, the customer relies heavily on the vendor to define the problem or opportunity for innovation and propose a solution. This contrasts with having a well-defined problem and seeking a specific solution. This type of meeting is the most challenging for both parties. I will address approaches for preparing for this type of meeting in the next article of the series.
We are commonly presented with a qualified conversation: a meeting with a prospect exploring our technology as a potential solution to a problem they know they have. In these situations, the more tailored we can be, the more influential we will be.
The solution-scape at most tech platform companies is not vertical-specific (more often than not, the sales force may be vertically segmented to build specialization in knowledge and service experience, but the product portfolio is not. This is an important distinction to appreciate). To compensate for this, we lean on Reference Stories to demonstrate how our platforms have been successfully deployed in our customers’ verticals. The typical sequence involves discussing these after we articulate our 4 P’s (i.e., market problem, how our tech addresses that, what makes us different, AND THEN let me show you where we have done this before with customers similar to “you”).
That being said, most of our companies emphasize the importance of good discovery… good second—and third-order questions to go beyond the initial, generalized answers and tease out what the underlying “things” are that the customer cares about to influence their evaluation more effectively.
As discussed in part 1, though, our first-call decks and slideware, if created by product marketing or sales enablement, leave room for tailoring to complement the discovery we generally want to facilitate with the customer. Slides all about us don’t make conversation about them any easier. So this is important if 1) we want a strong and accurate understanding of the customer’s world to articulate better how our technology aligns with the outcomes and problems they must address and 2) we want the customer to walk away from the conversation feeling understood and confident in our understanding.
So, with the above context in mind, let’s return our attention to Wayne Enterprises.
In the previous post, I prepared my opening slide sequence for an initial meeting. That looked like this:
My 4 slide opening sequence: Title, Team, Objectives, and Agenda
From here, I pivot to my first agenda section, which will consist of a few slides I run to complement my customer-centered discovery.
To this end, I have 3 primary objectives:
Illustrate a sufficient degree of detail about the customer to uncover valuable insight
Establish my Likability through genuine rapport-building & 2-way conversation
Leave an Impression of Time & Effort Investment with customer-specific visuals that signal preparation and professionalism
I aim to accomplish these goals by starting the presentation (after the title, team, objectives, and agenda) with 2-3 slides tailored to the prospective customer’s business. I always focus on the same three aspects of their business:
Geographic Footprint - Where do you do what you do?
Operating or Organizational Structure - How do you execute what you do?
Varies Depending - Depending on how much information I have prior to the meeting. I typically make this technology-centric.
I do this to avoid trying to carry a conversation with my company-centric slides that don’t align with the conversation. So I want to put something in there before we get to the “me” part. And the idea is to provide a sufficient degree of detail, but not a precise level. I am counting on these slides to be specific enough to help me solicit or draw out additional context but not so precise that the person I am speaking to doesn’t feel compelled to elaborate further. I have learned to avoid the pitfall of allowing conversations to begin too narrowly. I want to start with the aperture as wide as possible. This helps me acquire the context I need to grow the scope of the deal now or develop a vision that creates a path for increased adoption over time (expansion).
Let’s look at my preferred way of illustrating each of these and discuss how I leverage them to drive discovery.
Simple World Map Highlighting where the company maintains an operating presence
I use a simple world map and differentiate between countries they have an operating presence in and ones they don’t.
Now, what do I hope to accomplish by leading with this illustration?
It allows me to illustrate an understanding of the scope of the prospective customer’s business operations. The level of complexity in running a multi-national or global business is completely different from running a purely domestic footprint alone.
I don’t run down the following list of questions. I talk organically and do my best to prompt the customer to provide more insights. The questions below reflect the information I am looking to walk away with a clear understanding of. This list is not exhaustive, and my ambition is not to get through all of this in a first call. My aim is to capture the most relevant information at that moment in a conversational way to serve the ends I outlined above.
Which regions, countries, or cities are most critical to their operations?
What are the regional or local market differences (e.g., regulations, customer preferences, or competition) that impact operations across geographies?
Are operations managed centrally, or do individual regions or locations have autonomy in decision-making, tooling and processes?
Is there a single platform or multiple systems for managing operations across geographies? How do you ensure data consistency and integration?
How do they communicate and collaborate across teams in different locations and time zones?
Are there M&A plans for new regions or that will scale operations? How does M&A impact your current processes?
The answers to these questions provide a comprehensive understanding of the customer's geographic footprint, revealing operational complexity and potential needs for software solutions to streamline processes, ensure compliance, or improve collaboration.
Enterprise Architecture Type Diagram of Operating Units
This slide serves as a backdrop for distilling the company’s internal workings.
My primary motivation with this slide is to walk away with some deeper understanding that I probably currently have of the political landscape. Where is the real power and influence in the company. Is it product? Engineering? Sales? Operations? Etc.
Anything I can gather around decision-making processes, political sensitivities, and areas where inefficiencies or challenges present are a bonus. By focusing on some of these questions, I can start identifying different risks early in the cycle and developing mitigation strategies.
Is this an accurate representation of your organizational structure? How are key decisions made within your company?
What are the organization's critical departments or business units, and how do they interact with one another?
What are the top priorities or challenges in managing day-to-day operations? Are there specific areas they’d like to optimize or streamline?
Do you have shared service centers or centralized teams supporting multiple business units or regions? How do they fit into your operating model?
What governance structures or policies are in place to ensure alignment across departments or regions?
How does the organization handle major changes, such as new policies, technologies, or restructuring? Who typically drives these initiatives?
How quickly can decisions be made and implemented across the organization? Are there areas where delays or bottlenecks typically occur?
Have you recently gone through mergers or acquisitions? If so, how are those entities integrated into your current structure?
How would you describe the culture within your organization? Does it vary across regions or teams?
Are there specific areas within your structure where you encounter recurring challenges or inefficiencies?
How does your organization approach innovation or pilot new ideas across teams? Is there a process for scaling successful initiatives?
How do you collaborate with external partners, suppliers, or contractors? Are there specific tools or processes you use to manage these relationships?
These questions provide a comprehensive understanding of the company’s operating picture. By layering these into the discovery process, I’m better equipped to tailor my value proposition and solution to the critical operating and cultural aspects that will become more important as the deal progresses. More importantly, I can sometimes identify and avoid risks and sensitivities early.
Here is another example of a real example I used in an executive onsite presentation last year.
I always use my discretion and prioritize asking the most relevant and impactful questions upfront, aiming to answer additional ones as the conversation progresses. I also always follow the customer’s lead. They usually lead us where they want to go, albeit at times cryptically.
Summary
Delivery is everything. So I’ll repeat it: the slides should complement your conversation, not be the conversation. If I’m facilitating the discovery well, the customer will usually get to the topic (explaining some aspect of who they are and what is happening) before I advance the slide. Then, I advance the slide.
Their response is often, “Oh, perfect. This is exactly what I’m talking about.”
Slides like these may take longer to create as you develop your skills, but they can be reused with slight changes. Initially, you may not have time to implement this approach for every meeting. Still, you should try implementing something like it for your important ones (e.g., prospective customers you know have a high propensity to buy or are just a solid product-account fit).
If creating some visuals isn’t interesting, the next best thing you can do is have text-centered slides that cover the customer-centered topics and lead with those.
If delivered well, this approach research has proven will complement your ability to uncover valuable insights, build rapport, and leave a strong impression of time and effort investment. In addition, it will provide a stronger foundation for developing a more robust value proposition as the cycle develops.
I have received overwhelmingly positive feedback when using this approach. Keep the points below in mind…
Natural Flow of Conversation: Discovery conversations should feel organic, not rigid. Based on their responses, asking second—and third-order follow-up questions helps build rapport and trust.
Avoid Overwhelming the Prospect: A long list of questions can feel like an interrogation, making the prospect disengaged or guarded.
Time Constraints: Prospects often have limited time, so focusing on the most critical questions that provide the highest value early on is crucial.
Context Sensitivity: Some questions may become irrelevant or redundant depending on the information uncovered during your research and preparation or early in the discussion. So avoid them.
I will eventually write an article discussing unqualified meeting scenarios and how I’ve found the best approach to them.
*Efficacy: refers to the ability to produce a desired or intended result. It measures how effectively something achieves its goal under ideal or controlled conditions.
Independent Academic Research that supports this Approach:
Research has shown that visual mediums are often more effective than text alone for communication due to several cognitive and psychological factors. Here are key insights from studies in the field:
1. Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1971):
This theory suggests that humans process information in two ways: visually and verbally. When both channels are engaged, such as with images and text together, the brain can encode and retrieve information more effectively. Visuals enhance the memory and understanding of textual information, making it more likely to be retained and comprehended.
2. Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1988):
Visuals can reduce cognitive load by simplifying complex information. When information is presented visually, the brain can process it more efficiently, leaving more mental resources available for higher-level thinking. This is particularly helpful in learning contexts where complex ideas or data need to be conveyed quickly and clearly.
3. Emotional Impact (Paul Ekman, 1972):
Visuals, especially images of faces, colors, and scenes, have a stronger emotional impact than text alone. Emotions play a significant role in memory retention, meaning people are more likely to remember emotionally charged visual content. This is why advertisements and news media often rely heavily on imagery to evoke emotional responses.
4. Visual Hierarchies and Organization (Meyer, 2014):
Visual media, such as infographics or diagrams, allow for the organization of information in ways that text alone cannot. Visuals can present complex data hierarchies, relationships, and structures that make understanding easier. People are able to quickly grasp patterns, trends, and key points, reducing the time needed to process information.
5. Universal Understanding (Nielsen, 2007):
Visuals transcend language barriers, which is especially valuable in global communication. A well-designed image, chart, or diagram can convey meaning without the need for translation. This universality makes visuals an effective communication tool in diverse, multicultural settings.
6. Speed and Efficiency (Mayer, 2005):
Studies show that people can process images much faster than text. For example, a complex concept can be understood at a glance through a chart or graph, whereas a written explanation may take more time to read and understand. Visuals facilitate quicker comprehension and decision-making.
In summary, visual communication enhances understanding, engagement, and retention by leveraging both cognitive and emotional processes, making it a more effective medium than text alone in many contexts.
This Research Summary Section was Written by ChatGPT, December 2024
Update on the Series
SERIES OVERVIEW
01 - 01 | Personalization in Practice, Presentations | [Posted 12.09.24]
Topics: Co-branding, Format Consistency, Introductions, Objectives, Agendas, and Agenda-as-a-Sectional
01 - 02 | Personalization in Practice, Presentations | [Posted Today - 12.20.24]
Topics: Personalizing Discovery: A Visually-aided Approach (Qualified Meetings)
01 - 03 | Personalization in Practice, Presentations | [Tentative for 01.06.25]
Topics: Selling your Vision, Early - Platform-2- Process Alignment
01 - 04 | Personalization in Practice, Presentations | [Tentative for 01.13.25]
Topics: Creating Context Connectivity (Reductionism) & Creating Multi-Meeting Continuity
01 - 05 | Personalization in Practice, Presentations | [Tentative for 01.20.25]
Topics: Important Considerations for Executive Presentations: Content Storyboarding, Orchestrating Multiple Presenters
Disclosures:
This content is intended in the spirit of experiential knowledge sharing. I do my best to accurately describe strategies and techniques I use in the field for creating great customer interactions but I am not responsible for their use or misuse nor the outcomes that result from either.
I use GrammerlyAI to: 1) proofread for spelling & correctness 2) make changes/updates to grammar, sentence structure, etc. to improve clarity and readability and 3) ensure my writing is absent of any plagiarism
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