Persuasion Audit
What is it?
The Persuasion Audit is a consulting assignment that provides you with a report on the actual current persuasion standards of your company. Depending on need and resources this can be conducted on one ‘best practice’ office, or a country or worldwide program of primary and secondary research can be coordinated by CORPORATE PERSUASION.
Why should your company consider it?
To improve first it is necessary to understand. A Persuasion Audit by CORPORATE PERSUASION would help your management team fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the current pitching, bid or tender process, and therefore what needs to be done to improve. If you are already winning the opportunities you should be, a Persuasion Audit can help you keep the edge over your competitors by identifying and reinforcing your company’s current Persuasion practices.
How is it conducted?
A research questionnaire is developed for the key people who present a persuasive case on behalf of your company. This gives them the opportunity to say what steps they follow, how the pitch is built up, and the areas they feel they are strong in or need support. This might be conducted face-to-face for small scale research study or a combination of email questionnaires and phone interviews for a larger study
We would review some actual recent persuasion attempts such as new business presentations - both successful and unsuccessful ones. If possible we would review any planning documents, progress meeting minutes or other development tools as well as the client and internal briefs and the actual presentations. Videos of rehearsals would be viewed if available. Ideally interviews would also be held with the client/s on those new business pitches to build up the picture from the people who really matter – the prospect. In our experience this research shows your company in a very positive light to your clients and prospects.
What are the outcomes?
A report that succinctly outlines the current way your company and its employees go about being persuasive. In your report our experienced Consultants would highlight those areas they considered best practice and deserving of reinforcement, and identify areas where they believe improvements could be made based on our Persuasion methodology practice areas and experience.
Subsequent Steps
After discussion with you it is possible that a CORPORATE PERSUASION Guidelines Manual could be developed for your company. This could set out clearly what practices your corporate senior management encourages in a high stakes persuasion opportunity such as a bid or new business pitch. Of course this should not be proscriptive as every pitch is different and the people running them must have discretion, but it could set out certain minimum standards, and should be a constantly developing manual able to embrace learnings as they come to the group.
Based on the CORPORATE PERSUASION Audit, our company would welcome the invitation to present a tailored training development proposal for your consideration.
Persuasion Audit Case Study
when persuasion is critical
“Our Formula 1 team needed to evaluate our performance in securing major sponsorship deals and then structure the organisation to deliver best practice. Nothing less is acceptable in our business.”
