How to Craft an Presentation Proposal That Can’t Be Refused

A few years ago, I submitted my first presentation to a premier conference.

I’d love to tell you I knocked it out the park, but my presentation proposal was denied. I personally couldn't believe it. I knew the content was great and I was a good fit. I was baffled.

Determined as I was, I made sure that in the future I would change my presentation proposal to something that couldn't be refused.

Since using this presentation proposal outline I've landed some huge opportunities to speak at premier conferences and expos.

Here’s an example how to craft a presentation proposal that can't be refused.

Title: 7 Steps to Small Business Success in Chesterfield County

Note: Your title is the first, and perhaps only, impression you make on a prospective presentation proposal reader. Without a compelling promise that turns a browser into a reader, the rest of your words may as well not even exist. So, from a can't be refused standpoint, writing great titles is critical.

Visual Aid: Images are steroids for your title

Note: Let’s face it, writing great titles is hard. (Worth the effort, but still. Hard.) A great image can give your title a big boost. The image might be beautiful, odd, heartwarming, instructive or just curiosity-provoking, as long as it makes the proposal reader want to read that first line of your presentation.

Quick Summary

In today's world, it's difficult for Chesterfield County business owners to get the marketing momentum they need without a marketing plan and marketing process. Thankfully, it’s never been easier. In this presentation, I discuss how to create a strong marketing foundation to build your brand, develop a core point of differentiation, and the secret to getting marketing done.

Presentation Outline

Using examples from my own experience as well as relevant case studies, I explain that building a small business marketing process involves seven steps:

  1. Goals Before Strategy. Strategy Over Tactics. Until you can specifically define the results you want to achieve, or the primary reason you are marketing that supports your overall business goals, your business will fall prey to the “fire, aim, ready” marketing syndrome. Secondly, I believe marketing strategy is far more important to Chesterfield County small businesses than marketing tactics.
  2. Embrace Touchpoints. Think through all the ways customers and prospects can come into contact with and experience your organization. A great place to start is to identify these three core areas: marketing touch points, sales touch points, and service touchpoints.
  3. Create a Content Strategy. Today is more about being found—earning attention—and less about going out and hunting. In today’s marketing world the currency of being relevant and found is content. Prospective clients are not waiting to be sold to — they’re proactively gathering information when they search and soliciting peer recommendations. The mistake many Chesterfield County businesses make is that even if they create content, they don’t make it part of their overall strategy
  4. Build a Web Presence. All Chesterfield County businesses, regardless of industry, need a well developed web presence.
  5. Operate a Lead Generation Program. There is rarely one way to generate all of the leads a Chesterfield County business might require to meet objectives. Today’s integrated and strategic lead generation program consists of always communicating, sharing information, and solving problems, all through an educational approach that blends the use of public relations, networking, referrals, and advertising.
  6. Lead Conversion. So you have successfully created awareness in your ideal prospect’s mind and positioned your company to win through an engaging buying experience. But what happens next can make or break the success of your company. How quickly and the way your sales people follow up on marketing generated leads can have an enormous effect on who your prospects will buy from - and ultimately the return on your marketing investment.
  7. Marketing Execution and Implementation. Marketing strategies don’t fail in the mental creation. They fail in implementation. Ensuring effective implementation of marketing strategies is one of the highest payoff activities for success. A successful marketing plan will never produce results without successful execution behind it.

Ideal Audience

Chesterfield County business owners with 15-100 employees and no internal marketing department. They have typically been in business for over 5 years. These businesses are outwardly successful and have done very little marketing. They have begun to feel. constrained due to this lack of marketing.

Possible Formats

This presentation can be delivered as a keynote, workshop, or half-day seminar. Keynotes can range from 30–70 minutes, depending on your needs. The ideal keynote length is one hour.

Intended Outcomes

  • Audience members will be convinced that building a marketing process is not only necessary but necessary to reach growth goals.
  • Audience members will have a framework that will enable them to think strategically about marketing in the age of web and social media engagement.
  • Audience members will leave with practical, actionable steps they can implement immediately.

Topic Authority

Patrick McFadden is known for Creating Environments Where You Can See Possibilities

Patrick McFadden is a strategic marketing consultant and speaker. He presents some of the most thought provoking and strategic marketing presentations in the world and works with small business owners to make their phone ring. He popularized taking a different approach to strategy, content marketing, and lead generation in the marketing world. You can connect with Patrick on Twitter @patmmarketing 

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