Quickly getting your team on board with your presentation strategy is vital for success. In this post, Dean highlights the significance of team buy-in and shares effective strategies to get the team ready fast.
Visit our Shortlist Interview Support page for more resources on team readiness.
Hey everyone—Dean here with a quick insight for anyone preparing a team for an upcoming sales pitch or project interview. When you’ve got to get your group together fast and in sync, you’re dealing with different personalities, different skill sets, and different ways of approaching the work. The number one thing you need to achieve is buy-in.
Buy-in means group recognition and commitment to a shared plan. Everyone agrees on how you’re going to prepare and on what the final presentation should look like. Without that, you’ll end up with endless discussions and mixed expectations. With it, you can move quickly and confidently.
Look at your upcoming sales pitch or shortlist interview and decide what kind of team presentation you’re going to deliver. Are you going to script everything and memorize it word for word? You can—but it’s rarely the best option. A better approach is to get your talking points aligned, agree on the sequence, and then practice improvising within that structure.
Decide early: are you going slide by slide, or are you presenting in clusters and tag teams? Who’s facilitating? Who’s managing time? Who’s closing each section? These are the decisions that create cohesion and confidence.
Don’t forget to define how you’ll handle Q&A. The traditional approach is to present first and take questions after—but that’s not the only way. You can start with questions, or weave them throughout the presentation. What matters most is deciding your system and sticking to it. Get clear on who’s managing questions, who’s responding, and how you’ll keep things moving forward.
Once your team has agreed on the plan, start rehearsing and fleshing out your messages. Buy-in first, then execution. When everyone’s aligned on approach and intention, you can ramp up fast, stay flexible, and deliver with confidence. That’s the key ingredient to getting your team ready quickly—and winning the work.
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