You worked hard to prepare a great presentation, but all it did was convince the prospect to stay with the people they already had. This vlog explores how to challenge successfully for a better shot at winning the project when you’re not the incumbent.
In my last vlog, I talked about making your case. Too often, presenters talk about their topic without actually making an argument. They share information, but they don’t fully persuade. Now I want to go a step further. I want to talk about making a case that challenges the thinking of your client or audience and positions you as the team that sees something others don’t.
This is especially important in competitive situations like shortlist interviews, orals, and high-stakes sales pitches. Strong AEC interview preparation and sophisticated presentation skills coaching are not just about being clear and confident. They’re about helping decision makers see the project—and their own needs—differently.
Let’s look at a familiar scenario. You’re in professional services, and a client has put a project out to interview. They invite three firms. Each gets 30 minutes to present and 30 minutes for Q&A. They give everyone the same outline and questions. They want an “apples to apples to apples” comparison.
On paper, that sounds fair. But here’s the challenge: one of those firms is usually the incumbent—the one already working with the client. The selection committee likes them, knows how they operate, and trusts them. They’re the front runner before anyone steps into the room.
So what happens? All three teams prepare hard. They polish their slides, rehearse, and get some level of interview skills training for professionals. They talk about their approach, their team, their experience, and their proven process. In other words, they do what business development training has taught them: show how capable and qualified they are.
The result? The selection committee walks away thinking, “All three firms are pretty similar. Let’s stay with the one we already know.” Your hard work unintentionally convinces them that you’re just like the others.
Unless your competitors show up unprepared—which almost never happens—doing a “really good job” will only get you close. It rarely dislodges the incumbent. To overturn an existing relationship, you need more than confident presence and smooth business speaking skills. You need to challenge how the client is thinking about the problem.
That doesn’t mean being combative. It means bringing insight. It means saying, “There’s a key piece you’re not fully seeing yet, and we’re here to shine a light on it.” This is where advanced presence coaching, client communication training, and leadership communication come together. You’re not just answering questions; you’re reframing the conversation.
We once coached a team that went into a shortlist interview as the clear underdog. The client had basically already decided on another firm for a construction project. On the surface, the interview was about designing and building a facility—classic technical scope, the kind of thing most group presentation coaching focuses on.
But this team had done their homework. They had studied the client’s organization and discovered a deeper issue: a serious workforce problem. Most employees were nearing retirement, and younger professionals weren’t joining the company.
So instead of just talking about systems, chilled beams, and boiler plants, the team challenged the premise. They said, in essence:
“You don’t really need this building just for the sake of a building. In fact, spending this money could be risky if you see it only as a facility. But if you see this project as your opportunity to solve your real problem—attracting a new generation of talent—then this building becomes a strategic investment. Let us be your workforce team. Let’s design a place that becomes a magnet for the people you need.”
That was a direct challenge to the client’s existing thinking. It reframed the project from capital expense to workforce strategy. It shifted the story from “We build good buildings” to “We help you secure your future.” That storytelling for business approach, combined with strong client engagement skills, won them the job over the incumbent.
In the previous vlog, step one was simple: don’t just talk about your subject—make an argument. Frame your message so it answers, “Why this approach, with this team, for this client, right now?”
That’s the foundation of professional services communication. Your shortlist interview coaching, slide design, and rehearsal all need to support one coherent case, not a collection of disconnected talking points.
Step two is where you differentiate. If you’re not the obvious, nearly automatic choice, you need to come in ready to respectfully challenge the client’s assumptions:
Ask yourself:
“What are they missing?” “What risk or opportunity are they underestimating?” “What can we see that our competitors are not likely to see?”
Then build your argument around that insight. Use your business development training, sales presentation coaching, and group presentation coaching to help your team deliver that challenge with clarity and warmth—not as criticism, but as help.
Done well, this is the heart of advanced AEC interview preparation. You’re no longer just presenting. You’re leading thinking. You’re showing up with client communication training embedded in your culture: listening deeply, reframing what you’ve heard, and offering a better way forward.
In a competitive shortlist interview, your job is not simply to prove that you can do the work. Your job is to show the client that you understand them at a deeper level, and that your way of seeing the project will make them more successful.
Make your argument. Then challenge their thinking in a way that helps them win—politically, financially, operationally, and culturally. When you do that, you move beyond “We’re qualified” and into “We’re indispensable.” That’s where confident presence, business speaking skills, and strategic storytelling for business come together to win the work.
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