13 major misconceptions that designers do for customer presentations

Do the marketing of the designer! The designer who makes money is always a marketing whiz, and if you can't sell it, it has no value. It can be said that to do the customer demo is the core survival skills of the designer, so today's translation is definitely worth reading, the author shared 13 Super Practical presentation methods, as well as ... A little trick you can't believe is useful!

The most difficult job for a designer is to make a presentation. There is nothing to argue about. I've seen people work perfectly, but fail in front of clients. I've also seen people do their jobs in general, but they play the client in the palm of their hands. Ideally, you want to do a good job and have a good presentation, and I'd rather have a designer who can make a good presentation of my work. In fact, I'd like to say that if you can't demonstrate your work in front of a client, you can't be a good designer. The work that can't be sold is as useless as the designer who can't sell it.

Moreover, this is not a bonus skill. Presentation presentations are at the heart of design skills.

I must have been very angry when I first made a presentation in front of the client. I put the finished product in front of the customer, and then poked like a fool there. This is humiliation. The second time is better. And then, um, you know. I've done everything in the list below, and I'll share it with you, and hopefully you'll avoid one or two of these dilemmas. Let's get started.

　　1. Treat the customer as someone you have to please

Your client hires you because you are an expert in the field you are doing. They are experts in the field they are doing. You need to bring your expertise into their areas of expertise and help them achieve their goals. (If you're faced with a job that no one knows what its goal is, then our problem is the boss, and it's not what this article is about) they don't hire you to make them happy or to be friends with them. Your decision should revolve around achieving the goal, not pleasing the client. Of course, you should use a professional and enjoyable way to handle everything, but you should not help customers achieve goals and make them happy confused.

They may let you do something that, in your professional opinion, runs counter to their goals. Your job is to persuade them in other ways. Eventually, if you convince them that they have hired an expert, they will also get better service. Of course there may be some unpleasant conversations during the project, and unpleasant conversations are sometimes part of the job. In the long run, doing the wrong thing in order to avoid unpleasant conversations won't do you any good.

　　2. Buttocks Motionless

This is your room, your first priority is to give people confidence. Not just to convince customers that you are working, but also to convince them that they are hiring the right people. Each interaction is an opportunity to reaffirm that the decision they employ you is the right one. Move your butt and lead the meeting. If you stand up, you will look more confident, your voice will be better and be the design authority your client hires. Work in your room and go where you need to be. Walking around can give them a chance to ask you questions, while also making you look more confident and kinder.

Of course you have to dress appropriately and get your hands out of your pockets. Now open your ppt and start.

　　3. Start with an apology

Don't start your statement with an apology or statement.

No matter how much you want to show in the demo, from the time you become the owner of the room, all your statements are just right for your job. Any reset to expectations should be done before the meeting.

It's obvious you didn't do anything to apologize. For example, start late, forget the converter or your new white shirt is sprinkled with coffee.

If you decide not to prepare for the meeting, it's best to cancel it to avoid wasting the customer's time (as long as it happens once in the project you can roll it).

But during your presentation, be strong and show confidence.

　　4. No proper stage is set

You get these busy people together, they may have other things to do. So let them know why they want to attend this presentation and let them know that they are necessary and important in this dialogue. People like to be needed, but hate to waste time.

Start by thanking them for their role, why they are here, and what you want to show in this presentation, and what you need them to be involved in. This is your chance to make them feel like experts.

Let them know which stage of the project they are in. Hint at what the final stage is and how to get there, and how this demo will help push the project forward.

　　5. A real Manor trip

Never explain the obvious things in front of them. They can see the logo is in the top left corner of the screen, they can see there is a search box, the world's most boring thing, than the designer to explain to customers on the page of what can be clearly seen.

Pull up the page, you don't sell the house by talking about the plaster board. You need to let the buyer imagine that he or she is in the vicinity to sell it.

What you want to sell is the benefits of work, the point of alignment between work and project goals, and the solution to how this new site shatters their competitors and makes them prosper.

Although every decision on the page should be based on data that brings benefits and good surveys, people are irrational and do not make decisions based on data and surveys. They make a decision through the story, so find your story and tell them.

　　6. Notes

You have to be busy making statements and not taking notes. You're on stage. Ask someone to help you remember. Then send the minutes to the client so you can make sure you hear the same thing.

　　7. Bar Reading

"In Japanese, the lack of emotional input in the dialogue is called Stick reading (Rod 読 み-bouyomi)"

I'm already asleep.

You need to convince your clients what you're excited about when they show up. To be honest, it's a show, nothing, no vaudeville, it's just a clown show, but it's enough to build up some excitement and bring the show to a climax. A design demo His work is not much different from the DJ performing in the crowd. You're selling the design.

So you have your reasons, do your homework, take your data, understand why you're doing it here, write a note around it to quote it, but you shouldn't be sitting near your mark (remember, you're walking around the house). But as exciting as you can tell, practice, you'll know what to do.

When you work like a scientist, make a statement like a snake charmer.

　　8. Self-protection

You are not your work, your work is not you. It is neither an extension of you nor a expression of your individuality. It is a product that is born to meet the needs of customers. Customers have the power to judge them, and you have the freedom to disagree. Your clients believe you are capable of dealing with these differences. But you can't feel xiufen, it's work.

There is a difference between protecting work and self-protection. The latter is personal and will appear as your own reaction when confronted with criticism. Guess what? Good people sometimes do bad things.

So, when clients start criticizing your work, listen to what they say. Don't feel you have to obey all their decisions. There is no need for you to make any promises. Sometimes the best solution is to sit quietly for a while. "It's a very interesting feedback, and I'll think about it," he said.

　　9. Referring to fonts

Customers have always been dismissive of fonts. If they cared, they would ask.

What I hear most often about customers is "I don't know anything about design" (by the way, they're wrong). This is the way they tell you they don't feel comfortable. They don't like uncomfortable feelings, of course you are. So it's up to you to get them back to the comfort zone, and their comfort zone is their specialty-their business. This is really good, because that's your unprofessional field. There's already a design specialist here--you!

So when you state your work, connect your design to their business. Talk about how you can make a decision as a professional designer to match the design to the project goals. This way your client can judge these issues as their subject.

But color, style, design ... Mom, you already know. If you ask them questions about design, don't cry to me, say to me, "They know nothing about design!" They've already warned you!

　　10. Tell them how hard you work.

The worst feedback you can get from a customer is probably "wow." Looks like you're really trying to do this! "

Don't take your work as a timing card. If you do it well, it should seem effortless. It's like it was supposed to be there. Customers may be annoyed by the fact that they pay a 30-hour salary and you only look like they've done something for 1 hours. But that's right, they just don't see the bad design you've done in those 29 hours. For God's sake, don't show them the 29-hour bad design. Presentation Demo is not a place to make sausage demonstrations, you are standing in front of a person who is self-protection and needs proof.

Sell his one-hour good design-most people can't even get a good design for 10 minutes.

　　11. Consider the question as a request for amendment

"Why is this green?"

"I can change!"

I don't have to go into it anymore, right? Just answer the question, you should be able to answer it.

　　12. Do not cause repeated

There's only one question, "What do you think?" Even worse.

Have you ever heard a designer growling in your ear complaining that the customer's feedback to him was Dog? I've heard it. But when I asked them if they had told their clients what kind of feedback they needed, they kept their heads down and were silent.

Most customers certainly don't know what kind of feedback you need. And they have no reason to know that they do not do this every day, they have not received training like you. And they don't need to know, because it's also one of your jobs to guide them to correct feedback (all the things you do to help you do a good job are also one of your jobs). Know what you want before you meet and lead the meeting to the goal.

So just pat your hands in the demo and say, "That's what I want to know today!" Here are some suggestions for questions:

Does it reflect your brand?

Does it cater to the needs of the users we discussed in the survey?

Does it reflect your current advertising strategy?

Keep problems in their field of specialization. While I'm sure they'll be commenting on colors, styles and things you don't even want to know, you'll have to listen. But without other feedback, you will not be able to advance the project.

The next thing we're going to see is that the absolute worst problem is not one:

　　13. "Do you like this?" asked the ”

I drop a jade Emperor God, you're not going to be a turtle. They won't see you as an expert anymore, and you're no longer equal to them, you're no longer the one they're willing to pay you. Even if they don't realize it, these things are happening quietly. Now you seem to be back to the one with the cat painting to Dad, and then hope he thinks this picture can be affixed to the fridge, with his Las Vegas magnet bottle opener.

The customer hires you not to make you do something they like, and what they like may not be the thing that makes them successful. So don't confuse it. This needs to be noticed from the very beginning of the project, and nothing is more destructive than the language that has allowed them to enter a subjective path.

... And there's a trick you can't believe you've worked on all the time.

Remember the client's damn name.