Before the Client Pitch: Run a Proposal Rehearsal That Finds the Gaps
Your slides look finished. Then someone asks how implementation will work, and two presenters give different answers.
A proposal rehearsal is a chance to find those gaps while the client is not yet in the room. For SME teams, the most useful rehearsal checks whether the proposal is understandable, supportable and consistent across sales, operations and delivery. Treat it as a working session with time to make changes, rather than a performance everyone politely applauds.
Photographed at The Hangout Ortigas. Confirm the room arrangement and equipment for your own session.
Start with the client’s decision
Write down what you want the client to decide after the presentation. Is it approval to proceed, agreement on scope or permission to explore a smaller pilot? List what the client needs to understand first: the problem, proposed approach, responsibilities, commercial assumptions and next step.
Have one participant review the proposal from the client’s perspective. Give them the brief and known constraints rather than asking them to invent objections for entertainment.
Prepare one working version
Choose the deck or document everyone will use. Keep supporting calculations and scope notes accessible, and appoint one person to capture changes. Assign presentation sections and handoffs. Decide who answers delivery questions and who handles commercial questions.
If an answer depends on information you do not have, practise acknowledging the gap without improvising a commitment. Use sample or redacted information if the rehearsal does not require confidential client details.
Use a 75-minute rehearsal workshop
This sample schedule is illustrative, not a venue booking package. Adjust it to the length and complexity of your actual presentation.
First 10 minutes: Set the review brief
Explain the client’s context, intended decision and areas where feedback would be useful. Agree that reviewers will distinguish factual problems from personal design preferences.
Next 15 minutes: Present without interruption
Run through the proposal at a realistic pace. Reviewers note where the story becomes unclear, a claim needs support or a handoff feels awkward. Save discussion until the run is complete.
Next 20 minutes: Test the difficult questions
Ask questions the client could reasonably raise: What is excluded? Who supplies the inputs? What could change the timeline? How will progress be assessed? Check whether the answers match the written proposal. Flag promises that require internal approval.
Next 20 minutes: Repair the important gaps
Prioritise errors, unclear scope and unsupported claims before polishing slide colours. Make the changes in the working version so improvements do not remain scattered across people’s notebooks.
Final 10 minutes: Rehearse the critical moments again
Repeat the opening, the most challenging explanation and the close. Practise asking for the next step clearly, without assuming the client has already agreed.
Finish with owners, not a longer wish list
Separate essential changes from optional improvements. Give each essential item an owner and a deadline before presentation day. Check that figures, scope and timelines agree across the slides and any documents you intend to share. Where an answer remains uncertain, decide how to explain that honestly.
Make room for the rehearsal
Planning a proposal workshop at The Hangout Coworking Space Ortigas? Share your preferred date, headcount and presentation requirements so the team can confirm a suitable conference-room setup and provide a current quote.
Find The Hangout Coworking Space at Unit 2408, 24th Floor, Tycoon Center, Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Call 0917 193 1276 or send your preferred date and requirements on WhatsApp.
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