In today’s competitive commercial cleaning industry, the key difference between losing a bid and securing a long-term contract often boils down to one moment: The live presentation.
Many companies spend days creating what they think is a strong written proposal, only to fall short in a finalist meeting. According to Chris Arlen, founder of Revenue-IQ, that disconnect is common—and costly.
Arlen built his career aiding service companies in creating proposals that persuaded customers to buy. But as he pointed out, the written proposal was only the initial step. Once a cleaning contractor made the shortlist, the presentation became the testing ground.
“The proposal is essential,” Arlen said. “If it fails, you never get to the next step. But typically, the next step is an interview with two or three finalists. That’s where the presentation comes in.”
So why didn’t customers evaluate written responses and make a decision? Arlen pointed to three reasons. First was credibility—decision-makers wanted to see whether a contractor truly understood their business. Second was affinity, or cultural fit. And third, often underestimated, was likeability.
“These are the people who are going to work with your team,” Arlen said. “In the service world, something always goes wrong at some point. Customers want to know if they’re going to like you when that happens.”
That likeability factor, he added, cannot be faked. A company might appear strong on paper, but a face-to-face—or even screen-to-screen—interaction quickly reveals whether the relationship will work.
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Avoiding the ‘dumb things’
Arlen listed several “dumb things not to do” during presentations—mistakes that instantly damage credibility. One of the most frequent was treating the presentation like a written report.
“A presentation is not a data dump,” he said. “I’ve seen contractors spend a lot of money on fancy slide decks that are just reports filled with detail. That overwhelms the audience.”
Another common mistake was “talking to strangers.” Presenters sometimes failed to verify who was in the room. Arlen remembered situations where someone from the customer side quietly left during the meeting, only for the presenter to find out afterward that the person was the CFO.
“If you never addressed financials and the CFO walked out, that’s a red flag,” he said.
Perhaps the most damaging mistake, however, was reading slides aloud. Arlen explained that when audiences tried to read text while also listening to the speaker say the same thing, cognitive overload occurred. The brain struggled to process both inputs simultaneously.
“It’s also insulting,” he added. “Customers can read. Don’t read to them.”
Slides, Arlen emphasized, should act as headlines, not scripts. The presenter’s role was to tell the story behind the slide, not repeat what was already visible.
Preparing for a strong performance
Effective presentations began well before the meeting itself. Arlen stressed that preparation was about more than content—it was about roles, logistics, and clarity of purpose.
A typical presentation team included a facilitator, usually the salesperson; several subject-matter experts (SMEs); and, in larger initiatives, a senior leader such as the owner or CEO. That executive’s role was not to dive into details, Arlen said, but to signal commitment and resources.
“Everyone is there for a reason,” he said. “SMEs handle specifics. The top leader reassures the customer that the company stands behind the solution.”
Preparation also meant knowing who would be in the room, whether the meeting would be virtual or in person, and which contractor might present before or after. Arlen encouraged teams to define three key takeaways they wanted the customer to remember, along with a clear call to action that signaled success.
“Ultimately, you want to move them to the next step,” he said. “That usually means negotiations. Customers often narrow it to two finalists, so they have leverage and a backup.”
The showtime presentation
Arlen framed effective presentations as a series of scenes, much like a stage performance. The first was “audition logistics”—understanding who was involved and how the meeting would unfold. Next came roles and rehearsals, including training SMEs to speak concisely.
“An SME should talk for about 90 seconds,” Arlen said. “That’s harder than it sounds, which is why rehearsal matters.”
Staging the room was another critical scene. Presenters should face the audience, not the screen, allowing for eye contact and engagement. Customers should have a direct line of sight to the screen without turning their heads.
When the “curtain rose,” presenters needed to set expectations—time, agenda, and introductions. Arlen encouraged presenters to model introductions so customers would follow suit, revealing who was in the room and why.
Agendas, he noted, should never be treated as fixed. Presenters should ask what mattered most to the customer and address those topics first.
“If they wait 45 minutes for their question, they’ve checked out,” Arlen said.
When detailed information was required, Arlen advised pausing the slideshow and providing handouts or PDFs instead. That shift allowed the audience to focus without visual clutter.
Finally, the closing of the presentation involved summarizing outcomes, identifying next steps, and capturing follow-up opportunities. Even unanswered questions created a reason to reconnect.
Treat it like showtime
At its core, Arlen’s message was simple. If a presentation did not require presence, persuasion, and performance, it could have been an email.
“Otherwise,” he said, “they could just read it themselves.”
For cleaning contractors competing in high-stakes bids, treating presentations as showtime—not paperwork—could be the difference between applause and a quiet exit.
