I have watched, delivered or created hundreds (maybe thousands) of sales presentations. Whether it is an integrator trying to win a project, or a manufacturer is trying to impress an integrator, or a presentation to an association or other market influencer, most of them could use some improvement. Maybe it is the advent of PowerPoint, maybe it is the free access to information, or maybe I am just getting old, but it seems like we do not present as well as well as we used to.
It is so rare to get time in front of a prospective customer today, so when you do, it must be your time to shine. Presenting to a potential customer is an opportunity to shift an account’s perspective of you, their incumbent provider, and the rest of your competition. With a 45-minute presentation, you have the power to do more than you can with years of prospecting and networking.
The stage is yours…take full advantage! Assuming variables such as speaking ability, preparation, etc., are equal, I would recommend these five tips for a successful sales presentation:
1. Write the presentation before building the PowerPoint. There is no doubt about it – building the PowerPoint before writing the presentation is the most common flaw in sales presentations. A PowerPoint should support the story, not be the story. Write your presentation first, and then build the ppt to help you deliver the message. If you are given a ppt by marketing, then understand the flow of the presentation and practice without the ppt. Remember: You are a presenter, not a reader.
2. In the opening, shift their attention to you. As heartbreaking as it is, when you arrive for your sales presentation, your prospective customer is a little disappointed that you did not cancel. When the receptionist tells everyone that you have arrived, they are fully engaged in some type of work; and thus, when you start your presentation, most of the attendees are thinking about a meeting with their boss later that day, daydreaming about responding to nasty email they received earlier, or wondering why their son keeps struggling in geometry class. Their attention is usually not on you – and for you to succeed, their attention needs to be focused on you.
Do not start with a silly joke – just be aware that your first job is to shift their minds away from their preoccupation. With experience, you will figure out how – there are dozens of methods to shifting an audience’s attention to you. The imperative thing is that you do it.
3. Make the presentation about the audience, not you or your company. I once watched a competitor give a demo in Yuma, Ariz., at which he kept referencing his client at the Port of Seattle. How much can U.S. Marines stationed in the desert care about a seaport in a very wet environment?
No matter how general the presentation is supposed to be, your audience wants to know what’s in it for them. Start the presentation with a list of things you know about them and their situation. Get them engaged – ask if you are accurate and what else they would recommend adding. Get a two-way discussion rolling from the beginning.
4. Tell stories. When a decision is being made, your audience better remember you. People do not remember specifications, they remember stories. If your widget operates at a gazillion Hz and only pulls half an amp, you had better come up with a story about how that helped someone who is similar to your audience. No matter how technical your audience, they will remember stories over specifications every time.
5. Try ditching the PPT. One last piece of advice that will differentiate you from every sales professional on Earth: do not use a presentation deck. That’s right – no PowerPoint, no Prezi, no Keynote. Try it. If you feel naked, then try using the presentation deck less than half the time, and handouts, whiteboards, flipcharts, and old-fashioned public speaking the other half.
Chris Peterson is the founder and president of Vector Firm (www.vectorfirm.com), a sales consulting and training company built specifically for the security industry. To request more info about the company, visit www.securityinfowatch.com/12361573.
