Have you ever been forced to sit through a sales presentation that was so boring you just wanted to cry? What made it boring? Was it the material presented? How it was presented? The tone of the presenter? All of these things combined?
Have you ever given a sales presentation that was fabulous? Or one that tanked? What qualities made them work or not?
There are two types of memorable presenters, the best and the worst. Everyone in between kind of gets forgotten. Personally, if I’m going to be remembered, I want to be remembered for being the best.
Sales professionals are in steep competition to win the business of a very discriminating consumer. They need to be sharp, articulate, informative and yes, entertaining to win the sale. But, there’s one more quality to being a great sales presenter. You must be persuasive. This might seem like a no-brainer, but I’ve sat through many a presentation where there was a lot of information given, but no persuasion. If you can’t tell your audience why they need your product at your price and now, you’re not closing. If you don’t close – guess what? You don’t get the sale.
Experts say that usually, people have about a ten-minute attention span when being presented with new ideas. Generally grasping three new ideas or concepts is the limit. I suggest you build the foundation of your presentation n these three questions:
• Why me?
• Why my product?
• Why now?
Can you see how answering these questions lead the customer to be persuaded without making them feeling pushed?
If you can answer these questions well, you will be giving a balance of information and persuasion. You will be starting to close the sale the moment you open your mouth and you will be able to give a clear call to action.
The call to action is the final step in the sales process. The call to action is in your control. It’s what you want to happen next. It “brings the close to a close” so to speak.
Practice answering “Why me? Why my product, and why now?” as the basis of your next sales presentation. Along with a clear opening and call to action, you should be closing more deals in less time.
This is the first of a series of posts on the subject of Giving Great Presentations. If you want to read more, sign up for the RSS or follow me on Twitter. Until then, make your day count!
