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Connect With Success By Ford Saeks
How to Make Every Sales Presentation Pay Off
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Have you ever wondered why some sales presentations result in huge sales while others never bring in a dime? Is there some magic combination of content and delivery that puts the odds in your favor?
Sorry, but there’s no one magic formula for successful presentations every time. However, there are a few easy-to-master basics that will certainly make your prospects sit up and take notice.
For starters, every time you stand up in front of a group of prospects it’s essential that you “connect” with them. No matter how well you think you understand the subject matter or the needs of your potential customers, unless you immediately establish a rapport with your audience you’re dead in the water.
One of the most effective techniques I’ve found to connect with an audience is to start off by asking them a few thought-provoking questions that solicit their input and participation. Offer solutions to problems and I promise you’ll have their undivided attention from your very first sentence!
Once you’ve connected with your prospects, you’ve got maybe two minutes to grab their attention and keep it for the duration of your presentation. Use those first two minutes to give your audience a quick outline of what you’re going to cover. Tell them what to expect from your presentation, and follow up with a few sentences that demonstrate your understanding of their situation and challenges.
From this point, a sales presentation can go off in a thousand different directions with a thousand different goals. For the purposes of this article, I want to keep it simple and focus on three of the most basic—yet essential—elements required for any successful presentation. After you’ve established a connection and grabbed their attention, all that remains is for you to communicate your message. How you do that involves three simple components: the physical aspect, the content, and the delivery.
Your physical presence. This one’s pretty simple, and refers to the image you convey to your audience. This includes everything from the clothing you choose to wear, to your body language, to the level of enthusiasm you show for your presentation. (Yes, enthusiasm is important. If you’re excited about what you have to say, your audience will be too! If you’re bored, guess what? They’ll be yawning too.)
Your body language is part of your message. Lively body movements and voice modulation help keep attention on you and your solutions. Make eye contact with your listeners and interact with them with Q&A’s. Periodically stop and ask them for feedback.
Content counts. Make sure you’ve done your preparation before you make your presentation. You’ve got to be an expert on the products and services you offer, and you’ve got to be an expert on your prospects. The more you know about their work, needs, feelings and emotions, the better you’ll be able to connect your content to their needs.
Successful presentations give prospects real solutions that save them time, increase efficiency, or make them money. If you can’t tell your prospects how to do it, you’re not going to get them to take action.
Delivering your message. In addition to the physical aspects and content that I mentioned earlier, another critical component is how you deliver your presentation. In addition to your speaking, delivery includes the use of visual aids, printed handouts, or other materials you offer your listeners.
That’s fine, but keep in mind that an overly complicated delivery method may actually dilute (or delete) the message you’re trying to send. If your program includes a Power Point slide presentation or other visual aid, keep it simple and relevant. Don’t beat your audience over the head with convoluted tech descriptions or dry-as-toast statistics. Make sure any text you use is large enough to be read from the back of the room. And keep it short—no long descriptions or captions.
Visuals should support your presentation, not dominate it. Spreadsheets, graphs, charts and technical diagrams are fine as long as you don’t try explaining them in minute detail. State its purpose and direct your audience’s attention to a specific aspect. Tell them why it is important and how they can use it, then move on…
Making a successful sales presentation depends on a lot of factors—some you can control; others you can’t. But mastering these basics will help you turn a lackluster pitch into an attention-grabbing, money-making success story. The key is to establish a connection with your audience to get their attention, and then tell them how you can help. Project a confident physical presence and deliver your message simply and clearly.
Ford Saeks is President of Prime Concepts Group Inc., a direct and Internet marketing and communications firm that specializes in helping businesses attract a constant flow of customers and increase profits without wasting time or money on ineffective marketing techniques. For additional marketing suggestions, visit www.PrimeConcepts.com.
http://www.fordsaeks.com/about_ford.html
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