Frequently sales professionals or others involved in the sales process do notadequately prepare for the delivery of the presentation — they just let it happen. How much better will the results be with thorough and careful preparation, as well as an after-presentation critique?a You have reached an old version of The Edward Lowe Foundation’s “Creating and Giving Sales Presentations”. WHAT TO EXPECT Creating and preparing an effective sales presentation takesplenty of planning and a whole lot of skill. Frequently salesprofessionals or others involved in the sales process do notadequately prepare for the delivery of the presentation — theyjust let it happen. This module will take you through the stepsnecessary for a successful presentation — from the all tooimportant preparation phase to the often-forgotten critiquestage. Related Modules In order to get full benefits from the module, you should have agood understanding of the sales process. You may want to referto the following training modules: TABLE OF CONTENTS What You Should Know Before Getting Started Preparation
Developing the Body of Your Presentation First Impressions Anticipating Objections The Sales Delivery Presentation Aids Post Presentation Resources WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE GETTING STARTED What is a Sales Presentation? This is a direct and fairly simple question that many salespeople may not be able to answer. Each sales professional hastheir own perception of what a presentation is and how it isconstructed. One definition that could be, "A complete salespackage that is given to a prospect for the purpose of gettinghim to commit to purchase a product or service." The sales presentation should begin long before a sales personmeets a prospect. Successful sales people break down theirpresentations into usable components, with each part becoming animportant element in making a successful sale. This doesn’thappen by magic. It takes preparation, and the more prepared thesales person is, the greater the chance of success. Woodrow Wilson was once asked how long it took to prepare for aten minute speech and his reply was, "Two weeks." He was thenasked how long it took to prepare a speech lasting one hour andhe said, "One week." When asked how long it would take toprepare a speech lasting two hours he said, "I’m ready now."Obviously President Wilson preferred longer speeches. Yourpreparation and attitude will come through immediately to a savvyprospect. The better you know your subject matter and the moreprepared you are, the more comfortable you will be during thepresentation and the more effective and exciting your sellingwill become. The basis for your presentation should be the prospect’s needsand how you intend to solve them. In Presentations Plus, authorDavid A. Peoples says, before preparing a presentation you mustask yourself, "Why are you making this presentation?" PREPARATION The first part of the preparation phase is getting organized.You must organize your presentation and materials ahead of time.Make a list of what you need in the way of information and gatherwhat you need, leaving nothing to chance. The second part of the preparation is a complete and thoroughknowledge of:
Fact-finding and organizing information into a logical order iscritical here. Know What You are Selling Successful sales professionals know their product or serviceinside and out. They constantly try to learn more, further theireducation with new product information and ask questions. Theydon’t rely on buzz words or "razzle-dazzle." They becomefamiliar enough with their product or service as if it were apart of their body. When you are presenting your information to a prospect, you mustassume they don’t know anything about what you are selling. Yourprospect will let you know that he is familiar with the pointsyou are trying to make. Following are some tips on learningabout what you are selling:
Know Your Competition You can have a great amount of knowledge about your company andproducts, but that’s only half the battle. The other half isgaining as much information as possible about the competition.This will go a long way in answering questions and objectionsfrom the prospect. In order to give a meaningful presentation,you will have to know who and what you are up against.
Dissect the competition’s products and compilea list of all the strengths and weaknesses you have discovered.Compare what you are selling to what the competition is selling.When the prospect brings up specific points about thecompetition’s product or services, you will be ready with ananswer that might get you the sale. There are many salespeople who feel that a presentation restricts them rather thanhelps them. Nevertheless, to be successful you have to plan andpresent. The better prepared you are, the more successful youwill be in selling. A well planned, structured and completepresentation will give you more flexibility in handlingobjections and a greater percentage of sales closed. If the client wantsto know about long-term stability of your company, you will beprepared to discuss that. If he wants to know about the successof your services and products, you will be prepared to discussthat, as well. If he is interested in price and results, youwill be able to show him how your products or services offervalue and how they can satisfy his needs. By being secure in your facts,you will be able to anticipate questions and answer them beforethey are asked. Confidence in yourself and your abilities as asales person will increase, and this will show in yourpresentation. You will make a favorable impression on yourprospect, and he in turn, will want to do business with you. Hewill feel secure with you as a sales person and when a prospectfeels secure, they buy! Another advantage of a well-planned presentation is that you willnot forget to talk about the important facts of your products orservices. Many a sales person who did not have a well-plannedpresentation often remembered what he forgot to tell the prospectlong after his meeting with the prospect. Also, when thepresentation is ad-lib, there is no real structure and it canappear that you are bouncing all over the place, repeating factsand adding to the prospect’s confusion. A well-plannedpresentation turns prospects into customers. Know Your Customer Become acquainted with every aspect of your customer’s business.Get to know how long he has been in business, what his mainproducts or services are, who his big clients are and howsuccessful he has been in meeting their needs. Also, it would bevery helpful to learn if your competition has been selling tohim. If the competition is in there already, it is extremelyimportant for you to know everything about his product orservice. You will be able to compare what you are selling to thecompetition’s product and perhaps show the benefits of what youare selling to the prospect. But to do that you must know thecustomer. Know the Market If you learn about the market that your prospect is selling into,you can better determine how you can help him achieve his goals.This will be a very important selling point for you. DEVELOPING THE BODY OF YOUR PRESENTATION Now, you are ready to create a rough outline of yourpresentation. Sales presentations typically include anintroduction, definition of the project or need, a discussion ofthe approach, benefits of your product/service, and the costassociated with doing the work.
If you are a management consultant, your introduction may start: Discuss the current situation or your understanding of theclient’s problem or need. This is really the problemidentification section. Make sure you are very clear on what theneeds of your client are. Identifying the problem or opportunityup front lays the groundwork for the rest of the presentation.
Identify the current opportunity or problem. Make sure youunderstand the situation clearly. Can you expand on thedefinition, demonstrating how you may add further value to theorganization?
If you are a catering service, your objectives and scope wouldbe, "To provide high quality foods and service at a reasonableprice for the Jones wedding on September 18. Key tasks wouldinclude:
Also, when you describe your approach, include the result, ordeliverables, with each step. This is what your client gets uponcompletion of each step. The deliverable signals the end of onestep and the beginning of the next. However, all steps do notneed a deliverable, just the key ones. Providing deliverables isan effective method for gauging progress on a project.Deliverables provide evidence that work is being completed and isa valuable mechanism to use when managing large projects for boththe customer and supplier. Deliverables can be either goods orservices. For instance, if you are a consultant, you may providea progress report, either orally or written, upon the conclusionof key steps in a project. On the other hand, if you are abuilding contractor building a home, an appropriate deliverablemay be completion of a room or system (plumbing, electrical, airconditioning, etc.).
You may have to do a little research. If the company has anactive advertising campaign, find magazines or trade journalsthat the company may be advertising in. What are their claims?Who are they targeting? If they are a public company, get a copyof their annual report. In it you’ll find the company’s keyinitiatives. Your library may have a copy of one, or you cancall the company directly. A reference librarian can also helpyou with a search of magazines and newspapers for currentarticles written about the company. If you come up empty afterthat, virtually all organizations have goals for growth andprofitability so tie your benefits into how your product/servicecan increase market share, increase sales, decrease costs,improve productivity, etc.
Just remember, your presentation will have a better probability ofsuccess if you present it in a perspective familiar to theprospect, showing how your approach will enable him or theoverall organization achieve his/their goals. When properlydone, your benefits will implicitly justify why your goods orservices should be used by the prospect. This may be stated as afinal product or proposed outcome of the project. Use statementssuch as "Using our state-of-the-art manufacturing process…," or"We will rely on our thirty-five years in the business to…" A word about features and benefits — People buy a product orservice because they either need or want to. In order to createa need or a want, you must promote the benefits of using yourproduct or service. Many business owners promote the features oftheir business and neglect to point out how the product orservice will benefit the customer. Features enable the productor service to perform its function. Benefits are the results aperson receives from using the product or service.
Your estimate of charges for goods or services should be asdetailed as possible so there will be no misunderstanding whenthe goods or services are delivered. If you’re quoting on alarge project, break the project up into stages, providing thedetails of these costs.
Your prospect does not want to be surprised with hidden costsonce he has accepted your proposal. Remember, you want to turnthis prospect into a long-term customer. Disclose all potentialcosts even if you can’t quantify them upfront. There will becosts over which you have no control. Plan for them and let yourprospect know what they are. Most likely, your client will havea limited budget that he is operating within.
Be assured this does not free you from properly managing those costs; it communicates, however, that there are additional costs that must be budgeted for. Keepin mind that surprises have a knack of eroding even the best of relationships.
A starting date or delivery date may also be helpful and couldmake the difference in getting the order or not. It is importantto strike a balance here — if you can "start immediately", theclient may feel that you are not busy, and he may conjure up hisown reasons of why that is. On the other hand, if you put astart/delivery date too far out, you run the risk of cooling offa hot prospect. The best advice is to use your best judgmentalong with the information you already know about your prospect.If they needed it yesterday, you’ll know what to do. End your presentation with a closing paragraph which contains astatement of interest in doing the work for the prospectiveclient. This part can also be used to restate the benefits ofdoing business with your company. For instance, "All theemployees at TRED are dedicated to the highest of qualitystandards in product and in service. Our free overnight deliveryservice means no spare part inventory for you…"
FIRST IMPRESSIONS When you first meet someone, how long does it take you to sizehim up and decide whether you like him or not? Well, it’s atwo-way street. Your prospect will be sizing you up before youmake your first statement, just as you will be with him. Tomaximize your chances for a good first impression, walk into themeeting confident, holding your head and body erect, keeping asmile on your face and making good eye contact. People like doingbusiness with people they like. This is an opportune time tofind out about your prospect’s interests, his family, what hedoes when he’s not working. Selling is about relationships.It’s about trusting the person who’s making the sale. It’s aboutcaring for the customer who’s making the purchase. When you knowthe "person," it provides you with many opportunities toreinforce the message that you care for the "customer."
Never start a presentation saying, "I won’t take too much of yourtime," or "I really appreciate your taking time from your busyschedule to see me." Create leverage with your prospect. Youare there to help him; you are there as an asset. And never tellhim that you "have all day." Quite possibly he doesn’t.Introduce yourself, your company and product or service. ANTICIPATING OBJECTIONS Another key component of your sales presentation is how well youcan anticipate and handle the prospect’s objections. It doesn’tmatter how well prepared your presentation is, nor how well youhave rehearsed it, the prospect is still liable to throw you acurve ball. When you review your presentation and get to a pointwhere you think there might be an objection, write the objectiondown on a separate piece of paper. Continue doing this until youthink you have found all of the objections possible and answerthem. When this exercise is completed, give the presentation to afriend or colleague and ask him to think up objections to yourpresentation. Compare notes. Has he found other objections thatyou never thought of? Answer these objections and include themas part of your presentation in the form of positive statements.
For more information on handling objections, you may want to refer to the module How to Identify and Overcome Objections. THE SALES DELIVERY This is the actual communication between the sales person and theprospect. Remember, it is not always what you say to theprospect, but how you say it that makes an impression on theprospect. During your presentation, there will be times when youmust convey confidence, compassion and concern for the prospectand his needs. If you can do this well, you can often establisha strong bond with your prospect. For your sales delivery to be most effective, follow theseimportant tips:
For more information on presentations, you may want to refer to the training module How to Develop Powerful Presentation Skills. PRESENTATION AIDS To supplement your knowledge of the products and services and howthey will satisfy the prospect’s needs, you might consider usingaudiovisual materials. They can be tremendously effective forany presentation if they are used properly. Studies have beenconducted and findings show that people are more likely to bepersuaded if visual aids are used. They can be used to emphasizekey concepts, illustrate important points, lend support to thepresentation and clarify information. On the down-side, however, audiovisual aids can also overpoweryour presentation and detract from the message. This isespecially true if you’re uncomfortable with it or you find yourself explaining the audio visual message. Presentation aidsshould enhance, not distract, and they shouldn’t be so slick asto confuse the prospect on the intended message. The most important visual aid is your product or service. Whenever possible, show the product orexamples of your service to the prospect instead of a photograph,video or slide presentation of product. Let the audiovisualpresentation appeal to the prospect’s senses of sight and sound,and let the actual product or service bring the presentationtogether. The audiovisual presentation should not be asubstitute for a walking, talking, breathing, thinking salesperson. Use them as additions to your presentation but never asthe entire presentation. If you decide on an audiovisual presentation, either use your ownequipment or make preparations with your prospect to use his. Inany case, check out the equipment before the presentation. Ifit’s yours, you can do this at your office. If you’re usingsomeone else’s equipment, plan to arrive with enough time tocheck theirs. There’s nothing worse than getting to a prospect’slocation and discovering that the equipment is not functioning.This is especially disastrous if you are relying heavily on theaudiovisual presentation and do not have your own presentationhoned as a back-up. Carry spare bulbs, extension cords, andduplicate videotapes. Plan for the worse. If your audiovisualpresentation cannot be given due to an equipment malfunction, beprepared to give a stand-up presentation in its place. A list of commonly-used presentation aids follows:
POST PRESENTATION After the presentation, it’s valuable to review what took place — not only what went wrong, but what you did right as well.Analyze each part of the presentation from the opening to theclose. Take everything into account from the physical setting toyour performance. If possible, get some feed back from theprospect. Think about what you would do differently next time.If you complete an analysis after each presentation, you will bewell on your way to becoming a successful salesperson. Followingis an exercise from Charles R. Whitlock that will help you todetermine if you are communicating effectively. On a separatesheet of paper, number from one to twenty-three.
To determine your score, give each statement a score based on thecorresponding values assigned below: "Always" = 1 point, "Some of the time" = 2 points, "Don’t think about it" = 3 points. If your score is 28 or less, you are a superb communicator. Ifyour score is between 29 and 44, you probably are an effectivecommunicator some of the time, but when communicating, you shouldconsider those items that you rated 2 or 3 more often than youare currently doing. If your score is 45 or more, you maymisdirect or misinform when you communicate. Be serious aboutimproving your communications skills. Find books, audio tapes,and videos specializing in listening and speaking techniques.Take notes and practice what you’ve learned. With the help of this module, you will be in an excellentposition to develop and implement an effective sales presentationand start closing those big sales. Good Luck! RESOURCES Books
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