The Power of Effective Presentations: Tactics for Sales Professionals

Have you ever listened to a pitch that made you want to run? By now, it’s likely that we all know the feeling of being caught in a situation where we agreed to a meeting and once we joined, were immediately disappointed.

I have been contacted by numerous companies selling products and services throughout my career but few get past the gatekeepers to an actual pitch. Recently, however, one of the companies that reached out made it through. They definitely called me at the right time, with the right message, and set the appointment at a quick pace — leading to the chance encounter for the salesperson to sell me with their sales pitch.

To this day, I’m still not sure how the company could help me based on the confusing nature of the sales presentation. But, it got me thinking —how often does this happen? How often does a salesperson truly consider the viewpoint of the person their pitching? Do they ever wonder why they’re not seeing the success anticipated by their presentations? We can all learn lessons if we find ourselves being pitched in this type of a situation — every experience can teach us something and give us greater insight into how to better ourselves if we let it.

If you are not seeing the success you anticipate and are confused about your negative results, there could be a simple fix that can help boost your success rate and close more deals. Looking for ways to improve your results based on other’s teachings, as well as your own track record, is a great place to invest your time.

The Art of Presenting

Sales presentations can be tricky if they’re not constructed with a balance of give and take in mind. A conversation with your sales prospect should be fluid and seemingly intuitive to what they are looking to get out of the conversation. Too often, a salesperson is solely focused on getting their message across, when in reality, this is the exact opposite of what should be communicated. Seek first to understand (confirm what your prospect is looking to achieve) and then speak to the value you will provide if they choose your product or service.

If you are using slides and have progressed on the sales journey to the point where a presentation is appropriate for your prospect, a more effective sales presentation might go something like this….

Structure Your Sales Slides and Talk Track

* SLIDE 1: Highlight your prospect’s company name, logo, and what you know about them to show you’ve done your research.

• People love seeing their name and/or company name displayed. It shows the presentation is meant for them.
• Tie your conversation to the pain point you've identified and how you can help them be successful, highlighting the relevance to their current industry.

* SLIDE 2: Share the who, what, when, where, and how about your company

• Keep your prospect’s attention by sharing what you do, who you help, how you do it, and where it takes place. Always tie the relevance back to them and their needs.
• Make sure to share why you are the best company to provide your service or product to your prospect.
• Highlight awards, programs, and accolades you’ve been given.

* SLIDE 3: Tell stories: talk about overall successful engagements with similar customers (not mentioning names)

• If you have permission, show client logos. If not, show industry-generic icons and talk about the way you've helped customers in similar situations complete successful engagements.
• Display a customer quote that validates your positioning statement on this slide if it fits. If it’s too busy, create another slide to show a glowing customer quote — people listen to others' opinions.

* SLIDE 4: Show a demo

• Pause for a demo of your product or service if it feels like the right time.
• If a demo is out of the question, at the very least, include screenshots of what you’re selling to show the experience.

* SLIDE 5: Share a Specific Case Study

• People love to see how someone just like them got results.
• Outline a customer story that shares how someone just like them was successful.
• Include return on investment data points as well as other captivating information.

* PAUSE: Take a break to check in

• When you get to this point in the conversation, stop and get more verbal feedback.

Throughout the presentation, you should have maintained a rapport with your prospect and encouraged engagement. Under no circumstance should you have talked longer than 5 minutes without getting buy-in from your prospect that you were on the right talk track.

We take a deliberate pause at this point in the presentation to check in with ourselves and confirm the prospect is talking and engaged. Make sure you have given them time to talk and ask questions.

* SCHEDULE A FOLLOW-UP: Always think “what’s next?”

• To round out your discussion with the prospect, always set a follow up call to focus on one particular aspect, one message.

When you structure your presentations effectively, and wrap in thoughtful conversation that interests your prospects, your chances of getting your message across successfully is extremely high, thus resulting in more closed business, faster.

Watch Your Words

Do not be the hero of your own sales presentation. Your job is to sell your prospect on your tool, service, or solution so that THEY can be seen as the hero. You want it to be easy for them to feel excellent about their choice to do business with you, ensuring you will make them look good for selecting your company.

Watch your words and think of ways you would need to be supported if you were in their position.

Seek First to Be Successful

It’s important that we seek first to understand and then provide value our prospects need most. Your lead generation team works hard to get sales prospects in the pipeline for you and we want to ensure we are giving our best in every conversation we have with them. Always remember WIIFM — the old radio acronym of “What’s in it for me?” If you remember WIIFM and that your success will be in direct alignment with your communicating that answer to your prospects, you will gain a raving fan base of customers.

In Closing

There are so many wonderful examples of what to-do and what not-to-do in sales that you can study. As you strengthen your communication style and attentiveness to what your prospect is looking to buy, your sales will rise.

Consistently study your most recent conversation for pitfalls and perfection. When you review your track record in great detail, you will begin to see patterns that can both be elevated and eliminated.

If you aren’t sure how you’re doing and need an outside opinion, ask your boss, mentor, or colleague for constructive feedback.

Remember to ABC — always be closing, with the mindset of serving everyone on the WIIFM channel in a way that relates to the situation they are trying to improve — and you will enjoy incredible success throughout your career.