Sure-Fire Way #3:  Ineffective Presentation Delivery

We have seen how too much data can ruin a sales presentation; we have also looked at how lack of structure can cause buyers to miss your message. Now let’s look at the third way we can blow a sales presentation; ineffective delivery. YOU are the most important part of the presentation. In fact YOU are the presentation. People buy from people NOT documents or slide presentations. If they did buy from those things, sales organizations could save a lot of money by firing all their sellers and hiring a few presentation writers and then they could email all the presentations and save a ton on travel!

Wait, before you get all excited and actually try to do what I just suggested, let’s look at a better way.

Buyers like to be diagnosed by professionals. They enjoy buying, just not being sold to. They like knowing there are professional sellers out there who can be valuable resources for them; thought leaders, experts, specialists, who can make their job easier and allow them to look like heroes within their own organization. We can demonstrate these abilities on our very first call with a buyer, during our questioning dialogues and certainly during our sales presentations.

Buyers tell us they want two things from sellers:

• Situational Knowledge… they want to know that you understand their challenges, within their industry and within their specific organization…that you can see the world from their viewpoint
• Capability Knowledge…they need to know that you understand how your capabilities can uniquely empower them to solve their problems, not just knowledge of your products and features

One of the best ways to demonstrate our Situational and Capability Knowledge is to give sales presentations that accomplish these two things throughout the entire presentation. Sellers that deliver presentations with compelling content that addresses these two important buyer needs are great, but you are only half way there. You also have to demonstrate your credibility by HOW you deliver the content.

Best Practice on Presentation Delivery:

• Capture your audience’s attention right away in an unpredictable way that draws them into the moment
• Demonstrate situational knowledge by delivering a custom presentation that shows an understanding of their unique challenges
• Don’t kill them with PowerPoint. Break up your presentation by utilizing  white boarding, flip chart use, video clips or storytelling… every audience likes to be entertained
• Most important, NEVER ever read from PowerPoint. It sends the message that you don’t know your stuff. Use bullets and expand on the information, or better yet demonstrate it on a flip
• Remember people buy from people NOT slides. YOU are the presentation. Hone your craft, improve your presentation skills… your buyers will love you for it!

Sure-Fire Way #2: No structure

What process do you use when developing a sales presentation? Do you use the quickest method possible or one that is designed to align with the mindset of your audience? Maybe you do a little of both.

Have you ever been sitting through a presentation and you find yourself wondering where the presenter is going with all this? Do you ever wish they’d get to the point or get to the part where they tell you what you are supposed to do with all this information?

Why is structure important in a sales presentation? People need and want structure, especially during an information exchange, so their brains can focus on what is really important. In order for your buyer to comprehend and say yes to you, you need to structure your presentation in a way to help them do just that. If the audience is thinking about ANYTHING other than the content of your presentation, you are blowing it! You have not addressed their unspoken concerns.

Their mind is busy, wondering:

• How long this will take?
• When will they cover they topic I’m MOST interested in?
• Will I get all my questions answered?
• Should I interrupt now or just wait and see if they cover them?

The list could go on and on. The sooner you anticipate and address these concerns the sooner you will capture the full attention of your audience and engage their brains. They will be in the moment with you, focusing on your words, content and the information you are sharing.

Let your audience know up front how many points you will be making or what the flow of your presentation is. Every presentation should be put together in a logical way…not just a random selection of slides you think your audience will enjoy. Telling your audience you will be making three main points at the beginning of your presentation will allow them to relax. They will say to themselves, “Three points? I can handle that!”

Once they know what you are trying to accomplish, why and how, the audience must be aware of where you are in your presentation and where you are going next, at all times. If they slip away even for a moment it’s hard to get them back. If you have three main points to make, let them know where you are by saying, “Point number two is…” Do not keep saying “and another thing…” or “another point I want to make is…” If they get lost they give up trying to follow you and all you get is an audience who looks like they are listening, but they won’t be able to say “yes” at the end of the presentation because they didn’t listen to half of it.

Best Practice on Structure:

• Take the time before you develop your presentation to think about what’s important to your audience
• Start your presentation in an unpredictable way that captures their attention and draws them into the moment
• Before you jump into the content of your presentation, answer their unspoken questions. Tell them all the things YOU would want to know if you were in their shoes. What you will cover, what benefit there is to them, how long it will take, how you will share the information, what you expect of them during and after the presentation, when you will address questions and what you will ask of them at the conclusion of the presentation
• During your presentation keep them with you at all times…don’t lose them by plowing through slide after slide. Make transitional statements, like, “We are now going into the third and final section of the presentation on how to have a successful implementation.”  After this topic is addressed I’ll take questions and then wrap things up with next steps.” So, let’s talk about implementation…”
• Be aware during of the audience’s needs your presentation and change direction if needed.

Following these simple rules will allow your buyer to really comprehend the content of your presentation and leave the presentation with a clear picture of how you can help solve their business problem. They will know what they are saying yes to!

For Sure-Fire Way #3 - tune in tomorrow!

Sure-Fire Way #1: Too Much Data

How many times have you been ready to make a purchase and when shopping find yourself totally overwhelmed with too many choices? You leave the store empty handed because you became confused and distracted by too much information and too many alternatives.

Most sellers think the more compelling evidence, statistics, research, and comprehensive findings they can cram into a sales presentation, the better. In reality, that type of information can actually do more harm than good. Every person has a saturation point for new information and it varies from person to person. Any new information requires a certain amount of focus to comprehend and is taxing on the brain. Once a person’s ability to focus, listen intently, apply and retain new information reaches a certain limit, their brain shuts down for a while to rest.

Don’t kid yourself; during that time most people will be nodding their head as if in agreement, but not really listening at all. Not until something compelling sparks their interest will their brain re-engage and focus again on what the presenter is saying. Some sellers use too much data to cover up the fact that the product or service they are selling really lacks substance. They think they can mask it with so much data that the data alone will sell their product. Savvy buyers are sensitive to this practice and become wary when a seller tries to overwhelm them with data and research instead of focusing on the prospect’s critical business issues and how to solve them.

Best Practice on Data:

• Less is more…leave them wanting and asking for more information
• Relevant data to a specific client’s needs is best…it’s not about YOU and what you think is great…it about the customer. How does the data help THEM?
• One size does NOT fit all. Stop sharing the same busy slides full of data in every presentation. Yes, it’s easy to reuse the same presentation on every buyer, but every encounter with a new prospect or buyer provides a unique opportunity to create something special just for them. They will see that you are addressing their unique situation and this will be a big differentiator for you

Sure-Fire Way #2… tune in tomorrrow!