Preparing For Your Next Sales Presentation
September 13, 2020
If you want to be successful in business, you are going to need to master the skill of giving a great sales presentation. Whether you are trying to close a deal with a sales prospect, or trying to raise money with investors, knowing how to give a great presentation is a vital step in your career.
This is why it is essential that you take the time to prepare your presentation. And that happens by choosing the appropriate materials, designers, refining your message, improving your communication skills, and cultivating a positive and winning mindset.
- Client Needs
“Customers don’t care about your solutions, they care about their problem” – Dave McClure
The starting point of a successful commercial presentation is to know and understand the client’s needs, so you will know how to focus the speech so that it is as effective as possible. If you have ever seen any successful sales speaker on stage, you will see that their message always focuses on what their audience wants.
Once you have defined what the customer is looking for, the next thing you should do is identify the key points of your value proposition that meet the customer’s needs. Those key points are the ones that should stand out in your presentation and in the material you hand out to ensure they are absolutely clear. This is a very important step in the content creation process.
- Being Prepared & On Time
During a business presentation it is essential to convey confidence, security, commitment and determination which is why you need to overcome any anxiety you may have. It is very important for the client to be sure that you are going to take responsibility for the business.
Try to anticipate every detail and be prepared to face situations that go out of plan. Being late for your presentation will leave a negative image on the client. Make punctuality a habit and a principle in your life, in your work and in your business.
- Creating Your Presentation
Presentations are visual, so it is necessary to create something that is very appealing yet simple. Make sure you have the necessary tools and supplies on hand so that you don’t have a problem showing the different items you have prepared. Something unforeseen may arise in the place of the presentation with the sound, the lighting or with the computers, so it is important to have a Plan B for each thing that fails.
On the other hand, the choice of tools will depend on the medium used to transmit the messages.
. The “crappy” presentations, without the right material, fail to capture the attention of the audience and, what is worse, leave a negative image of the company.
- Structured message and clear language
Presentations and public speaking require an effort of specification and structure. You have to be very clear about the message you want to convey, and you have to know how to decorate it with elements and references that reinforce the content. The important thing is to capture the attention of those present, and that is done with direct, short and well-linked messages. This is why you should invest some time into watching a professional keynote speaker give their speech so you can see what a polished presentation looks like.
It is necessary to avoid exposures that are too long, that induce confusion or boredom. And it is advisable to rely on images, especially in PowerPoint presentations. A motley text, with little graphic element, causes a feeling of overwhelm and loses effectiveness. It’s better to insert images and play around with the formats and fonts. They are elements that make a text “breathe” and will make the dissertation a pleasant experience.
And at the end of the presentation, do not forget a summary of the main ideas. They will be the concepts that the listener will retain.
- Body Language & Confidence
Another fundamental aspect to make successful presentations is body language. Choose clothing that makes you feel comfortable and confident that is consistent with the image you want to convey. Your image sells. If you want to make a good first impression, then spend the time on mastering your charisma and presence like other sales gurus have done. Remember that when people are buying something, they are buying you first.
It is also important to become aware of those body movements, both voluntary and involuntary, that send signals of insecurity to those who are watching us. Mastering body movements is not something easy, but it is something that can be worked to take advantage of them in our favor.
- Facts & Data
Affirmations must be reinforced with data, but we must not overdo it. People do not retain figures or percentages, they keep the most significant data, so try not to burden your intervention with messages of this type.
If you have to talk about statistics, lean on infographics and use clear graphics. The “cheese” type are very effective, as are the colored columns. If you notice, they are the tools that politicians use when making debates; there must be a reason.
Another interesting resource to enhance the messages is to add some personal reference. The anecdotes help to create complicity with the public, show the human side of the speaker and are the best tool to illustrate content.
All the resources that we have just presented will be of no use if the lecturer’s attitude fails. Transmitting is an art, and that happens by believing in what is being said and adopting a positive, enthusiastic and receptive position.
- Don’t Waste Their Time
Finally, for entrepreneurs, time is a very valuable resource, so it is important that your presentation is forceful.
Keep it simple. Focus your presentation on the details that are relevant to the client and get their interest in it. If you captivate your client, he or she will be in charge of interacting with you and requesting more information about the points of their interest.
