The challenge with talking about sales presentations is that it immediately invokes an image of a one way conversation. The only thing that can be worse is if it included a PowerPoint presentation read by the presenter. To me selling and presenting are two different things that only on occasion and under specific circumstances go well together.

Selling should be a conversation, a dialogue that leads to a conclusion that makes sense for both participants. The art and science of selling is the ability of the seller to steer the conversation on pre-planned path that involves and challenges the buyer to think.  By thinking you can encourage them to look beyond the status quo, and begin to explore potential solutions or alternative ways to doing things.

The danger with presentations is that they are open to a lot of presupposition on the part of the seller, and can turn into a spray and pray session, or worse.  Now I know some of you are thinking “well but what if I have done my research, and am presenting relevant and viable things to the buyer?”  I think research is good, but should be used to formulate to stimulate discussion, the conversation that sales is.  All too many sales people use research to show how much they know, how smart they are and why the buyer should buy from them for those reasons.  Don’t forget the old truism “knowledge is the biggest barrier to learning.”  This coupled with the fact that buying is very much an emotional event, you know people buy on emotion and then spend time rationalizing their decision.  Hard to get people excited talking at them rather than with them.

I know some say that at one point, when you have uncovered everything it is then time to present the solution, which is a form of presenting.  Maybe?  Why not deliver a “discussion document”, review it with the buyer, and have him make his mark on it, taking pride of creation and ownership.  When I sell the first thing I deliver is a document like this, and what really drives home that this is an interactive process, is that this document has no place for a signature like most conventional proposals presented; but it has all the elements, pricing, terms, date, etc. and it has all the emotional steps leading to a crescendo where no immediate signature is needed to lock them in.  They are so involved, they feel the pride of ownership, they ask for the contract because they can’t wait, they want it, they are like kids on Christmas eve just chomping at the bit to get started.

There are two situations where you may have to present, but even there, I think you can try something different.  One is in an RFP situation, where you have completed a response and now have to present.  The other is similar where a company uses the “swimsuit in a beauty contest” approach to making a decision, (boy there is a whole other post there, ha), the expectation is that you will come in and do your song and dance in 30 minutes and convince them why your dance is better than the other three vendors, because they always call you vendor, not potential partner, or potential trusted advisor, which are all the labels you want to wear, but you’ll never be anything other than vendor 3 of 4.  Unless you change the premise, instead of having dancing PowerPoint, ask them questions.  They haven’t thought it through as much as you think.  The other vendors go in and dance to a pre-selected song, tired and predictable, so you need to stand out, change the tune, and ask them questions.  What are they hoping to achieve, how will the measure success, how will it impact one department vs. another (it’s great when they are both at the table, the sparks just fly), what’s the impact of not doing anything, why now….  Most often you see a change of mood, after sitting through one “polished’ presentation after the other, they actually get to participate.  They usually see that there is more to it then they thought, they see that one vendor is genuine.  Because at the end you intentions not your presentation drive the discussion.

Again I understand and respect the need for proper appearance, stance, language, a little drama, intonation, and all the other things, but if you don’t engage and capture you can be Fred Astaire (or Michael Jackson), you’ll never go as far as a good question between the eyes.