I know you are going to think I am weird when I say this, but your presentation is NOT about your product! It’s about your client, silly!

The trick to giving a rock solid presentation is not to memorize every feature and benefit of your product and puke them up on your client all at once. The REAL trick is to get to know your client and understand their business, then in a very well thought out manner present to them only the features of your product that fill a specific need of theirs. This allows you to spend your time on what’s important (their needs) and avoid talking about things that mean nothing to them.

The real problem is in the set up. Most sales people fail to prepair properly. First you need to do your background research and have some good conversation starting questions ready, then you need to be ready to probe deeply into each issue and find root causes. finally once you have gathered all your information you can start “presenting” based on actual findings and not just random assumptions.

Finally even if you work for a company where you have a flip chart or PowerPoint “Pitch” you can still use this preperation method to convert your companies generic pitch into a targeted presentation.

Action items: Think about your sales process for a minute and ask yourself:

Is my sales process specific to my customer?

What could I do differently to be more prepared?

Am I asking enough questions?

Do I know my customers REAL motivation to buy?

What could I do differently based on this information to convert my pitch to a presentation?

Popularity: 10% [?]

Good presentations can be extremely effective when trying to “turn” a prospective customer. While there is usually too much emphasis that is put on this part of the sale (i.e. “the close”), it is not doubt an important part of the sales process in most cases.

When giving presentations, salespeople often spend too much time on the wrong things. For the most part, prospects really don’t care about how long you have been in business, what your product or company story is, and who makes up your executive leadership. Unless your prospect has given you a reason in an earlier phase of the sale to address these items, you are simply spinning your wheels and losing their attention when you need it most.

Instead, your efforts need to be focused on the “goodies” of the deal. Your presentation needs to address how a prospective customer will ultimately make more money by doing business with you. Whether this comes from increased productivity, cost savings, recovering lost revenue, or all three – it matters not. It only matters that they believe your presentation at this point. If you can pull this off by presenting the goodies, you will achieve victory with your presentation.

Popularity: 12% [?]

I really enjoyed Skip’s article on presentations last week and how skills that stage actors use can potentially help sales people present in a better way. One of the greatest assets a skilled actor and indeed a skilled sales person has to have is the ability to hold interest. Interest is a key ingredient in any two way traffic of information whether you are watching a programme on TV or talking to a friend. The challenge of maintaining interest is tough enough in a presentation environment, yet one of the greatest obstacles to a good presentation is the presenter themselves. Here are some reasons why…

1. Who Exactly Is In Charge? – I’m not a huge fan of PowerPoint but it does seem to be one of the presenter’s aids of choice in large presentation settings. The problem isn’t with PowerPoint itself but the focus of presentations. You see, there appears to be an unconscious feeling by some presenters that the most important thing in the presentation is the information that resides within that presentation aid. In a way, the main focal point of the presentation becomes that piece of collateral and the presenter becomes the presentation aid. Shifting the importance value by directing attention away from the presenter is actually quite damaging because the interest, trust and engagement that you would hope to be built between presenter and audience is actually deflected to the sales aid and not to you.

2. Why Are You Fighting Your Own Presentation? – Another cardinal sin with presentations directly following on from the last point is when presenters and their presentations constantly vie for the audience’s attention. While talking to your audience, why are there masses of text or odd little animations or video’s in the background? Why make it hard for your audience to pay attention to you?

3. What Are Your Hands Doing? – Pens and paper are sometimes a really bad idea to hold on to in a presentation especially to those with a nervous disposition (and even those that don’t) Subconsciously we like to occupy our hands in nervous activity, so while pacing around, a presenter may be in the middle of an important point succinctly delivering the information whilst unknowingly fiddling with a pencil between his fingers. Paper is worse (I know, I did a presentation once holding a piece of paper with notes – it was a disaster), in that it exaggerates nervous shaking so that the audience can see quite plainly that you are nervous. If you have to use notes, make sure they are in a portfolio that doesn’t easily accentuate minor shakes. If nerves are evident you can bet that the audience is preoccupied with thinking about that rather than the information you want to deliver.

4. Engage Everyone – This may appear contradictory to what I’ve said in point two but using different methods of delivering information is actually a good idea. Why? Because we all learn in different ways. Some of us like listening, while other like watching or doing or participating. Mix this up and the audience will retain the information you are giving more easily. I used to hate going to lectures when studying because a presentation of aural information over an hour long was not my ideal way of understanding information and my interest was not engaged for very long and I soon forgot what was said. If you watch some stand-up comedians they employ different ways of engaging their audience, perhaps interacting with audience members or asking for volunteers to act out stories. One of the purposes of which is to break up the monotony of delivering information in one format. Planning different ways of delivering information into a presentation means there is less likelihood of there being conflict between different media as in point two.

Popularity: 11% [?]

I am watching American Idol and I am bored.  Now it is Simon’s turn to critique another generic singer.

He says, “The problem is that you are completely forgettable.”

Exactly.  Although there are thirty-six finalists, maybe three of them are memorable.  This is bad news for the other thirty-three.

Here is the deal – when you gain the stage you have to put on a show.  The performance must be outstanding.  You must be memorable!

Selling is all about memorable performances - especially in person.  Unfortunately, just like American Idol, I would say that only about one in ten of us puts on a memorable performance when we have the opportunity.

Simon recently said to a contestant, “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m afraid that you’ve blown it.”

If sellers heard this more often from either their sales managers or their clients we would see real improvement.  Because, unlike American Idol we get “once in a lifetime” opportunities all the time.

Here is what you must do the next time you have a once in a lifetime opportunity in front of a very important prospect:

1) Spend less time on the content of your presentation
a) You can do the content in your sleep and
b) No one really needs a better set of power point slides
2) Pick out a really great outfit
a) Ask somebody with style to give you some advice on an accessory that adds flair but
b) Stay away from goofy stuff
3) Work on the dynamics of the presentation to make it different for the prospect.  Here are some ideas:
a) Add some music to your show – recorded is good but live is better
b) Think about using an appropriate and memorable quote
c) Bring a surprise guest
d) Have a unique ‘leave behind’ that will spur memories of your performance
4) Do a complete dress rehearsal in front of an audience

Selling is a competition.  To win more frequently, you must be more memorable.

Popularity: 11% [?]

As Colin Wilson pointed out in Presentations – The Secret Ingredient, in one sense sales presentations are all about you: the client gets to see you in action and to build trust in you and your team.

But just as importantly, sales presentations are all about them. The way you build trust is to focus on them and their needs. The way you demonstrate credibility is to talk about their issues, challenges and opportunities.

In my experience, the most important thing to do in any sales presentation is to demonstrate that you fully understand your potential client’s needs.

Your solution could be off-base. You can have under or overestimated the benefits. Your implementation plan can be a bit screwy. But if you fully understand their needs then all that can be fixed. And they know it.

Conversely, no matter how good your solution or how accurate you analysis of the benefits or how perfect your implementation plan: if you don’t fully understand them and what they’re looking for then the chances are that things will eventually fall apart.

In most sales presentations, the client needs are usually glossed over in a single slide. The seller gives an overview, uses generic phrasing, and replays what the client told them. Their objective is to quickly convince the client that they’ve understood what’s being asked so they can move on to the exciting bits of presenting their fantastic solution.

In contrast, the effective presenter has an objective of actually ensuring they fully understand the client needs – not just convincing the client they do. They will spend considerable time up front playing back a more detailed analysis and understanding of what the client needs. they don’t move on until they’ve fully explored this Not just what they said – but exploration of root causes and impacts. Clients quickly pick up on this intent and begin to feel more comfortable.

The solution, of course, should be presented in the client’s terms too. What it means for them, how it will help them, what they need to do to make it work. As should the implementation plan and the business case.

And finally, make it interesting. As David Ogilvy said: “You can’t bore someone into buying your product”. Make your presentation interactive, open strong & close strong. Entertain.

Popularity: 10% [?]

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.

Popularity: 13% [?]

I was fortunate enough to start acting at a fairly early age by participating in school plays. As a senior in high school, I was presented with the “Best Actor” award at a state drama contest. I went on to begin college as a theater minor, and have since appeared in many theatrical productions.

Now, I’m no Anthony Hopkins, but training in acting and theater has definitely enhanced my sales career. With one foot in the world of theater and the other in the realm of business, I offer a dozen suggestions to help you perform effective sales presentations.

1. Speak deliberately.

When an experienced actor first begins to stage rehearsals, they are repeatedly reminded by the director to slow down their pace of speech. Speech carries differently on stage in a theater than it does in normal every day conversation, so it requires a different pace that is suited to the environment.

Although a great sales presentation can be very conversational in style, an effective sales presentation often requires more deliberate speech than does a regular chit-chat around your family’s dinner table or with coworkers at the water cooler. Speak deliberately.

2. Know your script.

Maybe your “script” hasn’t been created word-for-word (although in some cases it probably should be!), but you still have to know your backwards and forwards the essence of what you are going to say. Actors, above and beyond all else, are a purposeful lot. Whereas many salespeople fly by the seats of their pants, actors prepare, prepare, and prepare some more to create the desired performance. Know what you are going to say and how you’re going to say it.

3. Edit when necessary.

Playwrights are likely frustrated by this, but directors may edit scripts to meet needs of a particular time, place, audience, or actor, or may unilaterally and subjectively attempt to improve a script. Salespeople need to do that editing work, too. Just because words automatically come out of your mouth doesn’t mean they’re the best words for that particular situation. Select the words that will create the results you want.

And if your words don’t have a clear purpose in your sales presentation, leave them out. Wasted words create distraction.

4. Know your character.

Is it important to be yourself during a sales presentation?

Yes (see #12). But it is also important to become the character that can achieve the desired sales result. The “self” has so many facets in everyday life that we all play many different roles anyway. Depending upon many factors, we choose roles to play throughout our lives. Don’t be a one character salesperson. Be the right character at the right time.

Understand the role you’re playing in each and every sales presentation. At times, this role will change slightly or greatly depending upon who you’re presenting to, or depending upon what product you’re presenting, or even depending upon external factors (a sales presentation in much of the world the day after 9/11 would probably be much different than one the day after New Year’s Day).

5. Make eye contact work for you.

Draw prospects into your presentation with your eyes. Look at all participants, and time your direct eye contact appropriately to achieve the desired effect. One difference between movie acting and theatrical acting is that on-stage performers can more easily utilize effective eye contact. Even with hundreds or thousands of people in an audience, a skilled stage actor can use eye contact to create a memorable performance.

6. Position your body where it will have the most impact.

Stage actors spend hours working with directors to determine appropriate placement on stage for any given scene or portion of a scene. Salespeople should also create proper placement during a sales presentation.

You’re at the kitchen table with your husband and wife prospects? Sit or stand where it will have the most impact. You’re in a retail store at your widget display? Do the same thing. Meeting someone for a consultation in their office? The same applies.

7. Use appropriate body movements

Body movement can capture the attention of your prospects. Just as a struggling actor might work with a movement coach to refine on-stage motions, salespeople should create motions that are effective and seamless. Our body is really the only thing we have control over, so take control and create movements that will enhance your presentation.

8. Don’t just speak. Tell a story.

Don’t just present information, facts, figures, details, terms, product information, technical specifications and the like, but morph this information into a story-like journey. Create a theatrical presentation that leaves them wanting more. A closed deal is the salesperson’s standing ovation.

9. Create some drama.

What creates drama in a sales presentation? Pauses. Unexpected verbiage. Contrast. Twists and turns. Gestures. Stories. Anticipation. Tension. Intrigue. Humor. Suspense.

10. Know when to give the spotlight to someone else.

Most often, this would be to your prospect, but it could be a team seller, the prospect’s infant crying in the stroller, or the soup boiling over on the stove. Rarely do actors get to have the spotlight throughout an entire performance. Although the presentation phase of the selling process is the seller’s time to be “on stage,” sellers must understand that they sometimes have to share the stage with others.

11. Engineer an emotional response

Theatrical presentations can be merely entertaining, and that’s not a bad thing, but the best productions I’ve seen have touched my emotions in some way. The range of emotions residing in human beings is endless, and we can tap into those emotions to help our sales presentations have tremendous impact.

It’s not that we want our prospects to break down in tears in mid-presentation (or maybe we do!), but subtle presentation nuances can spark emotions which serve to engage prospects in our presentation, and therefore help us to more effectively position our product to meet stated and unstated customer needs.

12. Let the uniqueness of you show through.

Different actors play different roles differently. It’s fascinating to see two different actors play the same character in different productions. Each actor brings to their stage a distinct blend of personal traits and a unique point-of-view which shapes their performance. When presenting, don’t forget to let you show through.

- – - – - – - – - -

Actors act and we buy their act. Some salespeople may feel that acting is artificial, or perhaps manipulative. I disagree. As consumers, we gladly pay money to watch actors act on stage and screen, and we don’t care that they might be different than the character they’re playing. In fact, we embrace it. I think salespeople should embrace the premise that presenting is partially acting, and utilizing some of the principles of acting can help create convincing and compelling experiences for their prospects, and in doing so, create improved sales performance.

Popularity: 10% [?]

This new topic is presentations, which are not to be confused with pitching ideas. There are many things to look at when presenting and I am not going to cover them all, but I will cover what I believe to be the most important part of the presentation… you!

It’s all about you.
Presentations are an opportunity for people to get to know you better. You may think that the purpose of the presentation is to persuade your audience, but in reality the real point is for them to see you ‘in action’, to get to know you and, ultimately, to trust you. Confidence in you and your team will follow.

It’s a mistake to think that the primary function of any presentation is the conveying of facts. Lists of facts and figures belong in an email or a leave-behind document. The presentation is about demonstrating your personality and, by association, that of your team. Knowing the facts is a given. They need to like you and believe in you!

Even though your presentation may be proscribed by the company it still has to feel as if it’s yours; you have to own it and be comfortable with it.  And it has to be focused on the particular individuals in front of you: their needs and interests. The more you work on engaging with your particular audience the more it will take on the dynamics of a successful meeting where everybody is helping to move things forward; even if your audience are only doing that by providing you with energy and focus because they are engaged.

Remember: They might fear that you’re going to be dull, but they’re hoping that you’re not.

When you’re on you’re in charge
When you are presenting you are in charge. In charge of everything. This is the way that the agreement about presenting works. When people accept the role of audience they effectively say,  “ok, over to you. What have you got?” This means you are put in a very powerful position. If it doesn’t feel that way, there are techniques to help build your confidence.

The feeling we usually start out with is, ‘it’s just little old me and all of them’. The journey we make from there is one of ‘ownership’. It is effectively a claiming of territory that most audiences will willingly give up. When you begin to work from a position of being in charge or responsible for everything, you start to realise that you are responsible for what your audience thinks and feels for the duration of the presentation. And it isn’t just about knowing what to say: the messages they receive will be as much to do with how you stand and how you sound. If they are excited it’s your fault. If they are bored, it’s your fault. If they can’t keep up, it’s your fault.

At first glance this may seem more, rather than less difficult. But if you look again you can see that it brings with it liberation from the straitjacket of just doing what you’ve already prepared (the Blue Peter approach to presenting). If you can see that they haven’t understood and it’s your fault, then the obvious thing to do is to depart from the script until everyone’s up to speed. This can bring a gloriously refreshing approach to the preparation of a presentation, where you begin to look at a grab bag of possible routes you may take and possible things you may bring into your presentation.

In Summary

• Presenting is about you.
• People want to meet, like and trust you.
• You have to take control.
• Everything you do communicates.
• The challenge is to keep things fresh.

Popularity: 8% [?]