Delivering Meaningful Presentations

Every day, whether you are making a sales pitch to a potential client or trying to convince a retail customer service representative, why they need to take back a particular product....you are presenting. You are presenting yourself and/or your position multiple times during the day, why not maximize your opportunities by honing your skills. Here are some great ways to create memorable presentations that will get sales and enhance your credibility.

Preparation…

Knowing your client as best as possible is key at the onset of the relationship; understanding where they are in the company, length of tenure, likes and dislikes are essential. Identifying their “specific objective” before you make a presentation will aid you in delivering one that is beyond mediocre. Defining what type of presentation it will be helps too; deciding if it is a fact gathering presentation, product demonstration, or actual sales pitch will determine the context of the deliverable.

What will you speak about…?

You need to have scripted, if nothing more in your mind, the key points you want to cover, make sure they are in succinct order. Also create for yourself some FAQ’s as it relates to your presentation; What questions might arise? What arguments may surface to take away from your presentation? Write these out and have a calm response for each of these. Take the time too, to review your thoughts, in other words practice your pitch. In addition, just before you visit your client, review the meeting notes so they are top of mind.

Organize your presentation…

Determine how long your presentation will be, keeping in mind that clients are extremely busy – be mindful and respect their time. A good rule of thumb is to plan for twenty minutes together, if you get more, great. While organizing your presentation, be sure to come equipped with a series of questions. I read once that one should have forty questions prepared for a twenty-minute presentation; seems like a lot but it is not. Make sure those questions are open-ended and organized as well. Well thought out questions are the catalyst for opening additional doors of opportunity. 

Bringing Visuals to your Meeting…

On initial calls I never suggest this, use this time to ‘fact find’, to get answers to questions that you have not uncovered during your pre-call research. Afterwards, when you are making your visual presentation, the use of storyboards, PowerPoint© laptop presentations, virtual samples and or physical samples is perfect. Share the selling points of the product or service that you are suggesting; what are the features and benefits, they could be:

• Vendors long standing reputation and reliability

• Quality of the product

• Service of the vendor

• Delivery time and reorder ease…these are just a few points.

Presenting in front of a Group…

Make sure that your ample supplies, products, and literature to present to all in attendance. I would caution you not to hand out everything at one time because this can be very distracting and can take away from your pitch. Engage the group with questions to draw them out, understand their pain points and discover who your ally is/are within the group. Acknowledge all challenges/questions and answer with confidence and conviction.

Practice your Presentation…

You may have, or at least you should have multiple presentations for different situations, for example:

• Cold calls

• Elevator speech

• Follow-up visits

• Speaking to a marketing director

• Reactivating Clients

• Introduction to a gatekeeper or secretary

Each of these situations commands a different approach, be sure that you are prepared for each, practice in front of a peer, or make it a part of your weekly sales meetings. Take a hat, place different scenarios in the cap, have someone draw out the scenario and make a presentation or role play that situation with other members of the group. Afterwards, discuss the way it made them feel, how would they manage it differently, what could they do to improve what they are saying? This is a great exercise, done in a very safe environment.

Mentally Prepare Yourself…

Call reluctance, one-on-one or group presentations for many is debilitating, more times than not this is due to lack of preparation. Overcoming this fear will dissipate with preparation. Mentally get yourself “psyched” that the presentation / pitch you are about to give is one that the client NEEDS TO HEAR! Be confident in your approach and enthusiastic about what you are bringing to the table; that enthusiasm is infectious; people will react in kind.

Making the Presentation…

Speak clearly and convincingly. Repeat questions for clarity, especially when you are pitching to a group of potential buyers. Project yourself in a very positive manner – you are a reflection of your company; you are at that very moment the company’s image. Dress in an appropriate manner, look the part but do not overdo it; dress in a manner that is appropriate to the audience…if you are presenting to a marketing director of a fortune 500 company,

Docksiders©, Flip-flops and a t-shirt would NOT be the appropriate attire. Play the part. Make sure too, that you keep your client engaged in the process; this is done by asking good questions and then listening; by actively listening to the client, once again, you will notice a tremendous amount of good information about future opportunities.

Managing Hard Questions…

There is no doubt that you will encounter a touch client that is looking for a hole or flaw in your presentation; once again, excellent preparation will help counter those blows. If you encounter a question that is raised of which you have no answer, acknowledge that question as a “good” question and say that you will get back to them, reiterate the question so that you have the right understanding and give them a timeline on when they will have the answer…and then DO IT!

Follow up…

The aftermath of the presentation is as important, or more important than the initial presentation. This is where you may have made commitments to getting questions answered or promises to get samples or a quote. Do what you say you will when you said you would do it. Nothing builds better relationships and loyal clients like doing what you say you will in a timely manner. Being the best you can at making presentations is just one of the many aspects to growing a successful business. Teaching others in your organization and honing these skills REGULARLY is critical to the overall success of any firm. Taking these points and working on them will make your company a well sought out entity in any market…remember, preparation IS the key.

As always…continued good selling – CQ