By: Marc Wayshak, Sales Strategist & Author
We’ve all heard the advice of old school sales trainers telling us that a great presentation is about sharing features and benefits, being enthusiastic, rehearsing like crazy, and finally, using your prepared close. There was a time when all of those ideas were great, but over the past eighty years prospects have become very savvy to that type of presentation. In fact, they expect it. And when a sales person does what is expected, the prospect’s defense walls shoot straight up.
Here are three must-know tips to giving the perfect sales presentation:
Present Only to Challenges: Most sales people want to tell a prospect every single feature and benefit of their product/service. However, each of your prospects only wants and needs a few of those features and benefits—in fact, some of those features and benefits will actually turn off your prospects. From now on, make sure that your presentation comes after a good conversation about the prospect’s biggest challenges that you can fix. Once you’ve fully understood those challenges, gear your presentation to only address those critical challenges.
Case-Study Presentation: Rather than simply listing off a bunch of your features and benefits, tell a story. Share with the prospect some case-studies of clients with similar challenges and how you solved those challenges. At the end of the day, the prospect does not care about you. He only cares about solving his challenges. Share examples of how you can do that.
Get Feedback: Most sales people are talking at a prospect during a presentation. It is a one-way monologue. This is a major sales blunder. A sales presentation should be very interactive, therefore a two-way dialogue. Every time you share a particular benefit of your product/service, ask, “Does that make sense for you?” or “Could you see that applied in your world?” The more you get feedback during your presentation, the more buy-in you will get from that prospect. And, if the prospect doesn’t agree with a particular idea you shared, you can address it immediately, rather than get a “Let me think about this…”
Ultimately, the sales presentation does not have to be totally rehearsed in order to be perfect. Instead, it must be totally focused on the specific prospect.
Marc Wayshak is author of the book Game Plan Selling and a sales strategist.
