In the last two days I have posted several ideas about how you can improve your sales results in the upcoming year.
Today, I only have one idea but it’s a worthy one…
Improve your sales presentations and/or sales proposals
Most sales presentations and proposals highlight the seller’s business and/or company. Virtually every presentation I have been subjected to, or proposal I have read, started by outlining the seller’s company.
How long they’ve been in business.
The clients they work with.
The solutions they provide.
The awards they have won.
Blah blah blah…
I recall meeting with a company about a particular training solution a number of years ago. After the meeting the rep sent me proposal and the first two pages talked about his company’s achievements. As I read through the information, the only thought that ran through my mind was “What the heck does this have to do with my problem?”
Your clients and prospect don’t care how many awards you have won.
They don’t care if your company has been in business for 65 years.
They don’t care if you use the latest and greatest technology.
You may be saying, “Yeah, I know that Kelley” so I challenge you to examine your current approach. If ANYTHING in the front end of your proposals or presentations references your company, your products, your services or solution, then you need to modify your approach.
Stay away from techno-babble, corporate speak, or marketing mumbo-jumbo. Explain your solution in easy-to-understand terms and vocabulary. Executives don’t care how many hundred dollar words you know; they want to know how you can solve a problem. I learned this in the very first proposal I sent many years ago. When I asked my client why she chose me versus a competitor, she said, “Your proposal was easy to understand.”
Proposals and presentations should not be complicated, unless of course you sell a complex product or solution. I once received a proposal for a training program that filled 24 pages. It was a miniature book! It was confusing, difficult to understand, and worst of all, it failed to address my specific issues and concerns.
Many sales people fall prey to the myth of believing that their marketing materials will seal the deal but fancy brochures don’t capture new business although marketing departments would beg to differ. Brochures can be a good “leave behind” piece of literature but few, if any, companies make their buying decision based on this material.
Looking for more ideas on increasing your sales in 2012? Listen to “Make 2012 Your Best Year Ever.” It’s available as an MP3 download which means you can take it everywhere you go. Get the details here.
Yesterday was “bring-your-kid-to-work” day in Ontario. My youngest daughter works in an accounting office and a few parents brought their teenage children to work. Shannon laughed as she told how bored the kids looked especially when the VP of Sales subjected them to a lengthy PowerPoint presentation.
If your children attended one of your sales calls, meetings, appointments, or presentations, would they be proud or bored? Forget for a minute that they’re your kid and automatically disinterested in what you do.
Would that meeting or sales call captivate their attention or lull them to sleep?
Unfortunately, many sales presentations are dull and boring.
Slide after slide filled with corporate marketing speak, paragraphs of text, and information that is irrelevant to the prospect or customer. Combine that with a lackluster delivery and you have a recipe for failure.
If you want to stand out from your competition and compel someone to buy from you, your sales presentations MUST be captivating.
The same concept holds true if you don’t use PowerPoint or if your presentations are less formal and delivered one-to-one.
Look at your sales presentation from the other person’s perspective or have a trusted friend or colleague listen to it.
Is your delivery interesting and intriguing?
Does it focus on the other person’s interests, issues, concerns and problems?
Does it clearly address how you can solve that problem…without going into boring detail?
Finally…(and this is the acid test)…
Would it keep your teenage child’s interest and attention? Would it make them proud?
If you can answer yes, then you’re on the right track. If not, determine what you need to change to make that happen.
Could your team use some improvement on this topic? I might be able to help. Contact me and we can discuss the best approach to take.
I have long believed that sales is an honorable profession, at least for those individuals who “get it” and do it right. Unfortunately, there are many people who give sales a bad name and reputation.
If someone gave me a magic wand and I could “fix” the sales profession, here’s what I would do…
1. Sales people ask thought-provoking questions.
If you’ve read my blog for any length of time you know that I’m a big believer in asking people high-value, tough, penetrating questions. Unfortunately, most sales people miss this.
2. Every sales presentation focuses on the prospect or customer’s needs first.
It sounds like a simple concept but the majority of sales people start off on the wrong foot.
3. Sales people never misrepresent their product, solution or offering.
I have never understood this approach. You might get the sale in the short term but you will seldom get a long-term client or a repeat sale.
4. Sales reps who cold call actually take the time to do some research before they dial.
This is such a fundamental concept. Enough said!
5. No sales person ever opens a call with, “How are you today?”
This is so lame…can’t you think of a better way to open a dialogue with people?
6. Sales reps are honest about the drawbacks of their product.
No one likes to admit that their product won’t do everything their customer wants it to. But no buyer expects a product to be perfect either. Be honest with people and your results might change.
7. No sales pitch ever starts with 5 slides focusing on the seller’s company.
I don’t think anything needs to be added to this point other than to say this, “If you think opening your presentation with details about your company is goingto compel them to buy from you….you’re sadly mistaken.
8. Sales people actually listen.
Huh? Seriously, if more sales people listened to their prospects and customers more sales could be won.
9. Sales training consists of more than product training.
Too many companies mistakenly believe that product training is enough. However, truly successful companies know the difference between product training and sales training.
10. Sales leaders hire people who are actually well-suited for their sales role.
Experience in a particular industry does not mean someone is, or will be, a good sales person.
11. Good sales people aren’t automatically promoted to sales manager.
Just because someone is a great sales person doesn’t mean they will be a good sales manager. In fact, in most cases, they will fail because the requirements for success are completely different.
Seriously? Do you REALLY think that helps your team close sales?
13. Sales people don’t waste time trying to develop rapport by engaging prospects in small talk or social chit-chat.
This is an outdated sales tactic that needs to be abolished. Busy decision makers no longer have time to talk about non-sales-related topics.
14. Sales leaders involve their team in the setting of quotas and targets.
Far too few sales managers involve their reps when determining sales targets. However, it is a powerful techniques that gain buy-in and commitment.
15. Marketing and sales work together to develop materials that actually work and mean something to prospects and customers.
Unfortunately marketing departments create fancy and expensive brochures that don’t actually help sales people.
16. Sellers stop using manipulative tactics to try and close a deal.
If you need to resort to this type of approach you should consider another career.
17. All sales people possess a solid understanding of their products.
This can be challenging if your company sells a wide ranges of products. However, at the very least, you should have a basic understanding of all of your products.
18. Companies provide on-going sales training to their team.
A pipe dream, I know. However, regular sales training can help your sales team deal with new challenges and learn how to deal with changes in the marketplace.
19. Sales people constantly upgrade their selling skills.
See above point.
20. Sales managers never use the phrase, “Always be closing!”
Similar to point 12, this comment does not motivate people to close a sale.
21. Sales managers take the time to properly coach their team.
Unfortunately, sales coaching is still not widely accepted. Yet, when executed properly, it can have an very positive impact on sales results.
You will notice that I did not include anything about the negative behavior of buyers or decision makers.
I deliberately excluded this because if the above issues were fixed buyers wouldn’t behave the way they often do. After all, they wouldn’t need to.
What do you think? What have I missed that should be included on this list?
Please add your comments below…
I help sales teams master their sales conversations. Could this help your team? If so, give me call: 905-633-7750 or Kelley@Fearless-Selling.ca
I’m sitting on a plane and the man next to me is creating a PowerPoint presentation. I’m not entirely sure what the purpose of his presentation is but the slides look dull and boring and laden with details and information.
Sure, he’s using bullet points and the occasional graphic but his slides aren’t interesting or visually appealing. Plus, his presentation is black on white (think overhead slide!) and he is also showing some revenue and expense figures similar to a balance sheet.
I resisted the compelling desire to lean over and say, “Dude, you really need to spice up that presentation.”
The vast majority of sales presentations I have watched, attended and been subjected to miss the mark, especially when people use PowerPoint.
Here are a few key things to keep in mind if you want to create a PowerPoint presentation that catches and keeps your prospect’s attention.
1. Limit slide content.
The general rule of thumb is 6 bullet points with no more than 6 words per point. I personally like to limit each slide to one key point and use it a talking point; however, I do create some bulleted slides in some of my sales presentations.
2. Include ONLY relevant content.
Forget about trying to explain every single product or service you offer or talking about the awards your company has won, who your clients are, or other self-aggrandizing information. As Sergeant Friday used to say, “Just the facts.”
3. Never, ever start with slides about your company.
That’s the most common approach and fastest way to lose someone’s attention. Instead, make your first slide about the prospect and your understanding of his or her potential problem or current situation.
4. Use the reveal feature.
Don’t show everything all at once because people will read ahead and tune you out. Use the animation feature to reveal each point as you present it. However, avoid using cutesy animations, sounds or character enhancements. Keep it simple.
5. Skip the corporate logo.
I know many of you will fight me on this issue; however, I firmly believe that your logo has little or no effect on a prospect or customer. The only exception to this rule is if your slides will be given to people who weren’t at the original presentation. My suggestion for this is to add a footer with your contact info to each slide and add a closing slide with your logo and contact details.
6. Use vivid graphics.
There are plenty of great low-cost websites where you can get eye-popping graphics that will stand out. Avoid using the standard pieces of clip art and images that are included with MS Office.
7. Use PowerPoint as a guideline for your presentation.
I like using PowerPoint in a face-to-face sales meeting because I use each slide as a talking point. But, I don’t use it as my presentation. If everything went wrong and I couldn’t use PowerPoint I would be okay.
8. Lastly, take time to rehearse.
I NEVER deliver a sales presentation without running through it at least once beforehand. The more important the sales opportunity, the more times I practise. I have consistently found that the more time I invest in this step, the more successful my meeting turns out..
PowerPoint is a very easy piece of software to use. Unfortunately, too sales many people use it incorrectly and end up subjecting their prospects and customers to dull, boring sales presentations.
Here’s a thought…
As you review the presentation, ask yourself if you would find the presentation catchy and interesting if YOU were on the receiving end. If not, you need to make some changes.
BTW: If you live the GTA and would like to learn how improve your productivity when creating PowerPoint presentations give my business partner a call. She can show you how to create a more effective presentation in MUCH less time. On average, she can cut your development time by at least 30%. Check her out.
Could your team use some help improving their sales presentations? I might be able to help. Call me and we can discuss a program that will help you achieve your objectives. 905-633-7750 or Kelley@Fearless-Selling.ca.
The other day I delivered a presentation and afterwards several people approached me to ask questions.
I typically enjoy this because it not gives me one-on-one time with people and insight to individual sales challenges but also because I usually learn something new about business and sales.
However, a few individuals gave a five minute monologue and provided a lot of background information before asking their question.
I’m not the most patient person in the world so I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Cut to chase already!” However, I maintained my smile and listened to their stories while I waited for their question.
On the drive home I had an “ah-ha” moment when I realized that I have been guilty of the same mistake.
You see, many sales people think that it is critical to provide prospects and customers ALL the information they have rattling around in their head. As a result, they give the other person TOO many details which usually causes that person to tune out and look for a way to end the sales call or meeting.
I’m in the process of reading a unique book called, “Influencing Powerful People” by Dirk Schlimm. In the book, he states that you need to be ready to effectively respond to someone who says, “Cut to the chase.”
That means you need to be able to quickly summarize your entire sales presentation in three or four bullet points.
Here’s what this means for you…
The next time you go into a sales meeting with a 30+ minute presentation, you also need to know EXACTLY what the key points of your presentation are and how you can make these points fast.
Forget all the “nice-to-know” details and concentrate on outlining the problem, your recommended solution, and the proposed solution.
It may sound easy but most sales people struggle keeping their sales presentations brief and concise.
A busy executive will never criticize you if your presentation is short, but they will lose interest (respect for you) if you drag on too long.
