The best product in the world won’t save the day if your sales reps are delivering flat presentations.
Let’s face it, some salespeople oversell, some salespeople undersell, and some might find a happy medium, but lack confidence in their delivery.
The truth is, there are a variety of reasons so many sales teams are simply missing the mark with their presentations.
The following five steps are a simple format you can use to accelerate your sales presentation success:
1. Start With the Objectives
Your clients are busy (aren’t we all!). They aren’t entertaining your sales presentation because they have nothing better to do.
They have needs, concerns, and issues they need help with. So, always begin the sales presentation by reiterating the objectives.
“You said you were trying to accomplish A, B, C”
List out the objectives. If you’re in person, even write them out on a whiteboard.
How you do this is up to you, but far too many salespeople start the sales presentation off by blabbering out a list of features and services. Slow things down, and start with the goals.
2. Discuss Your Features and Benefits
Now that the goals have clearly been stated, you can begin outlining what you have to offer and the benefit it will bring to the client. The best language to use is:
“Here is how we solve problem A for you, and the benefit to you is…”
3. Follow With Examples
You’ve outlined the objectives or problems your client is facing, you’ve discussed how you can help, and how your client will benefit. Now, you need to back up your talk.
Give specific examples that prove you are in fact capable of delivering what you promise and have a track record of doing so.
4. Ask a Question
No, not any random question that comes to your head. You need to ask a very specific question. That is, you want the client to acknowledge everything you’ve covered so far in your sales presentation. Language to use here is:
“Can you see how this process solves your problem?”
5. Bring Up the Investment
You always want to frame the price of your product or service as an “investment” because that word presupposes that they’re getting a return.
“The investment for this project is…”
Bonus tip: Ask for the sale!
Don’t forget about your closing question if you want to make the sale.
I’ve been on numerous sales calls where a rep completely nails the presentation but doesn’t close the sale because…they don’t ask! Don’t make this error!
Get your sales team to follow this format and watch your sales results grow!
What’s one tip you’d provide to a salesperson who’s struggling with their presentations?
[…] If a client says, “We don’t care about that”, leave it out of the proposal and further discussions because it’s not relevant. However, if the client says, “That is very important to us. We should include that as well”, then you can add value to both the discussion and your presentations. […]
[…] Groups put together presentations based on their template approach to selling (i.e., the steps they take with every sale). Then they […]
[…] You must ensure your virtual skills are as good as your in-person skills. Some of my clients are finding that smaller, local companies might still be open to face-to-face transactions with select, trusted sellers. However, larger companies won’t even let you in the door. You can’t just pick a side here. I don’t know of anyone who is doing either all-virtual or zero-virtual selling now. Everyone is adapting to do both. That means being just as skilled at setting up a video call as with building a convincing value calculation, handling objections, or creating a compelling presentation. […]
[…] You must ensure your virtual skills are as good as your in-person skills. Some of my clients are finding that smaller, local companies might still be open to face-to-face transactions with select, trusted sellers. However, larger companies won’t even let you in the door. You can’t just pick a side here. I don’t know of anyone who is doing either all-virtual or zero-virtual selling now. Everyone is adapting to do both. That means being just as skilled at setting up a video call as with building a convincing value calculation, handling objections, or creating a compelling presentation. […]