Selling your product is a crucial part of any business — and the process often starts with the “sales presentation.” Creating an effective sales presentation requires more than slapping PowerPoint slides together and showing up at your prospect’s office with laptop and supporting materials in hand. Unfortunately, many sales people don’t create an effective presentation; as a result, they miss valuable opportunities to capture more sales.
A sales presentation is "what you say to the customer when you have the floor." It is not a conversation, a questioning session, or a rapport-building chat. It is what you say when you must literally "stand and deliver"--whatever selling proposition you have to offer.
Here are five tips which will help you to create an effective sales presentation:
1. Start with a summary : Open your presentation with a brief summary of the prospect’s key problems, issues or situation; a single paragraph or a few lines is sufficient. This approach captures your prospect’s attention immediately and demonstrates your expertise. It shows that you are aware of their current situation and causes them to sit up and take notice.
2. Don't give a keynote--or a lecture : Most sales people spend the first five to ten minutes of their presentation talking about their company. This can include any awards the company has received, how long they have been in business, the clients they have on their roster, their annual sales, and the countries they serve. Believe it or not, your prospect doesn’t care. They really don’t! The purpose of a sales presentation is to persuade a large group of people to make a collective decision. All they want to know is how you can help them solve a particular problem.
3. Use a simple structure : In today’s business world, your audience probably already has researched your company and its products on your website. So if prospects invite your sales representative to their offices, they really want to know how your solution will solve their business issues and pain points. Its important to keep the presentation focused. The basic structure of sales presentation should be as follows
4. Create an 'argument' for buying (Its all about the ROI) : Simply talking about your offering does not accomplish the purpose of a sales presentation. You need to show your prospect exactly how these results will be achieved. And, you need to be able to do it quickly and clearly. You presentation should answer questions like How will the company increase sales, reduce costs, make more money, gain more market share, improve employee morale or productivity, reduce dropped calls, improve accuracy, etc.?
5. Rehearse : You can’t wing-it regardless of how long you have been selling or how much experience you have. The business climate is far too competitive for that type of approach. The more important the sales opportunity is the more important it is to rehearse beforehand. Run through your presentation. Anticipate potential objections and concerns and prepare to respond to these concerns before they are expressed. Make sure that your presentation flows in a logical manner and that it addresses the key issues your prospect may be facing.
A sales presentation is "what you say to the customer when you have the floor." It is not a conversation, a questioning session, or a rapport-building chat. It is what you say when you must literally "stand and deliver"--whatever selling proposition you have to offer.
Here are five tips which will help you to create an effective sales presentation:
1. Start with a summary : Open your presentation with a brief summary of the prospect’s key problems, issues or situation; a single paragraph or a few lines is sufficient. This approach captures your prospect’s attention immediately and demonstrates your expertise. It shows that you are aware of their current situation and causes them to sit up and take notice.
2. Don't give a keynote--or a lecture : Most sales people spend the first five to ten minutes of their presentation talking about their company. This can include any awards the company has received, how long they have been in business, the clients they have on their roster, their annual sales, and the countries they serve. Believe it or not, your prospect doesn’t care. They really don’t! The purpose of a sales presentation is to persuade a large group of people to make a collective decision. All they want to know is how you can help them solve a particular problem.
3. Use a simple structure : In today’s business world, your audience probably already has researched your company and its products on your website. So if prospects invite your sales representative to their offices, they really want to know how your solution will solve their business issues and pain points. Its important to keep the presentation focused. The basic structure of sales presentation should be as follows
- Introduction : Preview what you're going to communicate.
- Body : The content you want to communicate, with supporting evidence.
- Conclusion : Summarizes what you just communicated.
- Close : Asks for the next step.
4. Create an 'argument' for buying (Its all about the ROI) : Simply talking about your offering does not accomplish the purpose of a sales presentation. You need to show your prospect exactly how these results will be achieved. And, you need to be able to do it quickly and clearly. You presentation should answer questions like How will the company increase sales, reduce costs, make more money, gain more market share, improve employee morale or productivity, reduce dropped calls, improve accuracy, etc.?
5. Rehearse : You can’t wing-it regardless of how long you have been selling or how much experience you have. The business climate is far too competitive for that type of approach. The more important the sales opportunity is the more important it is to rehearse beforehand. Run through your presentation. Anticipate potential objections and concerns and prepare to respond to these concerns before they are expressed. Make sure that your presentation flows in a logical manner and that it addresses the key issues your prospect may be facing.