Well that’s an hour of my life that was painful. No I didn’t have a dentist appointment or spend 60 minutes on the treadmill. I attended a webinar that would put an ADHD sufferer to sleep.
Come on business people, are you not getting this? If you can’t create energy or excitement when you are talking about a service that you live and breath then how do you expect your potential clients to get excited or at the very least engaged in your presentation?
5 Steps to a Better Sales Presentation
1. Get Feedback: Give the presentation to people in your company and ask for their “honest” feedback. If it’s a webinar then have them sit in front of their computers and watch the presentation. Don’t have them in the same room as you or it will change the dynamic of how you do your presentation. You need their experience to be identical to that of your target audience.
2. Fix the Slides. I don’t know how many PowerPoint presentation I have sat through where the presented either had an out dated slide or a slide in the wrong order but didn’t fix it. It just looks bad. If you have poor attention to detail then your prospect will be thinking “this guy doesn’t care” this is not for me.
3. Dump the Commercial: Don’t tell your audience you are going to give a 2-3 minute commercial at the end of the presentation. What is our reaction to commercials? If you are going to do anything to promote your business once the formal presentation is complete, tell them how your work has helped other businesses like them, solve a problem, satisfy a need or create growth. That’s what they are looking for, not a commercial.
4. Don’t End on a Q&A: If you are going to take questions then first determine a very short time frame for them and keep your answers short and simple. If more detail or specifics are required ask the person to give you their contact info so you can continue the discussion off-line later. Only take a few questions and then have a 1-2 minute planned summary of the seminar topic. Don’t end with a Q&A summarize and conclude on your terms with a strong impact statement.
5. Better to be Energetic – Engaging & Fun – Not Funny: “excitement”, “dynamics”, “tone”, “pace” and “inflection.” If you can’t incorporate vocal variety and energy into your presentations to capture and hold the audiences attention then say; “good night Gracie”. Watch out for comedy it can fall flat and leave you looking lame.
If you need help go on Youtube™ and search for speaking tips or speeches. Listen to what the good speakers say and do. If you need help find a local Toastmasters™ Club and go as a guest. You won’t regret the experience. They are inexpensive to join and have helped millions of people
AIM HIGHER!
Robert J. Weese
B2B Sales Connections Inc.
www.b2bsales connections.com
Robert J. Weese is managing partner of B2B Sales Connections, the specialized job board, free resume listing service, and sales training website for business to business sales professionals. He has a proven track record of success, with over 29 years of direct sales, management and executive level business to business experience. Before co-founding B2B Sales Connections, Robert gained marketing, sales and general management experience in the business technology and office equipment industries. He also has experience in broadcast advertising and journalism. For more information, please visit www.b2bsalesconnections.com