If you’ve secured a meeting to deliver a sales presentation, this is the perfect opportunity for you to move towards closing the sale. The best salespeople know their product, have done in-depth research, and listen to their clients.
Whether your Buyer needs an introduction or a specialized demo on your product/ service, you must remember that sales presentations are not passive. Every step of the way, a great, and ultimately successful, sales presentation targets your client’s problems and offers real solutions.
Solid Research is Absolutely Essential
Your job begins even before you meet your potential client. While you may make a great first impression, companies don’t make buying decisions based on how much they like a sales representative. Do your research:
- What problems does your Buyer face?
- At what stage of buying process are they in?
- Know your product/ services inside out and be prepared to show your Buyer how you can deliver the solutions they need.
Sales presentations are not all about you or your product
You can’t walk into a meeting and merely present the products and services you offer in a passive manner. You need to identify THE problem they face and respond to that need with THE solution.
Thorough research allows you to tailor each of your pitches to your clients needs. This is the most effective way to distinguish your products/ services from the rest of the pack.
Get in Touch with the Right Person
- Before you can deliver your sales presentation, you need to reach out to the right person. It doesn’t hurt to inquire with the company for names and departments of those who do the buying!
- Get in touch with the right person at the right stage of the buying process. Ideally, you want to establish contact with your Buyer before they start looking for products and services to meet a need.
Reach out and have a general conversation with your Buyer. Ask well thought out questions and listen and learn from that conversation to identify opportunities to offer your solutions.
What is THE Problem?
Your research should reveal the problems that your Buyer faces and it’s your job to underline these issues in your sales presentation. Show your Buyer how and why your products deliver THE right solutions. This question and answer should form the core of your sales presentation. Stay on this message!
You should be prepared to address any concerns/objections your Buyer might have and be able to convert these issues into opportunities to highlight the wonders of your product and service.
But if you’ve done your research and you’re talking to the right person at the right time, objections should not hinder your potential to make a sale.
What should a sales presentation have?
Remember, every sales presentation should:
- Identify your Buyer’s problems and challenges
- Show how your product and services solve those problems and challenges
- Use figures and statistics. The power of your delivery is not as persuasive as cold hard stats. Don’t go overboard. You want to make sure that stats support your core message. Keep it clear and on-message.
- Will your product/ service improve productivity, reduce costs, or save time?
- How will your product/ service support ROI?
- Show timelines. Help your Buyer envision using your product/ service. Be transparent with your Buyer about any implementation processes and make adjustments based on feedback. A client is more inclined to trust you and choose your product if they know upfront what they’re getting into.
- Client Testimonials: Tell your Buyer a bit about your company, show them your track record, and leverage the feedback from satisfied customers.
- Use figures and statistics. The power of your delivery is not as persuasive as cold hard stats. Don’t go overboard. You want to make sure that stats support your core message. Keep it clear and on-message.
- Perfect Presentation
- Using PowerPoint?
- Make sure your slides are updated with the most current information, branding and wording wherever possible. There’s nothing more unprofessional than spelling and grammar errors or old branding projected onto a huge screen for all to see.
- Make your slides attractive. Use them to engage, not as a crutch. Make sure you use very little text and use images to trigger thinking.
- Use storytelling to engage your buyer emotionally.
- Practice your presentation to make a script seem natural. Once you’re comfortable with the points you need to get across, you can relax and respond to your client on-the-spot.
- Using PowerPoint?
There’s no magic formula to putting together a great sales presentation. The best presentations and most successful sales reps prepare thoroughly so that they can speak to and address the needs of the Buyer clearly and directly.
