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The Truth About Selling With A Whiteboard

Guest post by: Milly Sonneman

Article Overview: Whiteboard sales conversations are hot. If you’re seeing your peers and competitors jumping onto this trend, there’s a reason why. It works. Find out the 5 truths for effective whiteboard selling skills.

The Truth About Selling With A Whiteboard

Whiteboard sales conversations are hot. If you’re seeing your peers and competitors jumping onto this trend, there’s a reason why. It works. Find out the 5 truths for effective whiteboard selling skills.

Recently, many small business owners, entrepreneurs, Internet marketers and sales professionals have switched to whiteboard presentations. Why? It is the fastest way to customize messages and simplify complex stuff.

If you want to make the most out of this powerful medium, here are 5 core truths you must know.

1. Simplify

Yes, your product, service or solution is complex. Yes, you know a lot about what you do. Yes, your client should too.

Oops. That’s where the logic grows faulty.

Your client and prospect are busy. They have a lot of things on their minds. And the last thing they need or want is more.

In whiteboard presentations, your first job is to simplify. Remember this truth. Your success depends upon it.

Hint: you can always provide more data, more back up and more research. Save this for other mediums and other times. Keep your whiteboard message simple and easy to understand. Your clients will love it.

2. Show Less

Have you ever fallen asleep watching an ambitious sales presenter who feels obliged to show you everything? If yes, you know why this doesn’t work. And why you must show less.

Show fewer words. Show fewer details. Show fewer drawings. Get the idea? Less is more effective.

3. Customize

In every whiteboard sales conversation, there are multiple opportunities to customize your message. That’s the core beauty and true advantage of whiteboarding. You can customize on the spot.

If your audience turns out to have a unique focus, shift your starting point and story. If the decision maker needs to see the big picture, show it. Match the precise details of your presentation to the people in the room.

This is next to impossible to achieve if you’re sticking with a rote script. And in fact, this is why whiteboard selling skills require more of a facilitative approach. Think of your presentation as a conversation. Ask questions. Interact. Listen. Adapt.

4. Organize Ideas

Your presentation content is not the only thing to think about. What does the flow of ideas look like? By working systematically on your whiteboard story, you’ll develop a sixth sense for organization.

When clients first see this, they fall in love. Suddenly there are perfect options for showing data, and structuring a story while the audience watches. You are freed from showing everything as a list or disorganized scrawl.

Truth is…audiences buy into structure. Structuring your message is a critical part of success.

If you aren’t sure how, take an online whiteboard class. It’s the fastest way to learn exactly how to organize your message for maximum impact.

5. Learn New Skills

Communication is a set of skills. Whiteboard interaction and selling is a set of learnable skills. It’s very helpful to remember this. Especially if you feel that you are not artistic, not creative, or not hugely talented in visual thinking.

This is a learnable set of skills. If your boss is terrific with a marker, don’t worry. If your teammate has a flair for color, no problem. Watch and learn. Watch what others are doing and adapt to boost your own skills.

One of the best ways to watch and learn is taking an online class. In the privacy of your home or office, you can learn new skills without pressure. You won’t need to perform in front of a demanding boss or competitive teammate. You can practice your skills in private and at your own pace.

Many of my clients enjoy learning online and also getting personal coaching for whiteboard skills. Working shoulder to shoulder with an expert coach is a smart investment in your skills. You’ll get personal attention to details, and an individual plan to help you look great—and feel great.

After a terrific whiteboard presentation, this is the worst thing you can do—keep going. Important moments in presenting and selling require pauses, listening and connection.

There is a time when the conversation shifts away from what you are capturing…and towards other parts of the interaction. If you refuse to put down the marker, it’s just like continuing to pitch benefits after your client has said, “Yes!”

Leverage these 5 truths for selling with a whiteboard. Whether you’re selling ideas, products, services or solutions… it’s the fastest way to get ahead.

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Article Tags: business presentation skills, online presentation skills training, online presentation training, presentation skills, presentation skills online, presentation skills training, total presentation skills training, total training, whiteboard presentation skills online, whiteboard selling, whiteboard selling online



Related Forum Posts
Me Too - So.... - I write. Its a form of 'pull' marketing that suits me, though I'm quite an outgoing person. I know all the stuff about it not being me, 'they're just not ready yet'. Truth is I'm not good with rejection and will walk if I get too much of it - so I do it differently. Each to his own I guess. Still, I wish I had the guts to do those 500, just to say 'I did it'! Will read that article!
Re: Kevin's Case Study #10 - When to become an entrepreneur? - When the bug bite you. A lot of successful entrepreneurs started in their teens or at school. Selling sweets to fellow students or lemonade to firends in the neighbourhood.
Re: This is Marketing Warfare! - Hey GT, I guess this was from a while back, and it'll test your memory a bit but could you possibly elaborate on Unique Selling Proposition? Can you give us some examples of good USPs?
Blog pinging - Thanks Martin - yes, I do ping and it has been very effective. I'm currently on the first page of Google for Mastermind Group and on the second page for Selling to Small Business.
Business magazines - Fast Company is pretty good if you're into technology although it can be very on the edge. Entrepreneur has become one giant advertisement and I cancelled my subscription. Selling Power also has some useful content if you're looking at improving your sales skills / presentations.


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