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Put Away The PowerPoint

Written by: Will Turner

Article Overview: Do you ever use a PowerPoint presentation for that big sales call? Don't lull your buyers into a comotose state or get stuck not addressing the most pertinent issues to the decision-makers in the room.

Put Away The PowerPoint

Do you ever find yourself making a “BIG” presentation to a group of prospects? This is the kind of presentation that is just begging for some flashy PowerPoint presentation. Watch out or you could make one of two fatal sales mistake.

Mistake One: You don’t understand the agendas and needs of everyone present. This is because you may not have had contact with all the attendees prior to the presentation meeting. If prior to your presentation, you only talked to one or some of those present to gather your information, you won’t understand the full picture. You won’t know the agendas or motivations of all present.

To prevent this from happening, you will have to do a little homework. Your job is to find out who will be present and create a chance to connect with them prior to your presentation. You must recognize that each person may have their own needs and motivations that may be different from those of your contact. Your job is to uncover and address them.

If speaking or meeting with them isn’t possible ahead of time, get your contact or some other ally in the company to supply you with some much needed information. This includes their role, any key issues, what they value, and the risks and rewards your solution will offer them. Sometimes, just sending an email to them in advance asking a few key questions can help you gain better insight and understanding when meeting or speaking to them is not an option.

Mistake Two: Your presentation is one-sided.
Many salespeople, when given the opportunity to do a group presentation, will prepare an elaborate PowerPoint slide show or the like. The lights are dimmed in the conference room and the attendees are lulled into a non-interactive trance. That’s because the presentation is often centered on product features and benefits. It becomes one big sales pitch, something most people instinctively resist. While you may like to hear yourself talk, others are probably less enamored with your ability to pontificate.

Instead of a big fancy production, you’ll have more success with being low-tech and interactive. Find out what’s important to your prospects. Even if you know what’s important to them already, you should take time before your presentation to clarify where everyone is. Something may have changed since your last conversation, or you may get different responses in a group setting. Simply ask the question, “What would everyone like to walk away with as a result of our time together today?” You can go around the room and actually record everyone’s responses on a flip chart or a white board.

Whether you’re presenting to one or ten, you want to avoid “the telling and the selling.” To maximize interaction, try this four-step strategy:

1. Present some information. Focus on providing values and solutions.
2. Solicit opinions and feedback from others.
3. Value the feedback and opinions provided by carefully listening and giving positive responses.
4. Determine and/or reinforce recommendations, courses of action or agreement based on the feedback and discussion

Of course, your words and your actions must be congruent. You must truly value the exchange of others and not simply solicit feedback in an effort to appease others on the surface only. Your true motives will shine through. If you sincerely want to provide the best solution to your prospects, you have to be open to everyone’s input without making any pre-determined choices.

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Related Forum Posts
Re: Is A Business Plan A Waste Of Time? - If you require funding a business plan is an absolute must. A formal written business plan, not a PowerPoint slide show. A few yrs ago I attempted to start a brick and mortor, original start up and required $300K. When I learned I would need a business plan I panicked and put the idea to bed. Two yrs later the idea was aching to be born so I studied and researched and wrote my own bp. It took me only 3 wks from start to finish complete with all financials. When I took it to the SBDC the counslors were floored that I'd it myself with no canned templates or software. They loved it and sent me to local banks for funding. The loan officers I met with were thrilled that I came in with a complete, formal business plan. They said they were appalled at the number of people that walk in asking for loans to start a business and they didn't even bother with a bp. Since then I have always written my own business plans. When searching for franchises I wrote a bp for each franchise I was interested in to have cold hard facts in hand and know which was the most viable. Handy little things those dreaded business plans...


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