Effective Passionate Presentations Over the years I have been surprised at the lack of skills when it comes to probably the most important sales exercise we as professional sales people are required to perform. I have had colleagues at all levels with good sales and / or management skills, give presentations, and actively destroy months and sometimes years of work in one hour. Presentations can take many forms and the most commonly held belief is that presentations to small groups of delegates or participants are the easiest. Well, maybe. Maybe not. You decide after the consideration of this material. In this section we will cover presentation skills in a number of scenarios:
Scenario 1 -- Presentations and public speaking engagements to large audiences where we as salespeople have not had any previous sales interaction with the delegates. These types of presentations are given at conferences, trade shows, product launches etc. For the purpose of clarity, we call this “Public Speaking”.
Scenario 2 -- Presentations that follow through on previous sales activity. This is where we have performed the other sales activities, interviewed and qualified the prospect and have received a mandate from the prospect to present the solution that matches the ideal situation identified during the sales interviews. We call this type of presentation a “Sales Presentation”
Scenario 3 --Selling situations where the presentation follows directly on from the first sales interview. In this scenario we flow from the interview, through qualification into presentation and close in one seamless activity. This is typically where the sales interaction has a short timeframe. I call this type of presentation an “On the Spot” Presentation.
The material is covered in this sequence as there are many rules and principles that govern Public Speaking Presentations that need application when doing a Sales Presentation or an On the Spot Presentation.
All three types of presentations have the same objective – to motivate to action. And we know that to motivate action we need emotion. And in the case of Sales Presentations and On the Spot Presentations the action we want to motivate is the action of - Buying. In reality the only time we “sell”, is when we “present”. It’s at this presentation stage of the sales process that we as salespeople really need to display passion.
Public Speaking Presentations Let us first look at large audiences and the general presentation rules that apply to most presentations and public speaking situations. It might be a road show or conference situation where you may be canvassing for new business. Granted presentations to large audiences and public speaking can be nerve racking, the urges and drives that come into play are tremendously powerful. This is because the stimulus acting on us is enormous, and therefore our response is strong.
Once again we have to THINK positively and channel the strong response that wells up in us to our advantage. Most of us will have an attack of nerves when having to appear before a large audience, and this attack of nerves is either going to help us, or disable us, depending on our courage, sincerity and humility. I remember one of my first public appearances where I was called upon to speak to a large audience. I was asked to be best man at a good friend’s wedding. No Problem. Weeks before the event I prepared my speech I knew exactly what I was going to say, I knew the content of my speech backward. The big day came. I sat at the main table with the bride and groom, I was confident and ready (I was overconfident, no nerves what so ever) I even put my notes away in my wife’s handbag because I knew I didn’t need them. The master of ceremonies asked me to stand and say a few words. I walked over to the microphone. As I heard my voice amplified through the public address system ...I went into shock ...a sea of faces rushed in on me, I could not get my breath, I was instantly bathed with sweat, I shook like a leaf and my mind went blank. This experience has stood me in good stead. To do effective presentations, we are going to have to call on characteristics of humility, courage and sincerity.
Humility is going to allow us to ask for help. We will definitely need help if we are going to PREPARE and PRACTICE effectively. What I had omitted to do with my speech as best man was practice and rehearse. I had prepared, in my head and whispered and mumbled certain sentences whilst writing them down, but I had never heard myself say out loud that which I wanted to communicate. It takes humility and courage to stand in front of a mirror and practice what you are planning to communicate. You feel foolish, but the fact is once you have felt foolish in front of the mirror you will not feel foolish in front of your audience. It takes humility and courage to ask friends or colleagues to help and sit, listen and criticize your talk or presentation. Understand this vital truth – Once friends, colleagues or family have listened, criticized and or even laughed at you, there is no audience of strangers that you are going to be afraid of, because they will not laugh at you as your friends and family might. Believe me this is, the only way to control and channel the nervous reaction to public speaking is to practice and rehearse. Once you have had a few experiences you will be able to channel the nerves to your own benefit. There is a technique for analyzing how we are being seen and heard by your audience. Set up a video recorder to your TV and watch and listen to yourself as you deliver your address. Once we know what we look and sound like, and know that we are coming across in an acceptable manner with a meaningful message, we will be less nervous.
With public speaking we need to understand our own internal drivers that come into play. We are afraid of:
1. Failure.
2. Being rejected 3. Making a fool of ourselves 4. Being put under a microscope for inspection, and all our shortcomings becoming evident.
If we have prepared and rehearsed and have something of value to share, we cannot fail, so there is nothing to fear. I have never seen a public speaker being totally rejected by the whole audience.
No one mocked me when I made a total fool of myself when I gave my best man speech. At worst your audience will silently endure your embarrassment or poor presentation. Their embarrassment is probably more acute than yours.
In this section of the book there is a PPO Presentation Preparation Outline, which we are going to refer to from time to time. Preparation and rehearsal are vital for success. Wing it, and opportunities will fly out the window. Once again we have to do the pre-flight preparation every time. Professional salespeople are disciplined and execute the activities that their profession mandates.
Different preparation methodologies will be needed for different situations.
We will prepare differently when we deliver a talk at a conference or seminar, when compared to the way we prepare for a presentation that is a follow up on a potential sale. Once again, as professional salespeople we have to THINK “What are my objectives?” At a conference or road show, we want to stimulate interest in what we have for sale. In a follow-up sales presentation the interest should already be there (if not, the timing of the presentation is wrong). So the structure of each presentation will be different, therefore the preparation will be different. It is also vitally important to differentiate between talks and speeches. Try never to give speeches. The Queen and President give speeches where, irrespective of whether the listeners agree or disagree, they are not going to change their course of action. We on the other hand want do deliver talks where our audience (or target market) feels involved and part of any action that may result.
A common thread that runs across all types of presentations is the WAY we deliver it. Our EI competencies must once again evoke a positive emotional response to whatever the message is that we are presenting. We have to succeed with this if we are to motivate our audience to action. It’s these skills that we will focus on in this section along with the other tools that will help us structure our presentation in order to reach our objective.
We probably all know that a well-constructed presentation has three parts – an introduction, a body and lastly, a conclusion. The structure of our introduction is vitally important.
Never start by establishing your own credentials and security. The drivers will be there for you to do this. It is a normal response to stimulus. I don’t know how many presentations I have been to where the speaker will stand up and as an introduction talk about himself and the company he represents.
“Good day I’m James Gee senior manager for the products division of Big and Strong inc. Let me tell you a bit about Big and Strong . . .”
A list of slides comes up showing growth figures over the last four years, number of branches and people, and customers they have recently ‘bagged’. Although the statistics may be factual and impressive to you and your colleagues, they probably are of no interest to your audience. This kind of introduction is not there for the audience, it’s purpose is for the presenter – to establish the presenters own emotional security and satisfy their own emotional drives. I guarantee you within 2 minutes of such an introduction your audience is lost to you. Like the first phone call scenario we need to immediately reach out and touch the inside of our audience, get them involved.
When structuring a presentation or public address, remember it is the job of the chairperson to introduce you and establish your credentials; you are there to contribute, give of yourself, and share something of value.
Your introduction must show that what is to follow involves the audience, and that they can benefit from the presentation. It must be an introduction that has got nothing to do with yourself, your company, or your products. It must be something that your audience immediately relates to and gets involved with from the opening seconds of your address. It must show that what is to follow in the rest of your presentation will benefit them. Your introduction must show that you are interested in them.
When it comes to constructing a presentation with maximum emotional impact we must remember that:
55% of communication is non-verbal – it is visual and is conveyed in our facial expression and body language.
35% of effective communication is conveyed in the manner in which we speak – the vocal component and timber of our voice, modulation and pitch.
10% of effective communication is dependent on the content – the actual words and their meaning.
The content is important, but for our message to stick, the manner in which we deliver will determine:
a) How much is remembered b) How the audience will respond A factually correct presentation delivered in an unenthusiastic monotone will not invoke much of a response.
The introduction is vital. You could start with:
“I’m sure most of you have seen this mornings headlines. For those who haven’t I’ll read the first paragraph on the front page because it is related to what we will be discussing here today”
An Introduction like this takes the attention away from yourself (You will feel a lot calmer) and focus your audience on the content of your message showing them that it directly concerns them. Slides and other supporting material are a good way to take attention away from yourself.
“Being technologists you probably are aware of the latest statistics concerning the expansion and growth of the Internet. A new development that has taken place in the last few weeks is going to affect the whole way Internet users search for information”
Avoid “I” focus on “you”. Don’t say “I discovered this new technique that . . .”
So opening phrases need to be rehearsed “One of the delegates mentioned to me that . . ..”
“All of us have to face . . .”
Include your audience. Don’t preach to them creating a “me” and “you” situation.
One of the best ways to get your audience involved with your subject matter is to ask questions at the outset and get them to participate. Remember you start directly with these questions without introducing yourself. The effect is that from the first second your audience is involved and focusing on themselves.
“How many of you here to-day come from households where both the husband and wife have to work to provide for the necessities of life?”
“How many here today are over 40 years old?” “Please put your hand up and keep it up”
“If you have provided sufficiently for your retirement, please take your hand down.”
“Has anyone here had any experience with . . .?”
Another very effective way to introduce a topic is to hold out an opportunity of benefit to your audience. “I’m sure everyone here today could do with a little more . . . Money, ...Free time, . . . Security . . .”.
Remember our introduction should be well thought out and rehearsed so that we can maintain eye contact with our audience. There is nothing that will lose an audience faster than reading an introduction word for word. The actual words for the introduction that we use should be rehearsed but not remembered word for word. This will avoid that our reciting them back to the audience. With the key points in front of us, a practiced delivery that is not a word for word recital, our talk will come across as natural and spontaneous.
Presenting with COKE:
Comfortable – Arrange your clothing. Take your time. Speak and move slowly and deliberately. Stand on both legs, square-on to the audience. If you are nervous concentrate on standing still. Don’t rock on your feet. Put your hands on the podium or next to your sides. Don’t fold them in front of you or behind you, and don’t put them in your pockets.
Organized — Breathe. Don’t let the situation fluster you. There is no need to rush. It is the silence and anticipation that makes seconds feel like hours for you. Take your time to arrange your outline and material you are going to use.
Kind — Don’t preach. Don’t belittle your audience. Don’t take cheap shots at anyone even if you believe that the one you are criticizing is not in the audience. Don’t make jokes at anyone’s expense.( Jokes, criticisms and cheap shots are only used by those who are responding to the need of elevating themselves.) Share and contribute. In a conference type environment your audience will assume and expect that you are qualified to talk on whatever the subject matter is, so there is no need to establish credibility.
Entertain — Relax. Lighten up. Smile. With experience you will develop a natural style which will allow you to be spontaneous at times. Remember don’t be a clown. There is no point in your audience remembering your jokes and antics and not having the faintest idea of what the point of your talk was.
As we walk up to the podium or microphone we will experience nervousness, which is a normal response to the stimulus we are being exposed to. We can control some of the nervousness by taking a deep breath and continuing to breathe deeply and regularly. In the beginning a conscious effort has to be made to do this, because with being nervous we will breathe very shallowly, and this leads to a lack of oxygen to our body. The result is that our whole system goes into panic – and the sweating and knocking knees start. Taking deep breaths will provide your body with the needed oxygen (to compliment the adrenalin) and prevent this from happening. If you have your outline and other material that has to be arranged on a podium – take your time, arrange your material it will feel like hours to you but don’t panic. Breathe; your audiences’ concept of time is not the same as your experience of time. To you it feels like 5 minutes, to them it’s the 10 seconds it actually is.
When you are ready take a deep breath look up, – make eye contact with one or two in the audience, – and – SMILE.
When we come up to a stage or podium all eyes will be upon us and we will feel it. Don’t respond to the stimulus by trying to establish your own security. The audience will be uncomfortable too as they do not know what to expect. They are the ones who need to be put at ease and made to feel secure. If you do not immediately put your audience at ease they will miss the content of your talk because they will be concentrating on you and your nervousness and embarrassment. They will want the awkward situation to come to an end. Our opening sentences have to establish our audience’s comfort and security. Once they are at ease you will automatically be at ease as well.
Unless you are an experienced public speaker DON’T:
– Open with a joke. It betrays nervousness, and all you will get back is a nervous laugh, which is going to break your confidence level down.
– Have one or more hands in your pockets. This stance is adopted to project confidence, but the net result is that it betrays nervousness.
If it is one of those days or one of the first times that you are presenting the material in new surroundings perhaps to strangers - Look at your audience. Smile. Be Sincere - Say “If I appear to be nervous it is because I am”.
Your audience will immediately have sympathy for you and will let you know by their body language that you have nothing to fear, that they are on your side. They are there expecting to benefit from what you have prepared to share with them and they will do all they can to help you do that. You will have won them over. Don’t try to project yourself as a smart confident speaker.
In the construction of our presentation we have to be mindful of:
1. The main point/s of our talk.
2. !!! Most important!!! What your audience expects to get out of your presentation.
– or – What you want your audience to get out of your presentation.
I’ll never forget an occasion when my colleagues and I were invited to address the delegates at a conference hosted by the local Institute of Materials Handling. We were asked to give a one-hour presentation on the latest technologies being used in warehouse management. It was a glorious opportunity, which we accepted with the anticipation of gaining new business leads for the products and technologies we offered. Without any consideration we decided to use a slide show that we had successfully used on other occasions when presenting our solutions to potential customers. What we failed to do was identify the profile of delegates who were attending the conference. We failed to consider the audience or their expectations. The delegates turned out to be, not from our potential customer base but suppliers of products to the same target market that we were addressing, some were even our competition.
Although we gave a very good presentation it was a pointless exercise as we did not achieve anything. If we had prepared properly we would have recognized the opportunity of positioning ourselves as business partners to those in attendance, instead of positioning ourselves as just another player in the market.
As you start your presentation the listener’s response to the stimulus of the situation is going to be:
1 st : What’s in it for me?. Why should I be interested?
Once we have made contact with the minds of our audience with our introduction, the next thing they will ask themselves is:12 nd : “What’s the point? Do I believe it? Why should I believe it?”
If we are successful up to this point (and if we are professional and disciplined and have followed all the rules there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be) our audience will still be with us. This is then the body of our presentation. The last audience question our presentation should answer is:
3 rd:. “What do I do now? “
These three steps will be the typical audience response to this type of presentation and is called the “audience mind map.”
Broadly speaking based on what we have discussed so far the outline that we prepare should follow the following pattern.
Presentation Preparation Outline for a Conference or Seminar INTRODUCTION Introduces (not a product) but a situation that your audience is familiar with or can relates to. Can contain some history i.e. where have they or you have come from. It may be good to identify a problem by means of a series of questions. If statements are made offer proof. Show the audience that what is to come will benefit them. Appeal to your audience. Do they want lower overheads, more efficiency. Hold out an opportunity to them. Get consensus on the situation or problem or opportunity.
Audience mind map:
> What’s in it for me?
> Why should I be interested?
BODY Contains your topic or message.
How your product or service addresses the situation, problem or opportunity. How what you offer will benefit them.
Prove that others have benefited.
Audience mind map:
> What’s the point?
> Do I believe it?
CONCLUSION Revise benefits. Action required in order to gain benefits.
Audience mind map:
> What must I do?
Rules for effective presentations.
1. Breathe deeply and regularly.
2. Smile often.
3. Walk and talk slowly and deliberately.
4. Talk – don’t deliver a speech or recital.
5. Make eye contact with the audience.
6. Have an effective outline, not notes.
7. Do not tell jokes, unless you are very good at it.
8. Pause after important information.
9. Vary the Power, Pitch, Pace of your voice.
10. Be enthusiastic.
11. Support statements with proof.
12. Never use bad language or slang.
13. Never belittle or compromise your audience or any group of people present or absent.
14. Do an audience profile analysis before every presentation. This is important as it will determine the content of the conclusion. Remember the conclusion is where we will motivate for action. So the conclusion should touch the emotions of the audience. Please note that this is different from an ‘emotional conclusion’.
15. Prepare.
16. Rehearse.
17. Rehearse some more. Get your timing right.
18. Take attention away from yourself and direct attention to the content of the presentation. Use props, illustrations, stories and experiences.
19. Use gestures to relax yourself and to show that you are relaxed.
20. Never tell. “I’m here to tell you to-day…” “Let me tell you”
rather . . . “What is of interest” . . . “Many people think that . . .”
21. Never point your finger or pointer at any person.
22. Get the volume right. If you have never used a microphone it’s essential that you
practice with one before “Going Live”
To be an effective communicator when giving presentations, the speaker, audience and information must merge into one singular entity. How do we achieve this? The following are PPSS presentation skills.
Every delivery of a presentation must have:
1. Enthusiasm 2. Warmth PASSION 3. Feeling Enthusiasm -- Is directly related to our own conviction. We have to believe in the merit and benefit of our offering. Care has to be taken though that our enthusiasm does not become uncontrolled excitement. An enthusiastic delivery is an animated delivery, but it is also a controlled delivery. We cannot let our feelings run away with us on the spur of the moment. The problem is that after we have done an effective introduction we will see and sense that our audience has accepted us and is enjoying what we are sharing with them. This now becomes a very powerful stimulus, unless we are aware and THINK and control our reaction, we may go over the top with our enthusiasm. It should manifest itself in our tone of voice, facial expression, natural showing of interest, gestures – animated involvement with the material, stance and body language (relaxed, poised not slouching, not hanging on the podium), not reading our talk from notes.
Now warmth and feeling have to go hand in hand with enthusiasm.
I’m sure you have seen many an enthusiastic politician or preacher deliver an enthusiastic discourse. They thump, point, shout, gesture, jump, sweat . . . with a lot of enthusiasm but with no warmth or feeling.
Warmth comes from the way the speaker delivers the information. With a smile. If appropriate, concerned interest. Demonstration by the speaker that he or she is also human and prone to mistakes, and does not consider his or herself better or superior just because he or she is the focus of attention. The way the material is delivered:1Choice of words: Asking not telling. Suggesting, not insisting. Sharing stories or experiences. Presenting fact rather than stating an opinion. Structure of the content of the material. Show that what we are speaking about addresses real needs, wants and desires.
A presentation that has no warmth is structured this way.
a. I’m James Gee for Big and Strong inc. and here are a few slides that show how big and strong we are.
b. Here are some of our products with features that no one else in the market offers at present.
c. Here are some customers of ours that use our products and if you want to keep up with them in the market we would be happy to talk to you after the presentation.
The structure of a warm presentation is as follows:
a. An interesting observation was made by this reputable source . . .
How many here today identify with this problem? How many here to-day would like to make use of this kind of opportunity?
b. You may be different, but some of our customers have found that they can answer this question . . . and address this issue . . . by deploying this product this way . . .Ask questions that answer themselves ( If they tell themselves they will believe it). Do you think that this problem can be solved this way in 90% of cases? Most people that I have spoken to feel . . . What do you think?
c. If you have identified with the problems and opportunities discussed here to-day we believe we can help. Please lets get together after this presentation so that we can make a time to get together to discuss this further.
Feeling. For an effective presentation to reach its objective, Positive emotional feeling must be created. The content and delivery of the material must at least evoke some emotion in the listeners. They must feel excited or elated, happier or more secure. Feelings must be shared between the speaker and the listener. Irrespective of the content of your talk your listener must feel that they have benefited from the experience of listening to you. For a talk to have feeling we must show and share feelings. One of the ways to create feeling in a talk is to use emotive words in the content.
“Don’t you just love it when this happens?”
“I was quite shocked when I found out”
“When a job is well done we all get that warm feeling of accomplishment”
“Don’t you think everyone will be a lot happier once the problem is addressed?”
When these three points of enthusiasm, warmth and feeling – (passion) come together in a presentation, the speaker, information and audience become one entity and our presentation objectives will be achieved. Remember – if the presentation has no fire – it belongs in the fire. Presentations without passion will not achieve the desired objective.
Sales Presentations Presentations to smaller groups, or committees, require our preparation to be a little different. All the presentation rules still apply when it comes to actually delivering our material, but if we are following through on a sales initiative there are a few additional rules for success.
The layout of the room becomes important depending on what we are going to present or demonstrate. We must also decide in advance whether we are going to give a presentation or demonstration or a combination of both. We as salespeople, may be inclined to want to get our prospect involved with our products and now that our prospect is making the time to come and visit us, we may be eager to use the opportunity to get the customer to see and feel our products for themselves. A word of caution though: By getting involved with the product, the customer is given the opportunity to find fault. Whatever our product is, it probably has a lever in the wrong place, the screen layout may not be what the customer desires, the wheels may be the wrong size, the colour may not suit their decor, there may be too many buttons and they may find it too complex. It may not have a feature that the old one had (that they do not use). A presentation is different from a demonstration; a presentation positions our product in the bigger picture, and addresses far wider issues than just a product. A demonstration usually focuses on a product and features. A presentation can also include a demonstration. When giving a presentation of the kind just described there are more rules to obey than when giving a presentation to a larger less specific audience. In my view this makes these presentations more difficult.
First there is the committee scenario. There are going to be members of that committee that for what ever reasons, favour your offering more than others. There may be those who have an aversion to what you are about to present. Once again before we launch ourselves into this kind of interaction with our prospect we have to THINK. Once we have the answer to a few questions only then can we PREPARE. If we have done all our previous sales exercises correctly we will not have “sold” any solutions prior to creating this presentation opportunity. (All we should have done at this stage is listen and identify needs, wants and desires) this then becomes the platform from which we begin to sell. We will already have spoken to all the members of the committee to establish their needs, wants and desires around the topic or business issue concerned. What sometimes happens is that one of the members on the committee uses the presentation opportunity to introduce you to the other members of the committee who have up until now “not had the time to see you.” Be very careful in such a situation. Although you and one or two other committee members may have come to a particular conclusion, the hidden agenda of the other committee members is to use you to persuade their colleagues of a particular course of action or practice. If you fail they will have lost nothing, but you will have lost the sale. By the time we give the presentation, we should have progressed so far in the sale that our objective has to be to use the opportunity to align everyone’s thinking to the solution or opportunity that we have for them – and to get them to agree on a course of action that will allow everyone (you as the supplier included) to reap the benefits of a mutually beneficial business sales transaction.
If the presentation is introduced at any other stage of the “PPSS process” then we must seriously evaluate the merit of our action and time investment. Yes, we do give presentations to stimulate interest in our offerings and products and this is done in a seminar or conference format. The danger of giving a presentation to a small committee with a view to stimulating interest is that we end up “selling” when wants, needs and desires have not been fully explored or understood. In these sessions we normally end up educating our prospect because their problems are unclear to themselves and they are using us as a sounding board.
Questions that have to be answered in preparation for a follow up presentation, to a committee are:
1. What is the objective of the committee as a whole?
2. Are there any hidden agendas of individuals on the committee?
3. What are they expecting?
4. What is our objective?
Now we can prepare using ,PPO for Sales Presentations. Contact me at james@openfire.co.za and I will send you the PPO for a sales presentation..
In Preparing, a Sales Presentation takes the following into consideration.
1) If possible do not include a hands-on demonstration. Particularly if the product is complex or technical.
2) Use the PPO for every presentation opportunity. Practice and rehearse.
3) Identify committee members, mandates, agendas, designations, needs and desires.
4) Prepare the introduction in a way that the most significant benefit of the ideal situation is immediately brought into focus (See PPO) Answer the question “What is the most significant opportunity or benefit my prospect will attain by investing in what I am selling?” In this way you immediately get your prospect involved.
5) Be prepared to answer questions as to who you are? How big and strong you are and so on. This information as only an answer to a question – never use this information to introduce your presentation 6) Next in our presentation we must reaffirm what the present situation is. Present what the problems are. Before moving to the next phase of our presentation we must get the group to agree on the current situation.
7) Now, we must present the ideal situation that we have identified during our various interviews ( second page of our QP4). Here we have to create a lot of enthusiasm, warmth and feeling. Sketch the ideal, relate to needs and if possible relate to wants and desires. WARNING: The ideal situation is related to the benefits of our offering. At this stage we want to sketch a high level ideal situation that will come about as a result of buying and implementing that which we are still going to offer. We do not want to discuss the benefits of our offering yet, because we have not introduced it. At this point in our presentation, it is going to be important to ask for acknowledgment that this is the ideal situation that all would like to achieve.
8) Now we introduce our product or service and show how what we have to offer will move us from the present situation to the ideal situation.
9) Then state the benefits of deciding to invest in your solution linking the product or service to the ideal situation.
10) Finally put forward an action plan which shows how to reap the benefits.
The guaranteed response (to the stimulus that a presentation structured in this way generates,) will be the acceptance of the action plan with certain reservations.
When delivering the presentation remember the following:
All the rules we follow when talking to a large audience, plus:
1) Focus on the prospects needs and desires. If they have taken the time to come to your presentation they are probably satisfied with you and your company’s credentials. We run the risk of either setting up a subconscious resistance or boring them to death by telling them how big, strong and clever we are as a potential vendor.
2) Do not show favoritism to those on the committee with whom you may already have established a relationship.
3) When the committee starts a discussion on any point of our presentation, stop the presentation. Do not interrupt. Do not take sides unless you are asked to and then only do so with caution, ensuring that you are not going to deflate anyone’s ego. It normally happens that your offering will not be influenced by the different points of view that are being expressed. When invited to contribute say “It does not matter, the product or plan will work in both scenarios”.
4) No matter who asks questions on the committee address your answer to the person asking the question and the most senior person present.
5) If asked if your product has a certain feature or if it can perform a certain function – answer the question without elaborating. If the question can be answered with a “Yes” just say “Yes it can”. Do not offer to show. There will be a strong urge to show, to please, to establish our credentials and validity. Do not do so unless requested, and then only do so after you have established that it is what the rest of the committee wants as well. Once we are demonstrating the danger is we go into “show and tell” mode. The possibility exists that the product will not work exactly as anticipated. Which all means we lose time in discussing details that have nothing to do with what we are trying to achieve. If a demonstration is part of the presentation it should have its place and time slot. It should also be well prepared and rehearsed. If it is felt that an in-depth demonstration is needed it might be arranged at a different time before or after our presentation.
6) If we have done all our preparation correctly and if we have executed our presentation exercise correctly there is going to come a point in our presentation when what we have shared is going to generate a lot of excitement and discussion. Do not respond to the stimulus of being accepted and successful, by becoming familiar with one or more members of the committee. Once we hit a few “hot buttons” we are going to get a favorable feedback from our committee. We need to stay calm, friendly ( smile) enthusiastic, humble, sincere and professional. The more feeling our presentation generates the more stimuli there will be for us to become excited and it is then easy to lose objectivity. The stimulus is of course that we are accepted by the group, that we have succeeded, that we have achieved something for which we are now being recognized. We do not want to relax and start becoming familiar. This is the point at which we must have courage to take control by introducing “What do I do now?” or action required to reap the benefits.
7) When we introduce our action plan that shows what the participants must do to reap the benefits, the standard response to our stimulus will be acceptance with certain reservations. We must not try to handle all the reservations and objections on a one to one basis. We must make sure that we have progressed along the sales process to the point where we can go into “objection handling mode” or “negotiation mode.”
We will know whether or not we have delivered a good presentation after our delegates have left. Obviously there will be a response at the end of our presentation and our audience should have committed to follow through on the action plan suggested. The main indicator of whether or not a good presentation was given is the way we feel afterward. If we feel elated and strong and feel good, this is cause for concern. Analyze the presentation and we will find that at a point a question was asked, we went into “clever teacher mode”. We told and taught our audience exactly how the thing would work and cleared up all the misunderstanding, misconceptions and questions. We really told them, and now they understand. We showed them how clever we are and that we really understand this product and how it works. We had a real “show and tell session”. We feel gggggreat!!! Our audience though, feels the opposite. They will feel drained, weak, and their brains will feel mushy. We have responded to the stimulus and established our own emotional security and sense of well being but at our audiences expense. What do you think the prospects subconscious reaction of our prospect is going to be to the next step of the sale?
Think about the times where you have seen a sale through to the end, and successfully concluded a contract. After the presentations that were given you were probably the one who felt drained, weak, and had a mushy brain. This is because your audience or committee took something from you. You were able to share with them. They are the ones that feel Ggggggreat. You feel tired and you are not sure that they completely understood what your point was, because they kept asking all those questions. Then what happened the next day? You phoned to follow up, and – they wanted to talk to you because they were interested in taking the negotiation further. How come? They trust you. They still FEEL GOOD about what you presented. Your presentation had warmth and feeling (along with all the other professional touches) and as a result you contributed to their well-being. As a result they sub-consciously associate a good warm feeling with you and your product.
Buying decisions are based on a combination of need and desire and once we have linked or associated a need or desire to a positive warm feeling “inside” of our customer, they will want to buy. They will want to build on the “happiness boost” you gave them.
The presentation is the time and the opportunity to link customer need and emotions to our solutions. PRESENTATIONS NEED TO BE DELIVERED WITH PASSION.
On the Spot Presentations At this point I want to share some experiences regarding “on the spot” presentations, some good, some bad.
Let’s consider some bad experiences first.
I think the real estate agents in my area must be the worst presenters that I have ever come across. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that the area in which I stay is a high growth area and demand constantly outstrips supply. Let’s look at some things we should not do when doing on the spot presentation.
Once again before getting involved in the sales discipline of presenting, we as professional salespeople must THINK. What is the object of this sales activity of me presenting. It should be to get the prospect to develop a strong desire for whatever it is we are presenting.
So I have had estate agents listen to my description of an ideal house.
(I have done this exercise at least 10 times in my lifetime).
This is what happens next.
I think I have something that fits your requirements, let us go and look. (Nothing wrong with that.)
Now the presentation starts.
“This is the kitchen.” (I can see it’s the kitchen, I am being treated as if I don’t know what I’m looking at).
“It’s beautiful, you don’t get solid wooden cupboards like this anymore”
(I am told that it’s beautiful. I will like it because the agent says it’s beautiful)
Next room “This is the lounge” (so we go through the house)
“Let me show you the view from the main bedroom.”
“They said they will leave the curtains” “That’s a big saving when buying a new house”
(The statement is true but I don’t like the curtains)
I observe/object “The yard is not big enough for our children to play” Agent immediately overcomes my objection. “This is a quiet street, I’m sure the front lawn and street will be enough space for them”
At the end of the tour I’m asked, “Well what do you think?”
“It’s not quite what I had in mind” I reply “Well it’s got four bedrooms and you asked for four bedrooms” is the defense.
“I don’t think you will find another four bedroom house in this price range” is the final attempt to convince me to buy.
“Never that bad” I hear you thinking- well maybe a bit of an exaggeration but I assure you not far from the truth.
Remember Gino and Tommy. When it came to the most important part of the sales process they had their presentation prepared and rehearsed. No doubt they had done it (successfully) a hundred times before. They both listened to me carefully. Asked questions. Qualified me. Decided what they were going to present. Presented it in such a way so that I created a desire for what they showed me. At no point did they confuse the issue of price until we were all sure of what my desire was and what it was that they were offering.
Lets look at both those experiences one by one.
We get to the point where Tommy says, “Besides he says the cement pool which see in front of you (all there was, was some grass and a string outline) is almost twice the size of the fibre pool but will only cost about 25% more”.
The sale was not over yet, remember I told my wife that I would not give an order unless the salesperson asked for it. Lets look at what happened in this sale so far.
Tommy comes along and patiently listens to us express our opinion asking the appropriate questions. He qualifies us and decides what he wants to present. Although he gave us control and allowed us to form the relationship in the beginning he now moves into presentation mode. But he now has to persuade us to come to his way of thinking because what we told him we need is not going to give us the ideal we desire. He immediately gets the price issue out of the way by giving us a competitive quote on a fibreglass pool, exactly what all the other salesmen did. Now he presents the ideal.
He gets us involved by getting us to peg out a string outline of the ideal. (A less creative salesperson would have tried to get us to their premises to look at the different shapes and to discuss the merits of the thickness of a fibre pool wall and a cement pool wall.) Tommy though has us involved. After the pegging exercise is finished he doesn’t’ tell me its beautiful, he asks me “what do you think?” He has courage to face the truth. I desire what Tommy has helped me picture in my mind but object. Tommy knows that if the desire is strong enough the money will be found. Tommy’s statements are supported by proof, and he probably genuinely wanted me to enjoy the better of the two options even though the cement pool was more expensive (although in the long run I’m convinced it did not cost more as 10 years later we still enjoy the pool having done no major repairs or maintenance.)
Tommy at this stage is also aware of this fact:
Now is the time that my desire for what he has presented is the strongest.
So what does he do?
The other four sales people all said they would get a formal quote to me and follow through later. Tommy on the other hand moves both parties into negotiation mode. The presentation is finished.
“Lets look at the details” he says reaching for his order pad.
I object: “We have a small problem. I like your idea but we have had our house on the market and have a mandate with one of the agents. If they sell the house at the price we are asking we will be contractually obliged to accept the offer. I suppose you are wondering why on earth I got you to come and quote for a pool when I’ve got my house on the market. Well we thought at the beginning, we would buy a house with a pool rather than have a pool installed but after looking at houses with pools in the price we can afford we changed our minds. The problem is that our mandate with the estate agent still has six weeks to run and if they sell at our price we will be obliged to accept. I think what we must do is wait for the six weeks and when the mandate has expired we’ll contact you and we can take the matter further”.
What would you have done?
Tommy simply says “That’s OK. Why don’t you sign a conditional order that says if you don’t sell you house you will build a pool through us. If you do sell your house the plans will already be passed and I can come and sell the new owners a pool.”
What about Gino the paving salesman?
What Gino did was understand and follow the same sales process that should be followed in all sales. He comes along and patiently listens to us express our opinion asking the appropriate questions (Tommy did the same) He qualifies us and decides what he wants to present. (Tommy did the same). Although he gave us control and allowed us to form the relationship in the beginning he now moves into presentation mode. Now he has to persuade us to come to his way of thinking, we told him what we want and he feels it is not going to give us the ideal. So he presents, that which he knows will appeal. (Tommy did the same).
Both salesmen understood two unbreakable principles.
1. The prospect must be elevated and given control in the beginning. Opinions are listened to, questions are asked and answers evaluated.
After qualifying 2. The presentation is the opportunity to help create the desire for what is presented. (In both cases the need already existed).
When we look at our PPSS Sales Process we see that step five is “propose and agree on a course of action”. After listening to opinions and exploring the ideal, we have to get permission from the prospect to commence with, what may end up as a business transaction. When we are invited by a prospect to give a quote or we are assisting in a store, it can be assumed that the course of action “to buy” is already implied by the prospect.
The fifth step is to ensure that the right customer/supplier relationship is formed. That no barriers exist, that the potential customer is “qualified to buy”. The sixth step -- the” present” step - must create a desire. The Presentation step in the PPSS Sales Process is the best place for the prospect to create a desire for our offering. We have to develop a presentation that will assist our prospect to create the desire, and put what we are offering on top of his or her “want list”. It’s in the presentation phase that we need to display passion. We need to demonstrate that we understand the current situation and are passionate about the opportunity that the ideal situation presents for the customer.
Back to the estate agent In the kitchen, the agent should either have said nothing or asked a question like: “What do you think?” The silence of the situation where my wife and I are just looking, trying to envisage ourselves living in this particular kitchen, creates uncertainty and doubt in the salesperson’s mind. He feels the situation is out of control (Which it is. Have courage.) The agent feels the urge for control and security and tries to gain control and establish his own security by breaking the silence (no courage). The salesperson is preventing us from getting involved in the house for sale, by forcing us to pay attention and acknowledge the observation “This is the kitchen”. The agent tries to influence our thinking by telling us it’s beautiful. The agent could have said “You may have noticed that the cupboards are solid wood” (Statement and proof) If we then reach the conclusion ourselves that it is beautiful the desire starts to form. The agent should have kept the view from the main bedroom a surprise.
If my wife or I had walked in and said “ What a lovely view” the desire increases. At that point the agent could have reinforced with “ Yes it is stunning”.
Both Gino and Tommy created a desire by using a visual impact and involving us with it. At the end of the presentation the agent could still have asked “What do you think?” We would have said “Beautiful kitchen and wonderful view but we think the yard is too small”
The agent could have said “Do you have any other reservations”
We may have had or we might not have had.
Once all our objections and reservations were in the open the agent could have assessed to what degree our desire for the house had escalated and asked.
“I don’t know if we can, but if we resolve the issue of the small yard, would you be interested in owning the home?”
If we had replied “What’s the price?” - Which way do you think the sale is going?
So what we have seen so far is that, irrespective of what type of product we are taking to market at a logical predetermined point we as sales-people have to give a presentation. It follows that our presentation skills and techniques have to be of the highest caliber if we are to succeed in helping prospects create a desire for that which we sell.
Presentations, whether to large unknown audiences, a known committee from a large corporation or a one on one with a prospect, are going to demand that our sales characteristics of courage, humility and sincerity shine through. We have to make the appropriate investment of time and effort to ensure that we can deliver a well-prepared and rehearsed presentation. All presentation material will be assimilated through our prospects senses. So although we are concerned and pay attention to the factual content of our presentation, we are primarily concerned with the positive emotional effect that our presentation will have on our prospect/s (based on the 55:35:10 communication model discussed at the beginning of this chapter).That does not necessarily mean that we have elaborate props and effects (string, nails, clipboards and crayons are not elaborate presentation props). Remember it is the way that we communicate, that will determine our success or failure.
The golden rule of any presentation is that it has to create a desire in the prospect.
The best way to do this is to ensure that whatever we are presenting, (will not only address needs in a prospect,) but will also contribute to their “happiness.”
In terms of completing the PPSS sales process, we see that we use our “Objection Handling Skills” after the presentation to move the sale into the negotiation stage of the sales process.
It is a strange phenomenon, but none the less a fact that, – even though our client will have voiced a need and/or may have a strong desire for that which we are selling, and may even see clearly how what we are offering will contribute to their happiness and well being, they will more often that not object to the signing of an order. It is a natural response to the stimulus. When last did you buy a house, car or anything you desired without “objecting” or voicing an irrelevant point to test the situation and to give yourself the confidence that you were doing the right “thing?” All the secondary objection standard phrases pop up.
“The price is too high”.
“We want to think about it before we make a decision.”
“I need to discuss this with (choose any relative).
“The timing is not right. We are currently stocktaking, re-engineering . . .”
“We have to find out if we can get it into this budget . . ., “We have to compare what you are offering with others”
So what we need to do, is use the process out-lined in the next article - “Dealing with Objections,” to move into the negotiation stage.
Successful Salespeople - Sell with Passion and Manage by Process - Presentations - To learn more about this author, visit James Gracey's Website.
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