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The Secret of Winning Sales Presentations - Turning Listeners Into Buyers

Guest post by: Fern Lebo

Article Overview: This is the crux of it: whether your potential buyers build trucks, sell medical equipment or distill beer, as individuals sitting in your audience, their personal point of view is predictable. That's a valuable fact--because it means you can target your presentation perfectly. Indeed, when you can predict what your audience is thinking, you are on your way to a win. This article explains how to turn listeners into buyers.

The Secret of Winning Sales Presentations - Turning Listeners Into Buyers

Know your audience. You've heard that many times and you know how important it is. In fact, before you prepare your presentation, you go to the target buyer's website and find out all about their company and what they do. Good for you. But that's probably not good enough to win the bid. What you may not have known is that what your audience does is less important than who they are.

This is the crux of it: whether your potential buyers build trucks, sell medical equipment or distill beer, as individuals sitting in your audience, their personal point of view is predictable. That's a valuable fact--because it means you can target your presentation perfectly. Indeed, when you can predict what your audience is thinking, when you look at a group of buyers and understand their individual mindsets, you are on your way to a win.

So here's the secret: knowing your audience means more than identifying their industry sector or job description. It also means understanding that within every audience you have four kinds of buyers. Whether there is a single buyer in front of you--or a dozen--these four buyer mindsets are there and must be addressed. And while not every person in the audience has buying power, they do have veto power--which means that if you don't get it right, you lose.

Reaching each of your listeners in a way that resonates--intellectually and on a gut level--is the secret to getting every listener onside so you can move ahead of your competitors.

The four types of buyers in every presentation audience are:

• the executive who thinks about the Big Picture and long-range relationships
• the techie who thinks about technology
• the financial person who thinks about cost and numbers and payoff
• the implementer who thinks about people issues.

Now that you know who is sitting in those chairs, you want to know how best to reach them so every listener turns on, tunes in and wants you to win. If you're smart, you will choose your content--in whichever order you prefer--to address the needs and interests of the four buyer mindsets in your audience.

Your Big Message should speak to the executive.

The Executive Buyer is looking at the long-term relationship and thinking about how your company fits with theirs. They are more interested in high level concepts than in detail. They want to feel you are a good match for today and well into the future. They want to like you because they are looking for a long-term relationship.

To get the Executive Buyer in your corner, go to their website and check out their vision and mission statements. Then tweak your Big Message so it fits with the buyer's vision. Don't quote their vision statement word for word, but do use some of their language or concepts so your message resonates. Open with that Big Message and get the Executive Buyer onside right at the start.

Deliver the rest of your presentation in three sections or topics, each of which should speak to one of the other three kinds of buyers. Since people buy from people they like, it is important that each type of buyer hears something that speaks to them directly--that resonates for them. Make yourself likable. When you speak to the needs of each type of buyer, everyone thinks you are terrific. When they like you, you have given them a strong reason to buy.

One topic speaks to the techie in the audience.

In this section, you'll want to point out the sophistication or superiority or originality of your technology. You will talk about its reliability or whatever it is you think will resonate best with a technical mindset.

One topic speaks to the financial person.

Here you point out ROI or cost savings or increased throughput for financial gain to the buyer. You know your best financial wins; be sure your financial buyer hears them.

One topic addresses the implementer in the audience.

In this section you'll talk about the short learning curve or ease of implementation or whatever it is that makes your product or service attractive to a buyer most concerned with the people issues in the organization.

Know your audience. Of course. And now you do. What's more, you can predict what your audience is thinking which means you know precisely what you need to present to win. But shhh. It's a secret.

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Article Tags: audience, buyer, present, presentation, sales, sell
Referred by: http://simonpayn.typepad.com/



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