Discipline Is Key to Selling Expensive Things Successfully

Time Management

Two of Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits are “Be Proactive” and “Put First Things First”. These are gems of time management for sales professionals. Successful solution sellers must be incredibly proactive and must be able to manage time wisely. Successful solution sellers are not stimulus - response account custodians. Successful solution sellers cultivate the ability to take charge, plan ahead, and focus their energy on things they can control instead of reacting to or worrying about things over which they have little or no control.

Mastering these two time management habits help you rise above the pounding day-to-day demands that distract amateur salespeople. Being proactive doesn’t mean being pushy, or insufferably aggressive. It means recognizing your responsibility to make things happen in the market place. It means anticipating, identifying, and solving your customer’s problems and, generating a fair profit in exchange for rendering great service. Putting first things first involves making wise choices about how you spend your time. It takes skill and great self-awareness to be able to devote serious time to important, but not urgent tasks. Successful solution sellers do this as second nature. Important but not urgent tasks are things like research, account strategy, call planning, relationship building, prospecting, training, reading, and physical exercise. On the other hand, email, ringing phones, meetings, drop-by’s and unopened mail have to be managed…and sometimes ignored! That takes discipline.

Handling Questions

Steve’s Sales Coaching Tips



Presenting with Power and Getting Results! – Part 7

The question and answer period is an opportunity to build audience support. Don’t feel threatened. Look at questions as a way to uncover concerns and sensitive areas that were not obvious in your audience analysis. Good answers enhance and reinforce your message.

As you plan

Anticipate questions. Think of three questions you hope the audience won’t ask. Develop thorough answers to them. Minimize surprises.

Control the situation

State your policy on questions at the outset. Do you want the audience to ask them as they arise or hold them until you finish?

Stay on message. Henry Kissinger once walked into the White House press room and asked, “Does anyone have any questions for my answers? Wow!

With a large group, it helps to repeat or paraphrase the question. With any size audience, re-phrase negative or hostile questions.

In general, don’t answer a question with a question.

Identify the issue behind the question. What is the real concern? Probe and clarify before you answer. Besides, it buys you time to think.

Break complicated questions into parts before you answer. Answer the part you like best first.

Look directly at the questioner. Once the question has been asked, break eye contact and lock onto another person. This avoids one-on-one confrontation and signals to the audience that your answer is of interest to all.

Be sensitive

With a mixed audience, ask for general questions first. The detailed questions can come later.

Listen. Respond quickly, but be sure you know and understand the whole question before answering.

If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so and promise to find it. If you have informed associates present, invite them to answer but buy some time for them to think by discussing it aloud first.

Encourage the audience to discuss questions with you.

Handle objections

Find a way to agree with people who put questions in the form of objections. For example, “You’ve raised a critical concern to which we have given a great deal of thought.” Then humbly and respectfully set them straight.

Be tactful. Turn negativism into positive replies.

Even the most belligerent questioners are helping you. They have come out in the open, let you know they oppose you, and told you why. Seize the opportunity to answer them. Be courteous, humble, patient, and firm.

Never become defensive.

Remember:
Strive for question and answer sessions that generate lively audience response. Effective question and answer sessions can increase the audience’s knowledge, reinforce your main points, and ad to your credibility. Emphasize your advantage in every answer. Above all, be quick, be courteous, be correct, and be complete.

Good Selling!

Delivery Techniques

Steve’s Sales Coaching Tips

Presenting with Power and Getting Results! – Part 6

Your success is determined by how well you coordinate a mix of messages, spoken and unspoken. You are the presentation. Control the situation. Don’t get in the way of your words. Use any creative means available to tell and sell your story effectively.

Control and authority

-Exert some energy. Be yourself AND THEN SOME! Show that you are confident and excited about what you are about to say.

-Pause...relax before you begin.

-Don’t demand the attention of a noisy audience. Politely wait for attention to come to you. They will settle.

-Establish personal contact before you begin speaking. Lock onto a person in your audience.

-Make a positive first impression with a sincere smile and nod of acknowledgment. Excited about the subject? Well for heaven’s sake ...tell your face about it and smile!

The body

-Maintain a relaxed, natural stance. Avoid shifting your weight, leaning on the lectern, or fidgeting.

-Stand on the left side of your visual aid (from the audience’s perspective).

-Gesture naturally. Avoid forced movement. Spontaneity, personality, and feeling for the subject are the keys to movement. When you’re excited about the subject and intent upon reaching the audience, gesturing takes care of itself.

The eyes

-Maintain eye contact. Effective communication is a two-way street. The audience’s eyes give constant feedback as to how well you’re communicating.

-Concentrate on one person and hold them until you’ve made your point. Then move on to another. You will find this helps you focus on your message and avoid that glazed, faraway look that comes from scanning the audience.

-Key: Maintaining eye contact is the single most important thing you can do to improve your presentation style.

The message

-Learn to use the power of silence. Some inexperienced speakers feel the need to deliver an uninterrupted stream of words. They end up with “ums,” “ers” and “ahs.” Effective pauses show that you are in control of your message and the audience.

-Involve the audience. Make a provocative statement, or ask a rhetorical question.

-Personalize the talk to gain audience empathy.

-Don’t let visual aids compete with your for attention. Avoid fast slide show clicking.

Remember:
Don’t distract the audience. This is the all-encompassing rule of effective delivery skills. Make it easy for listeners to understand the message by working hard on how you say it.

Good selling!

Personal Appearance

Steve’s Sales Coaching Tips

Presenting with Power and Getting Results! - Part 5

60% of your message is non-verbal. Your appearance says a lot about how you feel about yourself and your audience. An audience makes judgments, fair or unfair, based on how you look. Use this to your advantage. Your personal appearance makes a powerful statement about your status and credibility.

Dress conservatively

-Select a suit in a solid color or a smart sport coat and coordinated separates.
-Blouses and shirts should be freshly pressed. White and blue are good colors.
-Loud ties or excessive neckwear are distracting.
-Polish your shoes.

Dress comfortably but sharp.

-Jeffery Fox advises that salespeople should dress to be the best-dressed person they will see that day. Casual dress leads to casual attitudes. Sloppy dress leads to sloppy work. I agree.

-Clothing that doesn’t fit properly restricts your movement. Tight collars and shoes can be irritating and prevent you from doing your best.
-If the situation warrants, remove your jacket and suggest that others do so as well.
-Make sure your pockets are free of keys and coins.
-Don’t wear beeping watches (do they make those anymore?). Turn off your mobile.

Avoid eye-catching accessories

-Select belt buckles, bracelets, tie tacks, lapel pins, earrings, and necklaces carefully.
-Avoid “bling” pieces. If in doubt, wear something else.

Personal grooming

-Make sure your hairstyle is neat and does not cover your face.
-Hands and fingernails should be clean and manicured.
-Be certain you are fresh (no body odor or bad breath).

Remember:
Effective communication involves much more than words. It is a complex mix of messages.
Personal appearance is one of the most powerful of these unspoken messages and one of the easiest to control. The audience buys you before they buy your ideas.


Good Selling!

Controlling Nervous Energy

Steve’s Sales Coaching Tips

Presenting with Power and Getting Results! - Part 4

That unsettling feeling you experience before you speak is nothing more than a surge of adrenaline. This primitive defense mechanism can make your heart race and cause you to perspire. It also sharpens your physical and mental capabilities. Channeling this surge of energy and releasing the tension helps you give an outstanding performance.

Preparation

-You will be more relaxed if you know your ideas are sound and you’re prepared. A solid foundation is difficult to shake. Don’t procrastinate. Get busy now.

Practice, Practice, Practice...How Else Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?

-Amatures hate to practice. Pros know better. By practicing often, you gain confidence. Practice will eliminate the negative anticipation that creates tension. Practice out loud, in front of an audience or video camera.

Successful experience

-Seek opportunities to speak both formally and informally. Try your ideas out on friends. Speak to clubs and professional organizations. Monitor your progress, correct errors, and speak again.

-Take advantage of company training programs. Many of them offer classes and workshops on presentation techniques with plenty of opportunity for you to speak before a group.

Creative visualization

-Before you get to speak, close your eyes and recall an event in which you were in control, totally confident, and completely relaxed. Describe to yourself vividly how you felt. Include sounds, smells, colors, and emotions that were present. Next, bring these feelings to your present state of consciousness. Experience the surge of zen-ergetic relaxation that results.

-Picture yourself as a successful speaker. Paint the scene in exact detail. Your presentation is well organized, and you are thoroughly prepared. Your audience is attentive. You have them in the palm of your hand. Remember, you were asked to speak for a reason. You know more about some aspect of the subject than anyone in the room. You have something important to give them.


Relaxation techniques

-Isometrics. Perform simple tensing and relaxing exercises. For example, clench your fists for a count of ten. Release, relaxing your entire body. The contrast between tensing and releasing promotes relaxation.

-Controlled breathing. Take deep, full breaths, allowing your lungs to expand fully. Exhale slowly and deliberately. Little by little, your mental state will adjust to match your physical calm.

-Avoid caffeine or other stimulants before speaking.

Talking to individuals

-Remember that the audience is made up of individuals. Think of your presentation as a conversation.

-Seek out friendly faces. Lock in on one pair of eyes. Talk to that person until you complete a thought. Then move on to another.

Remember:
You can rely on preparation, practice, and positive experience to minimize your natural tension. The key is to channel your energy and make it work for you.

Effective Visual Aids

Steve’s Sales Coaching Tips

Presenting with Power and Getting Results! – Part 3

Audiences retain more information when they see it and hear it at the same time. Visual aids can make presentations more interesting and effective. Use restraint, imagination, and professional help to maximize their impact.

Basics

-If this is a team presentation, does each presentation complement the others?
-Are the visuals suited to the audience and the room?
-Are the necessary facilities and equipment available?

General rules

-Build visual aids only after developing your content.
-Use visual aids to support your verbal message. Don’t rely on visuals alone to convey your message.
-Prepare visuals specifically for the presentation. Visuals prepared for publications are almost never suitable for use in a presentation.
-Keep visuals simple, uncluttered, and easy to see. K.I.S.S.

Methods of visualizing

-Tables illustrate complex and detailed relationships.
-Graphs help visualize quantitative data and show trends.
-Photographs enhance credibility and realism. Search Flickr.
-Drawings help present abstract concepts.
-Video and film demonstrate action and drama and add variety.
-Word charts are good for emphasis and continuity. Caution: Don’t use for notes or cues.
-Enlarged text can be effective for citing an authority.
-Cartoons help express emotion. Use sparingly.
-Models aid 3D visualization, action, and audience involvement.
-Handouts distract attention. If possible, distribute them at the end.

Remember:
Visual aids compete with you for the audience’s attention. Keep the attention on you. Rehearse often with your visual aids, even if that means using rough-draft artwork. Don’t stand between your audience and the visual aid.

Good Selling!

Organization

Steve’s Sales Coaching Tips

Presenting with Power and Getting Results! – Part 2

To organize your sales presentation, begin by outlining the body or main points. This often gives you the inspiration for a strong summary, which in turn provides the basis for an attention-grabbing introduction.

Outline your main points

-Rank your ideas in order of importance.
-Select those that tell your story and support your message.
-Limit yourself to 3 main points. (The less you say, the more they remember.)
-Arrange them in logical order.
-Add necessary subpoints.
-Expand your outline to include the necessary detail.

Plan your time

-Tailor your information to the time available. What will you cut if time runs out?
-Divide your outline into timed modules.
-Separate these modules by transitions.
-Allow enough time for questions.

Develop your closing

-Begin with a signal that you are concluding.
-Restate your message.
-Reiterate your main points.
-Relate your remarks to your listeners.
-Tell the audience what you want them to do.

Prepare your opening

-Have a “grabber”. Get their attention. Get minds revving!
-Tell who you are and how much time you need.
-Explain why you are talking about this subject to this audience.
-State your message up front. It shouldn’t be a mystery novel.
-Preview your main points. Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em.
-Give a signal that you are moving on to the body of the presentation.

Remember:
A presentation that is carefully organized gets results. Audiences pick up immediately on the haphazard and the illogical. On the other hand, they appreciate being quickly guided through complex material by an expert.

Good Selling!

Planning

Steve’s Sales Coaching Tips

Presenting with Power and Getting Results! - Part 1

Careful planning for your sales presentation pays off. It helps you avoid false starts, expensive rework, and last-minute scrambles. Thinking through your presentation from beginning to end ensures an outstanding performance.

A-C-I-B

Analyze your customer audience

-Identify your listeners.
-List their biases and expectations.
-Assess their knowledge and interest levels.
-Determine their attitudes toward you and your subject.
-Define how your presentation benefits them.
-Anticipate questions you might be asked.

Clarify your purpose

-Know why you are talking about this subject to this audience.
-State your objective in one sentence.

Identify your message

-State it clearly.
-Don’t depend on subtlety.
-Don’t assume your audience knows your message.

Brainstorm

-Write down everything on your topic that comes to mind.
-Pay no attention to grammar, spelling, or punctuation.
-Do not judge or attempt to sort, just write.

Remember:
Effective presentations are the result of intelligent planning. By using a step-by-step approach, you divide the task into manageable segments and ensure that you have the basis for a well organized presentation.

Good Selling!

Presenting with Power and Getting Results!

Steve’s Sales Coaching Tips

To start, I am going to lay out a series of tip sheets as a foundation for you to improve your sales presentations. The tip sheets contain key information on seven areas of critical importance in presentation development and delivery. They include:

1. Planning
2. Organization
3. Effective Visual Aids
4. Controlling Nervous Energy
5. Personal Appearance
6. Delivery Techniques
7. Handling Questions
   
   Use these tip sheets. Even though you may be an experienced presenter, you will find helpful reminders and, perhaps, some tips you haven’t been using. If you are less experienced, you will find them indispensable.
   
   Good selling!