Quick Tips for Better Sales Presentations

Years ago, I coached sales teams and executives on how to make more effective presentations to customers. I developed a Quick Tip Card (see picture and double-click on it) no bigger than a normal business card. This little card served as a client's pocket reminder of the key points covered in our coaching session. Many lives were saved.

Side one is titled BEFORE and side two is titled SHOWTIME. I’ll share it with you and add some detail:

BEFORE

Planning
-Consider Audience Expectations.
The customers listen to one main radio station. WII-FM (What’s in it for me). Make sure you are tuned in.

-Know Your Objectives
I ask myself this question...”I want to say (Blank) so that (Blank) will happen”. Fill in the blanks.

-Focus on Three Main Points
If you want to be remembered, three is magic. Four is forgettable. Five is a disaster. In songs, in poetry - three has rhythm. Up up and away in my beautiful balloon...NOT up up up and away. It doesn’t work. Tony Orlando said “Knock three times on the ceiling”. NOT FOUR. The Three Little Pigs. Goldie Locks and the Three Bears...who would remember the fourth bear? Boil it down to three.

Visuals

-K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple Sam)

5 X 5
If you have to make a “bullet chart” limit it to five bullets per chart, five words per bullet.

One Idea per Chart
Flash Cards! 10 simple Flash Card charts can be covered as quickly and more memorably then five cluttered charts.

Make it Readable
Stand two meters back from your computer screen and look at the power point chart. If you can’t read it, re-do it. The font is too small. What? Won’t fit? See the two rules above.

Message Headlines
Message headlines vs. Subject headlines – very important. Ask yourself this: What is the point of this chart? Make that the title. Example: “Reliability”. This is a subject title...not good. “Our Components are 78% More Reliable than the Competition”. This is a message title...better.

Pictures Instead of Words
A picture is worth a thousand words. So is a diagram, a graph, or a sketch. Enough said.


SHOWTIME

Energy!
If you want people to be “on fire” for your idea, than you need to generate some heat on stage.
-Maintain Eye Contact
From a physical stand-point, this is the single most important thing you can do to improve your effectiveness.

-Keep Ideas Moving
Get your words, to line up and march out of your mouth in single file. Rehearse.

-Use Vocal Variety
Record your rehearsal. Listen. Do you like it? I have heard voices that could put a cup of coffee to sleep. Bring some song-like energy to your voice. Commercial and Industrial showmanship!

-Make Your Body a Visual Aid
Get your body moving. If you are saying “we need to raise productivity”, then raise your arm when you say it. “Sales are going off a cliff” OK, drive your hand off the cliff. See what I mean?

Delivery/Position

-Face the audience (not the screen!)
Too many speakers stare at their slides. Don’t do that. Face the audience all the time.

-Visuals on Your Left
People read from left to right. They take almost all information in left to right. Keep the visual on your left as you face the audience so the eye always comes back to you.

-Direct Their Eyes to the Visuals
Gesture toward your charts when you want them to focus on the charts.

-Tell Them What’s Coming Next
Many amateur speakers keep talking as they change from one chart to the next. Pros finish the idea (mini summary) and then tell the audience what the next chart is about BEFORE punching the advance button. Use a phase like this – “Now, don’t miss this next chart. It’s on productivity and that is the key to driving profits higher in 2010”. Then, change the chart.

OK, those are the tips. Practice them and you will be miles ahead.

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!

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!