Killer Sales Presentations

Speaking effectively is extremely crucial for success in sales but it is the combination of speaking and visual presentation that puts you over the top. This ingredient will focus on achieving communication skills relating to visual sales presentations, including preparing for the presentation, making the presentation, delivery “do’s and don'ts” of the presentation, and incorporating visual aids into the presentation.

Preparation for the presentation is almost as important as the delivery of the presentation. In sales you must analyze the selling situation and the audience, determines the goal and objective of your presentation, choose and shape the content and the appropriate communication style, and craft the presentation. Each of these presentation preparation steps will be the building blocks for a first-class presentation recipe.

When analyzing the selling situation you must determine why your presentation is essential Knowing the situation will help determine the way you shape your content and choose your style. In this analysis you need to ask yourself the following questions:

What is the need or reason for the presentation?
How can you be of assistance to the customer?
How does the presentation address the customer’s situation?
In what setting will you make your presentation?
What do you expect to happen after the presentation
Analyzing the audience can be difficult. The audience will determine the success of your presentation, remember, your presentation is successful if your audience responds the way you want them to. Effective speaking is always reliant on the audience. Identifying how your audience will respond to your presentation depends on knowing the following information about your audience: their educational level, cultural background, knowledge of what you are presenting, what they are expecting, and level of expertise. Knowing your audience’s personal and professional profiles will help determine what you should say, what you should not say, and the “tone” you should use. For example, you need to investigate the personalities of your audience; this will help you determine whether your style should be relaxed and informal or professional and to the point. Questions that can be used in audience analysis include the following:

How much does my audience know about me?
What does the audience expect from me?
What is the audience’s attitude toward me and my product or service?
What position does the audience occupy in the organization?
What is the educational background of the audience?
What are the political and religious views of the audience
Determining the Goal and Objective

Determining the goal and objective of your presentation will help you design your presentation around a specific purpose. Whether you are trying to sell a product, a service, or an idea, you must keep in mind you are also selling your competence and your value to the organization. You must make your purpose evident and relate it to your audience’s perspective. Make sure you state the main point in the beginning of the presentation so that your audience knows what the rest of the presentation will cover. State your objective in one simple sentence. For example, once you have determined your objectives, use the “T3? approach: tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, and finally tell them what you told them. If you use this approach you will not digress and your main points will be emphasized.

Choosing and Shaping the Content

Choosing and shaping the content can be very complicated. You want to keep your sales presentation short, interesting, and relevant. Choosing meaningful information that will appeal to your audience and situation is very important. For example, including statistics, testimonials, cases, illustrations, history, and narratives in your presentation can help convey your message. Overall, make the content interesting, but make sure it pertains to the goal of your presentation.

Choosing the Appropriate Style

Choosing the appropriate presentation style will determine the effectiveness of your content. How you speak can make or break a sales presentation. Questions you need to ask yourself as the presenter include the following:

What approach does the audience expect from me?
What kind of tone do I want to use?
What kind of image do I want to create?
What level of language do I use?
How formal should I be
The most effective style of oral communication is a conversational style because it suggests you are really talking to your audience. This type of communication includes concrete language, short sentences, and a warm and friendly tone. Do not read your presentation to the audience, this sounds impersonal and unnatural. Instead, rehearse what you are going to say because this is crucial for the success of your presentation.

Organizing Your Presentation

Organizing your presentation is the order in which you present your ideas. You must organize your presentation to comply with your audience’s needs and perspective. Usually a presentation starts with an introduction that embodies your main point and a preview of what is ahead, the main body of information that supports the main point stated in the introduction, and a conclusion that reiterates and reinforces your main point. In the introduction grab the audience’s attention, and in the conclusion leave the audience with a positive feeling about you and your product, idea, or service. MAKE AN IMPACT! For example, the opening and closing of the presentation are extremely important, so make sure you spend extra time preparing these sections. Include an interesting story or quote that relates to your presentation, it will grab the audience’s attention and make your presentation memorable.

Making the Presentation

When you begin your presentation, greet your audience and create a comfortable atmosphere by starting with small talk that is unrelated to your presentation topic. After you feel prepared and comfortable, start you presentation. Stick to the plan for the presentation; tell the audience what you are going to tell them, then tell them, and at the end tell them what you have told them. Do not digress, keep to the time allowed, and when concluding ask if there are any questions. Do not leave your audience with questions; clarify all uncertainties.

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Delivery “Do’s and Don’ts”

Delivery entails a variety of “do’s and don’ts” . The following list is some of the most obvious, yet crucial do’s and don’ts:

Do speak clearly (test the acoustics of the room).

Don’t rush or deliberately talk slow.

Don’t tell jokes.

Don’t speak in monotones instead vary speed, pitch, and tone.

Do maintain eye contact but not with only one individual.

Do keep an eye on audience’s body language and audience reactions.

Do keep appearance clean and professional.

Don’t move around too much.

Don’t talk to your visual aids.

Do be enthusiastic and confident, it will reflect in your presentation.

Some important points to emphasize are your voice (how you say it is as important as what you say), your body language (your body movements express what your attitudes and thoughts really are), and your appearance.

The success of a sales presentation relies heavily on your delivery style. All the preparation work can go smoothly, but if you do not deliver your presentation with confidence, enjoyment, assertiveness, and passion, then all the preparation is worthless.

Visual Aids

Visual aids, if used correctly, can enhance interest in a presentation. Effective communication is both visual and verbal. Visual aids can be used to show relationships among ideas so that the audience can understand and remember what you said.

A presentation with effective visual aids is more persuasive, more professional, and more interesting than one that does not utilize visual aids. Effective visual aids should be kept simple, relate to your topic, fit the needs of the audience, and be clear and easy to understand. For example, a good visual aid would be a PowerPoint slide that shows a simple breakdown of numbers in pie chart form. Be careful; do not rely on PowerPoint slides to communicate your messages, only to enhance your message.

Killer Sales Presentations

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