We know that traditional sales training says present, present, present… then close, close, close. Convince the prospect with a slick presentation, pile on the value, and the sale should follow.
We’ve been there. Early on, most of us poured everything into our presentations. We practiced them relentlessly, tested visual props and glossy brochures, crafted persuasive arguments, and built binders full of evidence proving why our product and company were the right choice.
But here’s what we learned the hard way: no matter how polished or powerful the presentation, the close rate depended far more on what happened before we ever opened a slide deck—not during the presentation itself.
Before you give a presentation or proposal, consider the following:
Have you thoroughly flushed out your prospect’s pain? People don’t buy features and benefits; they buy solutions to problems. Your presentation should not be a long-winded discussion of all the great things your product does. (Consider the cell phone that is a camera, plays video games, connects to the internet, sends e-mail, and keeps your calendar. Are you impressed? Probably not.) The presentation should specifically address how your product will eliminate the pains and problems your prospect is experiencing. If you do a good job of diagnosing your prospect’s true pain and uncovering his true buying motive, then he is very likely to believe you are part of the solution before you present anything. Think like a doctor here – prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.
Have you and your prospect agreed on a budget? Is he willing and able to pay your price? The worst time to tell somebody the price is at the end of the presentation. No matter how exciting you are, there’s only one thing that will be on your prospect’s mind while you are presenting: HOW MUCH IS IT? Also, if the first time a prospect knows the price is at the end of the presentation, his reaction is almost guaranteed to be, “That’s more than we were expecting, we’ll need some time to think this over.”
Have you discussed your prospect’s decision making process with him? If not then you have no basis for expecting a decision and you are setting the stage for a think-it-over. In fact, it’s very likely that after your best presentation, right when you’re hoping for an order and a check, that previously enthusiastic and gung-ho prospect will say, “This looks wonderful, all I need to do is take this to my wife/husband/CFO/committee and then I’ll call you, probably within a week.” Make sure you know the who/what/when/where/why/how of your prospect’s decision making process and get a firm agreement as to when you will get a decision. After the presentation is the wrong time to ask about when you can expect a decision.
Once you have discussed pain, budget, and decision with your prospect, ask one more question: “Mr. Prospect, what do you need to see or hear to feel comfortable moving forward?” This is where your prospect will tell you exactly how to sell him. Whatever he says here, that’s what you present, no canned presentations, just show him what he wants to see.
Contact us at Sandler, NYC to find out more about presenting effectively.
