Just like a great book or movie that has a beginning, climax, and end, effective sales presentations should tell a story that leads prospects to the conclusion you want. It needs to define the problem you’re trying to solve, demonstrate how your solution will meet the prospect’s needs, and have a strong call-to-action at the end.
Before you can even think about going to the presentation stage, you’ll need to do some homework.
Step One: Diagnosis
You need to put in the time to learn about a prospect’s business and the unique challenges they face. After all, how can you suggest a solution before you know the problem?
In a discovery call, your objective is to connect with a decision-maker and ask them qualifying questions to make sure it’s worth your time (and theirs) to talk. Assuming a prospect is qualified, you’re trying to assess their needs and understand their pain points. This sets the stage for your presentation.
Step Two: Customise the Presentation
Whatever you do, don’t pull up a canned sales presentation and put it before a prospect no matter how good it is. We’ve all sat through too many generic PowerPoint slideshows that didn’t engage us in a meaningful way.
You need to take the time to customise what you’re presenting so it’s clear to the prospect you’ve got a custom solution for their situation and not just pulling some product off the shelf. Remember, you’re selling a product or solution, but what you’re really doing is selling yourself. If a customer doesn’t first trust you, they aren’t likely to buy no matter how attractive the product is. You must establish a base of trust to be successful.
It doesn’t mean creating every presentation with a blank canvas. Many companies use templates effectively and give sales reps the ability to plug in logos, business names, and places to showcase unique problems and solutions.
Step Three: Get Right to the Point
Don’t load up your presentation with fluff. People are way too busy these days and you’re not likely to keep their attention if you aren’t starting strong. Your goal is to lead your prospect to take the next step. The sooner you get to a decision point, the faster you can deal with objections and convert.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking a long, in-depth presentation is what makes a sales presentation strong. A short deck, organised properly with the right information, can be powerful.
Step Four: Define the Problem
Even if it’s obvious, recapping your discovery call and defining the problem at hand is a great way to get the customer engaged quickly. This demonstrates you’ve paid attention and understand their needs. It gives them an opportunity to frame the conversation or get them talking.
You should talk about both the problem and the negative impact it’s having if it’s not addressed. Your goal in this stage is to get them to accept the problem and acknowledge that they need a solution.
Step Five: Unveil the Solution
We’ve now arrived at a key moment: the solution. This is where you unveil how your product or service will solve their problem.
Resist the temptation to talk about the product features and focus on the benefits. It’s all about how the product or service will ease their pain. The impact of choosing your product or service is what’s important here. Empathy is a powerful tool. Two-thirds of salespeople say being empathic with the prospect about their need to solve their problem is one of the keys to successful sales presentations.
Step Six: Demonstrate Success & Establish Credibility
In sales, you’re often in the risk mitigation business. Before customers can take that leap of faith with you, they have to believe the product or solution will get the job done.
This is a great place to put your storytelling skills to work. Pull out a few short case studies that demonstrate how others achieved their goals by using your solution. Sprinkle in a testimonial or two. If possible, record a short video clip on your phone with a past customer and let them sing your praises.
Most satisfied customers are happy to provide a short testimonial or even provide a referral. By inserting it into your presentation, the words will have more impact coming from someone else rather than you.
These testimonials and case studies are a great way to take away the risk factor is by demonstrating that others had the same concerns, but followed your suggestions and had great success. The better you can align a case study with the customer’s situation, the more effective it will be.
This also helps establish your credibility. You’ve worked with others that had similar problems and came up with solutions that work. You’re not just pitching a “theoretical idea.”
Step Seven: Ask for the Sale
Depending on where you are in the sales cycle, it may be time to try to close the deal. If so, don’t hesitate. Recap your argument, lead the prospect to the finish line, and ask for the sale! Too many salespeople get to the end and forget to close.
Then, pause and prepare to deal with objections.
Not every presentation will take you right to the close. In that case, your goal is to move the prospect to the next stage of the customer journey. For example, it may be to set up a future meeting or schedule a hands-on demonstration. Whatever your goal is, don’t leave without getting a commitment – even if the answer is that you’re not going any further. It’s better to know that than waste any more of your precious time.
Step Eight: Overcome Objections
As they say, the selling doesn’t start until the objections come out. This may or may not be part of your formal presentation but you know it’s coming, so you better prepare for it. One effective technique is to have prepared material ahead of time to deal with the objections you’re expecting. This could be role-playing with others so you have a smooth way of handling objections, sales training on overcoming objections, or an extra slide or two you can pull out if needed.
Listen fully so you understand the objection. Often, this will mean asking a couple of clarifying statements to find the true objection. As you know, a price objection is usually more about value than price. Respond properly and confirm you’ve cleared the objection. If you haven’t, you won’t likely get to the next step.
By Ana Cervantez
Sources
https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/discovery-call-questions
https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2016/10/3-critical-tips-for-closing-the-sale.html
https://www.elevatecorporatetraining.com.au/2019/03/20/the-six-secrets-to-better-client-referrals/