Editor's note: Join us for part two of our live online chat with sales expert Grant Cardone, who will share his best strategies for closing a sale. Just log on to Entrepreneur.com on Weds., Dec. 14, at 3 p.m. EST and bring your questions.
We've all seen it--people listening to a sales presentation, eyes glazed over and their minds anywhere but on what the speaker is saying. As an entrepreneur, whether you're selling yourself or your products and services, it's critical to avoid the missteps that put prospects to sleep and kill the deal. Here are five must-follow rules to win over prospects and seal the deal.
1. Listen before pitching. One of the mistakes business owners make is talking too much about the wonders of their company, instead of asking questions and listening to a potential customer's needs. Your prospect probably did some research about you beforehand anyway, so don't waste precious minutes going on about your qualifications. "Nothing is more annoying than when someone is pitching you, and it's all about them, their products," says Jared Reitzin, founder of mobileStorm, a Los Angeles-based provider of Web-based email and mobile and social communication platforms.
Kyla O'Connell, vice president of business development and sales trainer for Washington, D.C.-based Asher Sales Strategies, suggests opening your presentation with a question like, "I'm prepared to discuss our solution for you, but has anything changed since we last spoke?" or "Is there anything else I need to know before diving into a solution?" Before long, Reitzen says, "The customer will give you the key to how you can win the deal. You just need to ask enough questions and then shut up."
Related: How to Make a Personal Connection with Customers
2. Put in more prep time. No matter how good you are at thinking on your feet, don't wing the presentation. You'll risk jumping all over the place without a logical flow, says Terri Sjodin, founder of Sjodin Communications, a sales training and consulting firm in Newport Beach, Calif. Take the time to prepare and to practice from an outline, making sure your presentation covers all your points clearly and concisely, suggests Sjodin, who is also the author of Small Message, Big Impact (Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2011).
Reitzin says he always reviews a prospect's website to learn about what it sells, how it makes money and how he might be able to fix its problems. He also checks for any mutual connections on LinkedIn. "I will give them a call or shoot them an email asking more about the prospect's personality and what I could say that would make the meeting successful," he says. "Sometimes people will give you a heads up with how you should approach the prospect, and it can be invaluable."
3. Liven it up. Many professionals don't realize just how boring their presentations are--too many facts, a flat monotone, tired stories. "Sometimes professionals have been giving the same presentation for so long they just slip into autopilot," Sjodin says. "In today's competitive market, your presentations must be entertaining in order to obtain and maintain the attention of prospects."
Be creative and put some energy behind your presentation. Sjodin suggests practicing with a tape recorder to determine if your presentation falters and make improvements. "The tone you use and your vocal variation allow you to project your own personality and to create a positive response whether you are speaking to one person or a large group of people," she says.
Related: Top 10 Presentation Tools
4. Don't use visual aids as a crutch. If brochures, handouts or slides could sell a product or service on their own, companies would not need salespeople. "Depending too much on visual aids can give us a false sense of security," Siodin says. "We tend to think it isn't necessary to prepare thoroughly because our props will lead us right through the presentation. We let the visual aid become the star and virtually run the show."
Strategically place visual aids in your presentation to highlight major points, but remember that your style and personality will have much more impact. Most important, ask yourself whether a visual aid is for you or for them? "If it's for you to get you through your presentation, scrap it," Sjodin says. "If it's for them so they can visually understand your presentation, keep it."
5. Be ready to take the next step. Not every presentation is going to end with a sale, so it's up to you to establish the next step in the process. Zak Dabbas, cofounder and managing partner of Punchkick Interactive Inc., a Chicago-based mobile marketing firm, says one of his biggest mistakes early in his career was concluding meetings with a "we hope to talk again soon" mentality.
"The executives we speak with are incredibly busy," he says, "and we realized that we need to determine next steps right then and there–before life gets in the way." Be ready to schedule a subsequent meeting or follow-up phone call, which will show you're serious about working together. "You may not have the sale yet," O'Connell says, "but you at least have something set up so things can continue to move forward."
Related: Pros and Cons: Google's New Take on Presentations
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Comments:
I agree with these strategies. I have been presenting a lot of business presentation and I am successful with it because I always find some time to make research and read articles that talks about presentations.
Point one is ALWAYS overlooked. Salesman think the more they talk, the more the prospect is getting drawn in. My dad always said to listen to the customer. They will sometimes sell it to themselves.
iPads are changing Sales Presentations, I use StoryDesk, allows me to use the iPad to create really cool, sleek presentations
Hi Lisa! Well suggested about the winning sales strategies. I hope the above mentioned 5 strategies are very helpful in building good relationship with the customers so that we can improve the sales. Nice way of presentation.
Krisz Rokk Doing a great presentation is critical when it comes to sales. Many companies are still using tons of ppt-slides forgetting to ask questions. This is why often sales teams leave the room and know very little about the customer's 'real' needs. www.strengthinbusiness.com
This article is full of 1950's selling ideas, presenting and pitching are dead. So what do you do...? Ask permission to ask questions, then ask the right questions. then listen to the answers and then provide the solution or satisfy the want. If a salesperson turned up at my office with a brochure, out the door he, she or it would go. Ric orglearn.org
Great advices on here. Thanks for the share. Definitely agree and like the idea of not ending the presentation with the idea "hopefully we'll talk soon" and have something planned and set up. Also, love love love number 1 - as one of my teacher is life have always taught me - prescription without diagnoses is malpractice. Sadly - too many professionals carry with them the "everything looks like a nail" mentality.
Good advice Lisa thank you! Winning! ;)
Asking questions and listening to a potential customer's needs is a key of successful sales.
Presentation the most effective in the business to please the client and to get the chance for the more sale. Great points shared with us for the effective presentation. Thanks @Reitzin for such tips and thanks @Lisa for sharing with us.