when differences are slight.
In Chapter 2, you discover how to gain insights through a discovery process, and in Chapter 3 you find out how to apply those to tailor your presentation.
Your prospect invites you to give your hard-fought presentation. You have all the decision makers together in one room at the same time. Quick reality check: Do you have their attention? Don’t bet on it. Like you, prospects have other things on their minds. Perhaps they just got off a call with an unhappy customer or they’re worrying about how to handle an unresolved issue.
✔ Attention spans fall: It’s not just your imagination. Studies show that people’s attention spans are falling faster than the Russian ruble – dropping an incredible 50 percent in the last decade – wait, is that a new LinkedIn request?
✔ Attention bottoms out. Attention isn’t something you get once in a presentation and then you’re done. Attention starts off high at the beginning of your presentation and drops to its lowest point in ten minutes, just when you were getting to your good stuff.
✔ Multitasking is a myth. Finally the truth is out. People can really only focus on one thing at a time. That has loads of implications for your presentation. For example, talking about one thing while an unrelated text-heavy slide is on the screen? Waste of your breath.
Knowing how to make adjustments in your presentation for these changes in behavior is critical. Read how in Chapter 4.
Planning a Killer Presentation
Hordes of data sandwiched between a company overview and an awkward “any questions?” closing neither engages nor persuades today’s prospects. Although Ted Talks – short innovative speeches available at www.ted.com – have shed insight into what engages audiences today, you want your prospect to do more than feel good when you’re done. You need a persuasive structure that leads to action, which I discuss in the following sections.
Fair or not, during those critical first few seconds during your opening, your prospect is evaluating you, making decisions about how and whether they are going to listen to you. In fact, research has found that the majority of jurors decides on the verdict – and sticks with it – during the opening arguments. Although you’re not on trial, you need to know what you need to accomplish with your opening:
✔ Capture attention. Use a relevant opening hook – something that makes your prospect put down his smartphone and pay attention, like a story, a quote, or an insight – to get off to a strong start.
✔ Define the situation. Quickly comparing how your prospect is dealing with the problem to what your prospect’s situation looks like after the problem is resolved gives your prospect a reminder of why you’re there and a vision of where you’re headed.
✔ Establish value. Busy prospects hate to have their time wasted. Giving them a sense of value initially is critical to gain early buy-in.
✔ Sell the next minute. Like many movie previews, too many salespeople reveal the whole plot in their opening. Keep interest and attention high by holding something back to keep your prospect tuned.
Seem like a tall order for the top of your presentation? You bet it is. Don’t leave your opening to chance. The sale could be riding on it. Find out more about creating a powerful opening in Chapter 5.
The body of most sales presentations is made up almost entirely of a long list of features that leave your prospect longing for a fire drill. In a persuasive presentation, use the body to build tension by exploring the gap between your prospect’s current situation and where they want to be. Here’s why:
✔ Establish priority: Prospects often have competing priorities. You need to make a case for why yours should take precedence.
✔ Avoid pain: Research proves that people are much more willing to take a risk to avoid pain than to embrace an opportunity.
✔ Fight the status quo: Getting prospects to move off an “If it ain’t too broke, don’t fix it” mentality requires cranking up the heat well before you get to the closing.
You can read more about ratcheting up the tension in Chapter 6.
Every presentation ends, but very few close. A good closing resolves the tension and makes it easy for your prospect to take the next step. Afraid of being repetitive or sensing real or imagined impatience, salespeople often rush to wrap up things and skip or mumble through vague next steps.
Devoting the Necessary Preparation
Too many great concepts fail to execute because of a lack of preparation. As a salesperson, you have to wear a lot of different hats – that of researcher, strategist, designer, and performer – which can cause you to feel stretched for time. But by applying some of these simple preparation strategies you can streamline your process and improve the impact and outcome of your presentation.
You probably have sat through your share of deadly PowerPoint presentations with their many bullet points, bouncing shapes, and dizzying animations. If slides are your medium of choice, get updated on contemporary design guidelines to keep your presentation from triggering nausea. Following are some key things to remember when planning your presentation material:
✔ Start with a concept. Most salespeople jump to create slides the minute they get the presentation on their calendar. Taking the time to stop and consider what you want to accomplish can save you from showing up with a PowerPoint collage of ideas and styles.
✔ Focus on one idea. The rule of “one slide – one idea” can keep your presentation clean, clear, and on point.
✔ Set the tone. Is it serious or light? Emotional or logical? The tone or feeling you want to create influences everything from your theme, your colors, your choice of pictures, and your fonts.
✔ Say it with a picture. A bold graphic can communicate an idea quicker than a slide full of text.
You can discover more helpful design tips in Chapter 9.
Like an actor, you’re auditioning for a role in your prospect’s business. To win the part, you need to do more than just memorize the lines. Most salespeople spend the vast majority of their time preparing the message and forget about the messenger. The following are your performance tools, and they’re a ready resource for enhancing and reinforcing your message:
✔ Your voice: As the delivery vehicle for your message, your voice holds a lot of power, yet few people use it to its full potential. Variety in volume, pacing, pausing, and emphasis can draw attention to key messages and make your content come to life.
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