Winning new business depends largely on your development and delivery of a structured sales presentation. Having this tool will ensure you are prepared with the best information for your prospects when you get the opportunity to meet with them.
In this post, we will review the important parts of an effective sales presentation, including:
1) Pre-Presentation
2) Introduction
3) Body
4) Closing the Sale.
Process for Developing a Structured Sales Presentation
The entire sales process should be focused on one premise: EDUCATE THE CUSTOMER.You should keep this goal in mind at each stage of developing your sales presentation.
1) Pre-Presentation
The pre-presentation is not directly presented to your clients. However, it is the foundation for your presentation. It includes all the activities you do to prepare for the sales presentation. An effective pre-presentation will include research on the demographics of your audience and a plan to connect your company/product, presentation and audience together.
In addition, it will be the process you use to organize and practice your presentation of your credentials and your main topics polish your delivery style and become an expert on the unique features of your product/service.
Understand Your Audience and Anticipate Questions
Many companies provide sales materials including tools like charts, diagrams, sales books and/or slide shows (like the technology used in the photo below). As the presenter, you should develop a style for how to best organize and deliver your points. No matter your preference, learn about your audience first — are they CEOs, general consumers, investors?
This way, you can decide what angles to present from — such as product scope and cost, usability or ROI. Also, anticipate the questions you may be asked and organize them into categories. A few categories include: product versatility, branding, company growth and product case studies.
Plan Your Timing
We recommend that you keep your presentation short, at approximately 12 – 15 minutes. Be respectful of your prospect’s time, understanding that if you are successful during this presentation, the sales call has the potential to be extended with questions and further discussion. When this happens, you’ll learn even more about his/her needs and level of interest in the product or service.
Image credit: tools
2) Introduction
The introduction sets up the structure and flow of your presentation. There is no time for mistakes here, so make it simple, clear, and engaging. First, aim to inform the audience of your identity and credibility. You can do this by introducing yourself and your background, mentioning any common interests or experiences of the audience.
Next, establish a clear and simple order of topics. To make it clear, present your agenda and main points or headlines in order, using visuals if possible. Third, sell the product by showing its history, reputation, customer loyalty, and your loyalty as a company employee. Remember, the introduction introduces the structure and flow of your presentation so you need it to be simple, clear, and engaging.
3) Body
Depending on your presentation style, you can engage your audience with a rhetorical question that transitions and further propels your narrative. This question can help you introduce your main points and analyze them thoroughly. With that said, how should you set up your main points?
Be Simple and Memorable
The body is the lead-and-follow section of your presentation. Now that your audience knows how many main points you will discuss, signal to them when you are moving from one point to another. However, do not make it complicated. Make it simple, yet strategically memorable. Keep your language simple and conversational, without using lots of product jargon, as it’s possible that prospects may be just learning about your industry. Understand and talk to your prospect’s or audience’s experience for full engagement.
The body is your opportunity to speak in-depth on your points. You want your points to be tailored to the audience’s needs, benefits and particular problems. If the points are targeted to the interests of your audience, then you will automatically create a positive connection.
It’s okay to strategically repeat the important points of your presentation. Repetition often ingrains concepts into a prospect’s memory.
Share the Benefits of Your Product / Service
You want to thoroughly provide factual information to your audience by describing the applications of the product/service, but you do not want to lose your audience’s attention with monotonous information. So, we highly recommended that in the body of your presentation you narrate the individual entities that do actions.
This means that your presentation includes examples of people or businesses that are benefiting from your product/service. In order to do this well, ask yourself these questions: What does my product do for consumers? How do users benefit from it? What was the effect of a lack of this product in the past?
Address Objections and Questions
In your pre-presentation, you prepared and categorized questions and objections that were tailored to your audience’s interests. Now, it’s time to use them. You’ll be prepared with credible answers and, this way, you can have more control over your own narration and anticipate possible objections. Since you have prepared the questions in your pre-presentation, objections should be few.
4) Closing the Sale
After you present your introduction and body, it is time to conclude with a clear summary and direct request for the sale. If there is anything that you sense is unclear, aim to clear it with a summary of what will happen if the sale works. To leave a strong impression with the prospect summarize your important points again, but do so by adding action-oriented points, which represent time efficiency.
For instance, if your main point was, “How This Product Revolutionizes Home Convenience”, you can make it action-oriented by saying, “The product helps residential clients connect the important parts of life with mobile technology that adds convenience and saves time.”
Always give your audience a clear picture of what the result will be, with details of the benefits. Inform the prospect of any guarantees related to your product or service, ensuring them that a their satisfaction is your priority and you’re not just looking for a quick sale. Lastly, close your presentation, ask for the sale and open the floor for questions.
Meeting Goals of Your Presentation
With the parts of your presentation in order, you should evaluate it to achieve these goals:
- Project professionalism and credibility for you and the company
- Keep the prospect’s attention
- Inform potential customers on product/service benefits
- Maintain brand consistency.
A structured sales presentation is one important part of your business model. For more ideas on strategic planning that creates value for your business, check out our e-book below, “How Chickens Can Transform Your Business.”
