The average sales presentation consists of 6-8 features or benefits. Is that good or bad?

Well, when you consider that 24 hours after your presentation, 39% of your prospects remember only one of them, the answer should be very clear. And the fact that 49% of the time they remember something that you didn’t bring up at all makes it even more obvious…

Most of us are quite simply overwhelming our prospects with details about things they really aren’t interested in!

The truth is that people will buy your product or service for one or two primary reasons. Commonly called dominant buying motives, these are the only real reasons why that prospect would really want to buy your product or service, anyway.

The bottom line? Keep your presentation within the context of what the prospect is specifically interested in, and target it to the primary dominant buying motives – don’t overload your presentation with features and benefits. Pick only the ones that precisely pertain to the primary dominant buying motives your prospect has.

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What does your prospect want to hear about – every imaginable bell and whistle that your product offers or how they can use the product to achieve their goals or solve their specific problems?

Chances are you already know the answer. But if you’re like many salespeople, you still may not be able to resist the temptation to keep talking until your prospect’s eyes glaze over with confusion and boredom.

My advice: focus. Find out what your prospect wants to accomplish with their purchase, what their biggest concerns are, what’s most important to them…and when you make your recommendation talk ONLY about those things.

How do you know what to focus on? That’s the purpose of asking questions – to give your prospect the opportunity to TELL you what matters to them. The key is in how well you listen. If you ask probing questions and listen to your prospect’s answers you’ll be able to build a sales presentation that focuses exclusively on what they want most.

Here’s a harsh truth that will make you a better salesperson: Most people don’t really care much about your product.

People care more about their problems, their needs and their desires. Your product may be the perfect solution to their problem; it may be the exact thing your prospect has always wanted or needed…But your prospect still doesn’t care nearly as much about the product as they do about finding the solution or the feeling of satisfaction …so make sure your presentation is about your prospect’s use and enjoyment of the product not about the product itself.

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The word “pitch” offends me and it should offend you, too.

Why?

Would you want to get pitched? When I hear that word, I’m confident some prospect is about to suffer from an attack of sleaze.

Anyone in sales knows that the opportunity to meet (in person or over the phone) with a prospect or customer is a rare treat. Give it the respect it deserves. Don’t demean your prospect by hurling an unending stream of canned or memorized words at them. Don’t pitch. Instead, carefully choose your questions, observations and tailored presentation. Then remember to reserve any recommendation until you:

• Understand exactly what your prospect wants and
• Are certain you can provide it.

Stop calling a professional sales presentation a “pitch.” I, for one, believe that word is one of the reasons our profession has a bad reputation. Help me eliminate it.

If other professions want to continue to use the word (PR, advertising, etc.), that’s their problem. Let them suffer the fallout. Frankly, they already have.

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As a professional speaker I was enthralled by an interesting column by Kathleen Parker this week. It dealt with Hillary Clinton (her politics aside) and what a totally insensitive and ineffectual speaker she is.

The title? The Rev. Hillary Has A Tin Ear! The column goes at great length to describe how Hillary “panders – badly – to her audiences.” It goes on further to say she even tried a “fake southern accent” and that she doesn’t understand “tone, voice and cadence.” Again, politics aside, I agree with Ms. Parker.

Marshall McLuhan was right so many years ago when he said that “the medium is the message.” How does that relate to you? Salespeople, no matter what they sell, can’t pander, be grating or lack the proper tone, voice or cadence. Be aware of and sensitive to that.

Ultimately, this flaw might get in the way of Hillary’s Presidential aspirations. I guarantee that it will also get in the way of your sale if you’re not careful.

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Bill explains how to focus on your presentation in order to overcome your fear of presenting.

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