Sales Presentation Training

If you are new to sales presentation, training - and I mean the right training - can be a critical component of your success. If you are a veteran of sales, additional training likely is a good idea, and certainly cannot hurt. That's because of a little known secret in the world of sales presentation that applies not just to us mere mortals, but to the sales pros, and even to professional sales presentation trainers...

Okay, here it is: "Everyone is afraid of giving sales presentations." Yes, even professional sales presenters and trainers have this fear. That sounds a little bold, and a little presumptuous. However, considering that the number one fear that most people have is speaking in public, and that death itself comes in at a weak and distant number two - my bold little statement above might sound a little more credible, would you agree?

Another little fact - I personally know two of the most successful sales presentation training consultants on the west coast today, each with over 30 years of experience - and both express that they still (occasionally) become fearful, and even a little terrified, before kicking off a big sales presentation training workshop. Don't believe me? Check out this vid:

So, what's a trepidatious little sales girl or boy to do about this ubiquitous and nagging little ( eh hem, worse than death ) fear that we all seem to have? We can conquer that fear by becoming competent, confident presenters. More specifically, we can get sales presentation training that will arm us with the tools, techniques, and systems we need to be great sales presenters.

I firmly believe our fear of giving sales presentations is rooted in our own lack of confidence in our knowledge of the material we are presenting. Intuitively, I think we all know this to be true to some degree. And I am talking not just knowledge of the product or service we are selling. That is one component, but I will assume for the purpose of being presumptuous again =) I mean, for simplicity, that you are already an expert in your field. If not - then become one. Knowing thy material is half the battle - or at least, it's very important, because it is your foundation.

That is, If you are not an expert (read "at least reasonably knowledgeable of your product or service") and you get nervous prior to your sales presentations, then there is good reason for that, one that is easily remedied with a little education and homework. However, the other component I am talking about is that of having core competence in sales presentation techniques - training in other words, that is developed and tested by someone with a proven track record in sales and presentation.

Committing to a longer term sales presentation training program will enable you to polish your skills and eventually help you conquer your fear (or at least control it.) Until then however, here are a few tips for sales presentations.

A common mistake that professional salespeople make is overwhelming their prospects with information. While providing information is good, remember that people are not computers. We process information experientially, and even better when delivered in conjunction with imagery, emotion and good story telling. Most of us have limited attention spans, thanks to the information age of instantaneous telecommunications, cable, TiVo, high speed internet, iPhones, etc.

We've all experienced the dreaded scenario of having to sit through a sales luncheon where we are forced to listen to an hour-long sales pitch by a presenter droning on about technical performance specs and pricing, or bores us to tears with a powerpoint presentation that documents every step of a manufacturing process that even the products' design engineers would be challanged to stay awake for.

Or even better, just think back to boring lectures in college or high school. The point is, it's painful, it isn't conduscive to selling, it is not the stuff of which good sales presentations are made. In fact, long information rich presentations that are non-interactive and void of engaging imagry (i.e. boring lectures) are not even conduscive to learning for that matter, as many studies show, but I digress. Just remember when giving a sales presentation, make influencing your prospects your primary goal, rather than just informing them.

I am going to quote a professional salesman and entrepreneur named John Boe, of John Boe International: "Whenever you have a choice between you [doing something] or your prospect [doing it] let the prospect do it!..."

As an example of this powerful principal, John told his audience a story about a leading salesman at a glass company who consistently out performed his colleagues by disproportionate margins. The man said he accomplished this by using a hammer to demonstrate the company's line of safety glass to his prospects. The rest of the sales staff quickly employed this technique, and sales increased across the board.

All good and fine, and a good illustration of how an engaging demonstration can be much more powerful than just providing information about a product. However, this is not where the real power was. Shortly after this technique was adopted by the entire sales staff, the same man continued to outperform everyone else...

Perplexed, the company's president approached the man and asked what his secret was. The man replied simply that he discovered, almost by accident, that when he handed the hammer over to the prospect and asked them to strike the glass, he closed even more sales than he had before. A very simple, very subtle change that enabled the prospect to take an active role in the sales presentation, yielded very powerful results. Remember to put the hammer in your prospects hands.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate this concept is with the classic sales presentation and performance technique perpetuated by conventional wisdom: "Just visualize your audience naked."

Although this may be very effective for some, it probably isn't entirely necessary to take it this far (although perhaps more entertaining!) In other words, you may find that it is effective enough to just remind yourself to focus on your clients, your prospects, your audience, and not on yourself. When you step up in front of your audience, whether in a conference room, the board room, an auditorium, or even a one-on-one sales interaction, your reason for being there should not be egocentrically based. You are there to provide information, to educate, to solve a problem, for your prospects and customers. If you focus 100% on that purpose, there is no room for fear to creep in. And if you can manage to do this effectively even for just the first few minutes, chances are much higher that you'll sail through the remainder of the sales presentation with flying colors.

When you take this approach, your credibility automatically goes up, because you are no longer trying to "force" a sales pitch. Prospects can smell fear, and insincerity, very easily. Staying grounded in a purpose focused on helping others is a great way to naturally become more persuasive (by not trying to) and reducing you overall levels of self-consciousness and fear. Essentially it's a win-win proposal for you and your prospects. But if that doesn't work, just revert to visualizing them naked. ;)