Okay, I know you know I’m a big believer in the questioning model of selling and therefore, the use of sales presentations is limited. However, if you must give a sales presentation, it is very important to do it well and do it right.
Below are some sales presentation tips to improve your credibility in the eyes of the decision makers listening and observing your sales presentation.
Today, I will focus primarily on one specific trait of the effective b2b sales presentation – the tonal qualities. Here are some of the most important tonal qualities…
- Tell the story
Telling a story is 20X more effective than sharing facts and figures. A story allows the listeners to enter into the scene and participant within their mind. Story telling allows the listener to experience issues you are pointing out in your story and they begin to actually think about how they can solve this issue or they want you to tell them how to solve the issue – since they have been unable to do it. - Never read your material or notes
Talk about death by power point – just read the slides to your listeners. Watch how fast they mentally check out on you. The ability to stand tall and talk from your heart builds credibility and trust into your words. Reading to your listeners tells the listeners two things – you believe they cannot read or you do not know your material. Either is bad news for believability. - Just be you – use your real voice
One of the worst traits I have witnessed is a b2b sales person using some other voice style – rather than just being authentic and using their own voice. It comes across like junior acting school and loses the effectiveness of the presentation. Just be you and have a dialogue with your listeners. - Avoid non-words
Uh, er, and ugh – need to be left our of your b2b sales presentation. I have actually seen decision makers begin to tic mark the number of times a sales person uses one of these non-word, space takers. The use of these non words is a nervous habit. During a presentation when success stress is high, nervous and usually unprepared sales people feel a high need to fill space as they think about what to say next. It is so much easier to be prepared and just tell your story with no side shows. - Avoid useless or wasted words or phrases
The “valley girl” syndrome is still a live and well in b2b sales presentations. What is the “valley girl” syndrome you ask? It is the bad verbal habit of using useless phrases such as – ” you know?” “Like…” or my favorite bad habit – “you follow me?” - Use silence or a silence pause effectively
This one of the secrets of successful sales presentations – the pause or silent treatment. When used properly, the pause has the power to grab a listener’s total attention and actually have them focused upon exactly what will be said next. Practice your b2b sales presentation and place emphasis on points you want the listeners to surely hear and use the pause to draw attention to the point. The reasoning here is when there is silence – that is unusual in the mind of the listener. The silence actually draws attention and they wonder if they missed something or a close or a major point – now they are totally focused upon what you will say next. Therefore, whatever the key point – they are listening. - Avoid monotone at all costs
It is true about some behavioral styles use a monotone voice naturally since they want to draw little extra attention to themselves. However, the truth is the monotone delivery is boring and can cause some people to actually fall asleep! During your sales presentation you must vary your voice tone and cadence to keep people listening and focused on the content of your presentation. You can use a recorder or a video camera to capture your tone of voice and therefore practice your delivery of the sales presentation.
There you have several presentation tips for use in your next b2b sales presentation. The key for all presentations is to take the time to practice, practice and practice some more. Again, the use of a video camera to capture your practiced sales presentation is a valuable tools for learning the best practices of sales presentations.
Use the presentation tips plus lots of practice and watch your sales results increase.
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Voss Graham
Sr Business Advisor / CEO at InnerActive Consulting Group Inc
Your Knowledgeable Partner for Business Success and Achievement. Dedicated to helping others get to their next level of success. Award winning business advisor; coach to executives and business owners; Business Growth Strategist; and experienced using assessments for hiring & selection, evaluation of teams and improving communication. Voss is available as a Speaker for your conferences or company meetings contact him at 901-757-4434 or use the LinkedIn or Facebook direct messages.
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Great information! Good Post. It is good to see valuable information from a person who obviously has a good grasp of the subject.