As many professionals know, sales presentation training provides a step-by-step method for delivering engaging and exciting sales presentations. But what if you’re short on time, short on money and have a big pitch to give tomorrow?
If so, you’re in luck. Read on and discover 5 easy steps to guarantee your sales presentation is a winner.
As a business professional, you face an unprecedented number of challenges for connecting with customers and prospects. People are notoriously busy, frazzled and running like crazy. They don’t want to be bothered unless they understand the value and ROI. On top of that, many people have wildly short attention spans. If you don’t catch them with relevant information in the first 7 seconds, your pitch is toast.
What can you do to overcome these obstacles? Learn how to boost your energy, communicate with passion, and engage every target buyer. Follow these 5 steps and you’ll be ‘good to go’ even for a last-minute presentation in front of important prospects.
Step 1. Eat Up
Yes, just like Mom told you—you need to eat to be strong. Have a light snack with protein and vegetables so your energy is steady. Hint: watch out not to overeat or you’ll be sorry when you are standing in front of your top client.
Step 2. Drink Up
Hydrate! In summer heat and winter dryness alike, drinking enough water is extra important. When you’re presenting in front of clients, make sure you have had enough clear spring water to drink. Hint: drink water before you are in the spotlight. It doesn’t look so great if you’re chugging away in front of a formal crowd.
While many professionals use ‘hydrating’ as a reason to drink water non-stop, this can distract busy decision makers. If you want to be absolutely certain about your delivery skills, get the feedback from a professional presentation coach. This is a very valuable investment, as you will get candid feedback and practical tips you’ll use for your entire career.
Step 3. Pump Up
Manage your personal energy. Some experienced presenters prefer to get outside before a big event. Others like to do some breathing exercises or warm up with simple stretches. Master you personal energy by paying attention to your body.
If you’re sore, stiff or out of sorts, pay special attention to get limber. The more comfortable you are when you walk in the room, the more you’ll communicate confidence and ease.
As you may have learned in a formal presentation skills training, body language is the first thing your audience is looking at. When you are confident and project a strong comfort in your movement, your audience will sense this. According to recent research, your body language accounts for 52% of what people remember about your presentation
Step 4. Read Up
Knowledge is power. Know everything you can about your client, their industry, news and trends. Understand the core problems, issues and challenges they face. The more you read, the more you’ll know. Bring evidence of your reading. Waving around an industry magazine, whitepaper or report is a powerful way to show that you are ‘in the know.’ Citing specific statistics from these documents pumps up your presentation to a higher standard.
Step 5. Measure Up
Every aspect of sales presenting is worth measuring. When you measure what you are doing, you’ll know what’s working…and what can be improved.
One of the best ways to instill the habit of measuring is to create a routine or habit. Decide when and how you will measure your performance, and track your results. Here’s a hint that’s stood the test of time: measure as soon as possible after you give your presentation. This is when you’ll have all the crucial details in mind. You’ll remember what you ate, drank, did, and read. You will know all the details of your delivery in crystal clear precision.
Many of my clients enjoy using a presentation journal to track each step of planning, preparation and performance. If you decide to use a journal, use it immediately after your client presentation. Then, set a time—weekly, monthly and quarterly—to review your performance results.
If getting dramatic improvement in your sales results is important to you, use all 5 steps to pump up your presentation delivery skills.
Milly Sonneman is a recognized expert in visual language. She is the co-director of Presentation Storyboarding, a leading presentation training firm, and author of the popular guides: Beyond Words and Rainmaker Stories available on Amazon. Milly helps business professionals give winning presentations, through Email Marketing skills trainings at Presentation Storyboarding. You can find out more about our courses or contact Milly through our website at: http://www.presentationstoryboarding.com/