Sales Presentation Perfection - 7 Essential Actions For Success

Recently, I was traveling in the Mediterranean and attended a lecture on ancient Rome delivered by a bright and articulate American professor. He began with an apology, immediately setting his audience up for disappointment--a promise he kept. He went on to explain that he wasn't very good at the technology--which he proved throughout his talk. And worse still, as soon as he launched into his presentation, he seemed to have forgotten its title and focused instead on the American senate and the need for checks and balances. Nobody cared.

That presenter turned out to be the poster child for getting it all wrong. And what a shame, when it's so easy to get it right.

Everyone who delivers a sales presentation is nervous at some time. Even if you routinely present, when you know that this one is important, adrenaline flows, mouths dry up and presenters worry that their mind will simply go blank. Why wonder if you've got it all right when following these 7 action steps will ensure that you do?

ACTION STEP 1

Refine your message.

Why it's Important

Your audience will--if you are lucky--remember two or three important things from your presentation. The most important thing you want them to remember is your message. Even if they forget all the numbers you recite, the percentages you emphasize or the lists you highlight, you want them to remember the main thing they need to know about you--and that's your message. So refine it, clarify it, and begin with it before you mention a word of content.

ACTION STEP 2

Review your slides and limit your topics to three or four main concepts that support your message. Organize content around those main topics.

Why it's Important

The listening ear cannot go back and review what you said a few minutes ago and it's easy for an audience to get lost when they listen to a speaker--especially if yours is only one of several presentations they will hear that day. Make it easy for your audience to remember your content by limiting the topics you talk about. They'll think you are smart, clear and wonderful to work with if you eliminate tangents, ditch the minutiae and simplify your talk.

ACTION STEP 3

Choose your topics carefully so they address the needs of your audience.

Why it's Important

We all know that people buy from people they like, and while everyone in your audience does not have buying power, they do have veto power. Keep in mind that every audience includes four types of listeners; your goal is to connect with each of them so they like you better than your competitors. Your message should speak to the executive--that is, your message must make it clear why you are best suited to provide the best the marketplace has to offer. Your topics should speak to the other three types of listeners: the numbers cruncher, the techie and the implementor.

ACTION STEP 4

Use a visual metaphor on your slides to reinforce your message.

Why it's Important

When you use compelling graphics and engaging images your audience remembers your message more easily.

ACTION STEP 5

Eliminate as much text as possible from your slides.

Why it's Important

When you read from the screen, you lose contact with your audience. You need to make good, solid eye contact with every person in the room as you speak, and you can't do that when you are glued to a screen. Don't worry that you'll forget something. This is your stuff and you know you could talk for hours about it. What's more, if you do forget something, nobody in the audience will ever know.

ACTION STEP 6

Create handouts that are reader-friendly, well organized and look like real documents.

Why it's Important

Handouts that look like documents--not like printed PowerPoint slides--give you the professional edge you want. A well written handout is the proof that what you said in your terrific presentation is valid and true. Your handout should be distributed right before the Q and A and should include all the detail, graphs, charts and illustrations you took off the slides.

ACTION STEP 7

Hire a coach.

Why it's Important

Even Tiger Woods uses a coach. The good ones always do, because they know a coach can help you kick it up a notch. A good coach can make the difference between ordinary and great. The fact is, it's hard, if not impossible, to see yourself as others see you. If this presentation is important, you want a professional's eye checking you out and providing the feedback that will polish your performance--turning you into the likable, memorable, easy-to-hear presenter you know you can be.

A presentation is a performance. And like any performance, there's a difference between an amateur show and a professional one. Take the 7 essential action steps that help you win the sale. They'll make you look good and that's a winning presentation.

Author, consultant, trainer and coach, Fern Lebo is also president of FrontRunner Communications, adjunct faculty at Auburn University and a frequent keynote speaker. A respected communications expert, Lebo focuses on presentation and writing for sales. For nearly 20 years, she has helped Fortune 500 companies create and deploy star sales performers. Whether it's reinventing a sales presentation, discovering how to write strategically, or improving presentation delivery, Lebo's clients learn the secrets that set them apart; they master the professional techniques they need to achieve outstanding success. Find out more at http://FRcommunications.com