The number of people who sell their professional services is increasing every single day. In fact, about one out of every three Americans is now a full-time seller of services, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2011 BLS Occupational Employment Statistics. But all this success can come with a price. Many sellers are struggling to find a way to balance their passion for selling with their own personal goals.
Sales presents are a great way to deliver a presentation to someone who you would like to impress. Unfortunately, the vast majority of presenters fail to impress because they don’t know how to effectively deliver a good presentation. If you want to be an effective sales person, make sure you follow these 10 proven tips for delivering a successful sales presentation.
When selling to executives, it is not uncommon to have to sell the benefits of your product or service and provide tangible proof that your product or service solves a major problem. When a potential customer is considering a purchase, they are looking for solutions to major problems that will make their lives better. You can solve these problems with your product or service. That is what your customers are looking for. You need to know how to describe these solutions in an effective way. Please read on to learn 10 proven sales presentation tips for selling to executives.
One of the most difficult (and essential) groups in a company to sell to is the Executive Suite. It may be difficult to attract their attention, and if you do, delivering a sales presentation to such a seasoned group can be much more difficult. So, how can you ensure that your sales presentation stands out among all of their competing priorities? We’ll go over some crucial sales presentation techniques in this post to help you ace your next presentation.
As a CMO, I often get more than 80 calls or texts each day from individuals attempting to sell things to my company, so I’ve heard my fair share of sloppy sales pitches.
I’ve presented to boards of directors, pitched to CEOs, and delivered keynotes at conferences during the past two decades. Some have been met with rapturous applause, while others have gone flat, but all have yielded valuable lessons.
Contents Table of Contents
What Should Be Included in a Sales Presentation?
A well-thought-out sales pitch should convey a captivating and credible narrative. It must draw attention to your offer while also connecting with the requirements and desires of your target audience. As a successful salesman, you should be able to convey your message as precisely and succinctly as possible.
A sales presentation sample not only identifies the issue, but also offers potential remedies. It is critical to ensure that the audience or prospect understands the issue rather than just informing them about it. The goal is to engage the audience and completely immerse them in the process so that they may come to their own conclusions about the issue.
A successful sales presentation should also adhere to logic principles and flow smoothly. You should be able to move from one point to the next as a salesman. The key is to begin with the end result and work your way forward from there. Begin with the major revelation and work your way through the discussion from there.
Here are some of my best sales presentation ideas for selling to CEOs and completing more transactions.
Selling to Executives: 10 Sales Presentation Tips
- Have faith in yourself.
- Check to see whether your presentation passes the Airport Test.
- It’s important to look and sound the part.
- Don’t assume they’re aware of your activities.
- Don’t assume they’re interested in what you’re doing.
- Make use of neuroscience.
- Make a list of your “clicks.”
- Expectations should be broken.
- Take control of your presentation.
- Expect (and welcome) the unexpected.
1. Have faith in yourself.
The most powerful sales presentation is one that you can comfortably give. Nothing is more frustrating than sitting through a dull presentation, particularly in sales, where lack of enthusiasm is frequently linked with lack of confidence.
When selling to executives, it’s better to be confident than competent, so make sure you’re completely comfortable with the information you’re delivering.
Try presenting your tale without slides as a confidence booster. You can’t tell a narrative without slides if you can’t tell a story with slides. Remember that your slide deck is intended to help you, not the other way around.
2. Pass the “airport test” on your presentation.
Let’s suppose you left a copy of your printed presentation at the airport gate by mistake. Your presentation isn’t a presentation; it’s a report if I go over, read through the deck, and have no difficulty understanding what you’re trying to convey.
The purpose of a sales presentation is for the audience to see and feel it through the eyes of the presenter, not to read it like a report.
Reports do not need a presenter, while sales presentations must. As a result, be careful how much information you put on your slides and make your presence an essential part of the presentation. Read this post for advice on how to make a sales deck that doesn’t read like a report.
3. Dress the part (and sound the part)
What do you have on? How do you come across? With your look and delivery, what impressions are you creating? It’s crucial when selling to CEOs!
Is your audience expecting you to wear a lab coat and use terms that most people have to look up in a dictionary if you’re selling medical equipment in a highly specialized field? Meeting the audience’s expectations — from your look to your voice and tone — is the key to a successful sales presentation.
Use terminology that your prospects will comprehend and is familiar to them. It’s a fantastic approach to gain your audience’s trust. Read this article for additional information on how to utilize language to your advantage.
Partnering with another presenter is one method to get around this. Switching presenters enables you to use a subject matter expert to guarantee that you connect with everyone in the room, as well as combating viewer weariness and reinvigorating the crowd.
Even better, make your presentation a discussion by including your co-presenters and the audience on a regular basis.
4. Never presume that the audience understands what you’re doing.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this happen, and it’s always painful. Someone in the crowd will stop a salesman in the middle of a presentation and say, “Hold on a minute.” This sounds fantastic, but could you just remind me what you do?”
We have a tendency to presume that the person to whom we are presenting is familiar with our work. But here’s the thing: after your meeting, your audience departs and goes on with their lives.
I guarantee they aren’t thinking about what your business does or what you’ve stated to them in the past. Furthermore, many of them may hear from rivals in the area, and it’s easy to lose track of who said what.
As a result, do yourself (and everyone else in the room) a favor and start with a short review of your business.
5. Never presume that the audience is interested in what you’re doing.
Building on my previous argument, the audience may not be aware of what you do, and they may not care. What matters to them is this: What is the mutually agreed-upon problem? And how are you going to assist them in resolving the problem?
Before you get into the heart of your presentation with CEOs (or anyone else, for that matter), make sure you’ve been very clear about the agenda, objective, and subjects you’ll be addressing.
Then put down your phone and check in.
Make certain that everyone agrees to hear what you’ve prepared. Pay careful attention to auditory and visual signals for audience involvement throughout the presentation. It’s particularly essential to check in with executives on a frequent basis since we’ll rapidly disconnect if we don’t think the meeting is still valuable.
Not able to meet in person? Use video conferencing and voice intelligence technologies to assist you show off your emotions. Here are our top sales tool suggestions.
While it’s essential to be able to establish objectives and read the room, the greatest salespeople excel at one thing beyond all others: pre-call preparation.
Every sales presentation isn’t treated the same way. They are aware of who is present, what they are aware of, who is on their side, and what the objectives are. They also know how to customize their presentation to the executives in the room and sell it to them. This is critical when selling to executives.
6. Use neuroscience to blind them
Do you want to improve your presentation skills? Do some neurological research. In recent years, our knowledge of the human brain has advanced to the point that some of the greatest presenters have created formulae for connecting with their audiences.
Take, for example, Apple. No Apple presenter is allowed to talk for more than 10 minutes in a row. They utilize a limited number of slides and often stop. All of this is done to overcome the audience’s short attention spans and guarantee that each section of the presentation has the most effect possible.
How can you incorporate Apple’s presentation advice into your own?
- Change things up a little.
- Allowing your audience to zone out during your presentation is not a good idea.
- Also, make a point of introducing other speakers early and frequently.
7. Make a list of your “clicks”
The most effective sales presentations are those that flow organically. When a presenter sees each slide as a fresh adventure, it’s one of the most frequent errors I’ve seen.
According to the Information Gap Theory, our minds are always trying to bridge the gap between current knowledge and incoming information. I utilize vocal transitions to make my slides flow and make it easier for the audience to grasp how everything fits together.
I put *CLICK* in the speaker’s notes of the presentation anytime I intend to advance a slide to prepare for transitions between slides and concepts. It helps in making the transitions as seamless as possible.
To pique interest and keep it, I could ask a question on one slide, click, and have the answer appear on the next. What’s coming and how I’m going to get there are both clear.
8. Don’t be scared to talk from the left to the right.
Presentations are expected by everyone. They must be broken. You may not only increase engagement by doing so, but you can also demonstrate control of the presentation by driving the slides.
Consider the concept of data points.
The majority of people assume they’ll move from top to bottom or left to right:
It should be changed. First, talk about your center point, and the room’s attention will be drawn to you rather than the slides.
Stepping away from your slides is another technique to spice up a presentation.
When a sales person goes up to a whiteboard and starts mapping out their narrative, it’s one of my favorite things to see. They not only have command of the room, but they also demonstrate that they have the knowledge and confidence to convey their narrative without the need of slides.
9. Take charge of your presentation.
Because you’re the one giving the presentation, this may seem self-evident, but be sure to take the lead and own what you’re saying.
Here are a few particular sales presentation techniques to help you take control of your presentation:
Tell the audience what’s essential and where they should concentrate their attention. Don’t include anything on your slides that you aren’t ready to address or aren’t comfortable discussing. If it’s on the slide, it’s fair game for discussion, so keep that in mind.
Stop making excuses. You communicate the opposite of confidence when you say “sorry” a lot. Instead of stating, “Sorry, we’re experiencing technical difficulties,” consider saying, “We’ll get started in a couple of minutes.”
Don’t think about it; just know it. Using the phrase “I believe” makes you seem as though you have no idea what you’re talking about. The individual who “believes” this software is a good match for you doesn’t make you feel very confident. Either know and be certain, or promise to find out and come back to the audience.
GTTFP, or get to the point, as the case may be. Although some background information may be useful, be absolutely clear about the point you need to convey – and then give it. Move on after you’ve made your point.
10. Expect the unexpected and accept it.
My last piece of advice for giving a sales presentation is to completely immerse yourself in the environment.
The goal of a sales presentation is to engage the audience and, ideally, get consent to continue the discussion or make a decision. As a result, things seldom go according to plan. There will be doubts, objections, remarks, and delays.
If you get through your slides, it will be a miracle. In fact, if you get through your slides with ease, it’s likely that the audience isn’t completely engaged.
To ensure that I have enough time to respond to everything, I attempt to anticipate and prepare for replies ahead of time. If I anticipate a problem, I address it right away, sometimes even beginning the presentation with it.
When you reach an executive, they usually have the ultimate word and are seeing these encounters as a risk assessment. As a result, address and resolve any dangers or objections as soon as possible. Be self-assured and don’t conceal anything.
Presentation Styles for Sales
During the sales pitch, the speaker will use these sales presentation concepts. Different salespeople have different ways of presenting themselves. Some examples of sales presentation methods are listed below.
1. The aesthetics
To enhance the sales presentation, PowerPoint slides are used in the visual manner. This sales presentation approach is great for a big crowd since it keeps everyone interested. It’s also ideal for salesmen who need to cover a lot of ground. Steve Jobs, one of Apple’s co-founders, is a well-known visual style presenter.
2. Freeform Design
Slides are not used in the Freeform method. It is dependent on the presenter’s ability to convey their ideas as effectively as possible in a short amount of time. It’s ideal for salespeople who have memorized their talking points and are short on time.
3. Connector design
The presenter in this sales presentation depends on the audience via open-ended question and answer sessions. Presenters that use this technique promote audience participation and comment on their material. This style of speaking enables your audience to connect with you while also allowing for a dialogue-based presentation rather than a one-sided one.
Connie Dieken, the founder of The Dieken Group, which specializes in executive coaching and consulting, is an excellent example of a connector type presenter.
Ideas for a Sales Deck
A sales deck is a PowerPoint, Keynote, or other slide presentation that is used to accompany a sales presentation. It includes a product summary, a sales pitch, and a potential solution. Here are several examples:
1. Sales slide from LeadCrunch
The LeadCrunch sales deck includes data and graphics that demonstrate how a company’s sales and marketing efforts may be improved. The presenter utilizes a variety of characteristics, such as bold, italics, and different colors, to draw attention to key words and figures.
2. Richter’s pitch deck
The Richter Sales Deck takes a step-by-step method, starting with the issue, then the value proposition, and ultimately the solution. The salesman describes the issue and then what they can do to help the prospect. The greatest thing of the Ritcher sales deck is that it covers all of the key topics that a salesman should address in a systematic and exact manner.
3. Reorganize your sales deck.
The Relink Sales Deck is an excellent tool for explaining how machine learning and artificial intelligence affect different sectors. Its main focus is on how technology advances impact human resources. The primary characteristics of the sales deck are the use of big letters and symbols, as well as a consistent color palette.
Now it’s your turn: What are some of your favorite sales presentation tips?
Giving a sales presentation to a knowledgeable audience may be difficult. Here are a few sales presentation ideas to keep in mind. Have faith in yourself. Trying to deliver your narrative without slides is an excellent way to gauge your confidence.
Another important aspect of a sales presentation is to dress and sound the part. What you dress and how you speak all contribute to the impression you want to leave on your audience. Throughout your presentation, start a discussion and keep the audience engaged.
When doing a sales presentation, bear in mind that the audience has no idea what you’re doing and doesn’t care. Give a short summary of your business at the start, and be on the watch for auditory and visual signals to keep the audience engaged.
Don’t be scared to talk from the left to the right. This demonstrates that you are in command of the presentation and that you are in charge of the slides. Take control of your presentation. Get to the point while guiding the viewer to the important parts. Make sure your message is clear and simple.
I hope these ideas prevent cringe-worthy presentations out of your future and help you close more sales after sharing what I’ve learnt from delivering numerous presentations and selling to executives.
However, we’d love to hear from you!
What advice do you have for making a good sales presentation? What are some of your greatest sales recommendations for executives? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Executives are not always the easiest clients to sell to because they have already decided they want the product, but they have not made a decision on the services. It is the most effective way to persuade executives to buy is to show them how their company will save money and make more profit with your product or service than they could have done without it. Case studies and success metrics are the best ways to make them understand that they need to acquire you product or service now.. Read more about sales presentation ppt slideshare and let us know what you think.
{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”FAQPage”,”mainEntity”:[{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”What should be included in a sales presentation?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”
A sales presentation should include a brief history of the company, an overview of what the company does, and how it is different from its competitors. It should also include information about the products that are being sold.”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”What are 5 tips for giving a professional presentation?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”
A:
1. Have a plan
2. Practice your presentation out loud
3. Keep it short
4. Dont forget to take breaks
5. Be confident”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”How do you give a presentation to the CEO?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”
I am not sure what you mean by this.”}}]}
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be included in a sales presentation?
A sales presentation should include a brief history of the company, an overview of what the company does, and how it is different from its competitors. It should also include information about the products that are being sold.
What are 5 tips for giving a professional presentation?
A: 1. Have a plan 2. Practice your presentation out loud 3. Keep it short 4. Dont forget to take breaks 5. Be confident
How do you give a presentation to the CEO?
I am not sure what you mean by this.
Related Tags
This article broadly covered the following related topics:
- sales presentation outline
- sales presentation structure
- sales presentation tips
- sales presentation
- sales presentation template