10 Startup Tips
Chater 17: How to Win in Sales Presentations
Business, like a battle,
has times to wait and times to finish.
It’s the presentation phase.
Giving a presentation is one of the few times in life
where big results can be achieved with just 25 minutes of real work.
It could be a fundraising presentation
or persuading a supplier or employee to join you.
Or you even have to get on your knees
to present something more important
(warning from my experience:
don’t do this if the person you’re proposing is also there).
What surprises me is how often people miss these opportunities.
They think that the presentation is not decisive,
so they often let it go.
That’s not right.
Victory is only for those who work the hardest.
Many studies and investigations prove this.
Presentation is not determined by price.
What helps you win with your presentation is the personal
and emotional connection.
The following proof is for the race
for the right to host the 2012 Olympics:
Before the final presentation,
the French were certain to win.
They have the best facilities,
the best project,
and everyone agrees that “they will win”.
Their presentation was in the style of the Goliaths.
They have a black-
and-white film by film producer Jean-Luc Besson
and a fluent speech by French President Chirac.
Meanwhile, the British are more marginalized.
So they follow the emotional theme
– what legacy will the Olympics leave for the young generation.
They make people’s hearts flutter
by letting children talk about what the Olympics means
to them in the future.
Obviously, the judges had to shed tears.
With just those 40 minutes,
Britain won $10 billion to host the Olympics.
Clearly speaking is a skill that we need to study.
A sales presentation has three stages
– two of which have nothing to do with the actual presentation.
Stage 1: Prepare
Verdict: The determining factor of winning
or losing has existed long
before you entered the presentation room.
You present the perfect solution,
but how can you do that
when you don’t know what the problem is?
The trick is to realize that the answer is not going
to be in the presentation material or given the criteria.
You have to discover your client’s emotional needs yourself.
Do customers want the best solution
or do they just want to get their mortgage paid?
Who will actually make the decisions and how will they score?
While other teams looked for excitement,
Team Camelot won the UK Lottery bid for safe play.
They realize that the biggest worry of government officials
is the risk of playing the lottery.
So everything in their presentation was focused on putting these officers at ease.
The British Olympic Committee has recognized
that the biggest worry of the Olympic Committee
is the fear that the Olympics will not leave an impression later.
So they focus on the idea
– the legacy left for the next generation.
Of course, they won’t tell you right away,
even if they don’t realize what they want themselves.
Then you have to check again.
Listen to the hidden meanings behind their words.
How do they prioritize?
How do they describe the desired outcome?
Test your assumptions with what they present.
Then, develop as many problem-solving options
as possible to meet the given criteria.
Warm-up:
Most presentations are for building rapport.
Therefore, you need to use as many opportunities
as possible to communicate
and influence those who decide that race.
For example, sending muffins:
A small mail delivery unit that wants to head
to one of the biggest banks in the world.
A week before the presentation,
company staff sent muffins to this potential bank.
Three days before the presentation,
he called to confirm
and said he was waiting to hear from them.
Unfortunately,
the bank decided to use the “approved” provider the day before.
But now the bank’s appraiser was impressed with him.
However, three days later this person received the proposal
from the approved supplier but it was terrible.
So they decided to find a small company,
and he signed a big contract
with the help of a box of cakes.
Stage 2: Action
How was the sales presentation?
If the prospect has a lot of applicants,
you shouldn’t be in the first place.
They were quite unfamiliar with the presentation.
Second place would be ideal
because by that point they have already started the reels.
Try not to present after lunch
because they will be sleepy.
And don’t be the last to present
because they are already overloaded with information.
I once gave a sales presentation
to a business at 5pm on a Friday.
A member of the judging panel started writing Christmas cards
at my presentation is halfway done.
Getting Started:
Try to have a light conversation
before getting to the main point.
Be polite to the secretary.
It is necessary to prepare some questions before starting,
such as: “Are you tired from the road?”
I would ask:
“How is your business these days?”
However, don’t ask questions that are too personal.
I heard a salesman ask,
“Did you watch the game last night?”
then ended with a heated argument
before the meeting began.
Arrange the room the way you want
and how you can move around the panel. Ideally,
you shouldn’t have to sit across from them
– but should be “on the same side”.
Presentation:
Thank them for inviting you to attend
and express how excited you are;
Let them know what you plan to present and for how long.
Then provide an explanation
for the problem they are having.
Don’t skip this part.
This shows that you understand your customers
and make them realize they really need your solution.
You’ll be lucky if people remember more than two pieces
of information from your presentation.
So don’t overwhelm them with too many events
with text-heavy presentations.
Instead, think of this presentation as an opportunity
to tell a simple story around their emotional need.
The introductory slides will be like small pieces of a story.
Let’s review the examples and illustrations.
The Shell story at the beginning exemplifies my point more than anything
I can describe.
If you want to present a client with something truly risky,
first offer the client a safe bet.
Then you can move on to a more engaging way.
Otherwise they will leave you
because of some small element of risk in your big proposal.
Try to establish rapport:
The best presentations should have pauses in between
to allow discussion and conversation with the client.
Try to take deliberate breaks if you can.
If you are presenting something creative,
give them two solutions
and discuss which one they prefer.
The perfect presentation is when you sit down
and discuss the optimal solution,
then the customer will feel
that he has come up with that solution.
Don’t turn the discussion into a fight of words.
Because you can lose a big contract
even if you win in proving your point.
See how to “Handle customer feedback” in Chapter 16.
Present as if you were part of a panel:
During the presentation, give the impression
that this is a group working to find a solution to the problem.
Customers want to know you can be part of their team.
So present it as if you were sharing the same problem:
“When we start implementing…”
Body language:
When presenting in front of a large group,
some common mistakes should be avoided:
Anchor foot:
The presenter appears to have one foot nailed
to the floor and moves only around this fixed point.
If you’re going to move,
do it naturally.
Pickpockets:
Never put one hand in your pocket to rummage
through a few coins or something.
The “idiot”: When you give a presentation,
you usually just look at the people who are nodding and smiling.
Don’t think they’re doing this
because they like you
(maybe they’re going to the bathroom).
In my experience,
the people who seem to pay the least attention
to the presentation are the most powerful.
So make sure you take turns looking them in the eye.
The experience of politicians is that if speaking
in front of a large group of people,
you should look in a W or V shape
– left end, front, right end and so on.
People will think
that you are delivering the message only to them.
Or alternatively,
act natural.
Presentations are repetitive,
but it’s important to show personality.
If you’re a shy person,
don’t try to act like Anthony Robbins1.
Summary:
You can make a series of arguments
but should end by briefly summarizing your three main interests.
If you use PowerPoint,
you can present the final slide
as a great gift of gratitude.
Now you want the customer to ask.
But if they don’t ask any questions,
you can ask them,
“What appeals to you most?”
“Do you have any questions about our solutions?”
You want any customer concerns to be brought up for discussion.
If you don’t do it now,
you won’t get another chance later.
Figure out the decision-making process.
It’s not a formal presentation,
try to get commitments to take a coordinated action in the future
: “Then we’ll go with the second option,
and you’ll have a meeting with other members of the group”.
Gradual closing:
Notice the “silly moment” on the way to the door.
Customers may suddenly ask:
“So is anyone else interested in your idea?” immediately you answer:
“No one, you are the first.
I feel a lot less stressed.”
Don’t do anything stupid
until you’re 100 meters away from that building.
I heard a story about an advertising agency
that won a global advertising contract
and lost it soon after because it booked a taxi
with a customer’s account to get to the airport.
Stage 3: Next morning
There is still a chance to increase the impact of the presentation
as it happens.
Don’t sit around and wait for the phone to ring
– follow up your presentation
with a polite phone call or email.
No one ever lost a job
because of too much enthusiasm and willingness.
If your presentation doesn’t work,
squeeze your self-esteem down
and follow the “999” rule
– that is,
call the client after 9 days,
after 9 weeks,
and after 9 months.
There are still moments of anxiety after making a big purchase.
You still need to build a close relationship,
when your competition is not doing anything well
with the customer,
this is your opportunity.
“How can a prospect not take the idea
from my presentation and project
and walk away and do it himself?”
(Rebecca, marketing staff)
This is a good question.
After all, you can put “copyright” warnings in your proposal,
but you can’t take them to court if they steal the idea.
The problem is that you want to put all the information in the presentation.
Therefore, you can do it the following way:
first you explain your “unique process”;
Then, suggest one or two of your creative ideas in your presentation.
That way, they’ll get excited about the idea,
but they’ll also realize,
they need that wonderful secret process of yours
in order to make the idea a reality.