Chapter 5: Convincing Strategies
Sales Aids
A first-rate soup is better than a second-rate painting.
ABRAHAM MASLOW (1908–70), AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST
Anything that can enhance the effectiveness of a sales presentation should be used. Here are some tips on how to make effective use of sales aids.
Sales aids are designed to improve the effectiveness of your message. They do the following:
show that you are prepared
carry a message of interest to the potential buyer
reinforce your spoken message with a visual message
increase the legitimacy of your message
demonstrate that you are professional
paint a picture that would otherwise be difficult to communicate
Sales aids are the additional props that enhance a presentation of your ideas. The most widely used sales aids include
laptop presentations
PowerPoint presentations using an LCD projection system
paper-based presentations from a flip-file
To be most effective, sales aids should
be consistently up-to-date
look new, never worn
speak for themselves
Sales aids are most useful if they
provoke discussion
give the client time to internalize the message without being interrupted
support the presentation rather than dominating it
Keep your presentation simple. Make sure that each point is short and easily understood.
Give your sales aids a personal touch by customizing them with the logo of the client.
Demonstrations
Seeing is believing.
Not every product or service lends itself to be demonstrated. But those that do — such as software, tools, and gadgets — sell significantly better if demonstrated.
A good demonstration will
reinforce the message of the salesperson
take only as long as is needed
allow time for questions
be paced at the speed that the potential buyer can absorb
involve the potential buyer
be systematic, with an appropriate introduction and conclusion
be easily understood
Key points to remember before you demonstrate are these:
Be prepared. Have a checklist to ensure that you take all necessary props with you.
Set up quickly. Get to your appointment early so that you can set up beforehand if possible. If not, have a way of setting up as inconspicuously as possible. Make it look easy.
Be clear. Avoid language that might impress, but will not be understood. Avoid jargon. Always confirm understanding if you are not sure about the effectiveness of the message.
Have a backup plan if your equipment doesn’t work. If it can go wrong, it probably will. Don’t sweat, look embarrassed, or apologize. Make the presentation appear as “normal” as possible. Don’t point out what you cannot do. Simply continue with what you can.
Make it look easy.
Make it fun.
Preparing for Presentations
Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
UNKNOWN
When you have to give a presentation, everything depends on your ability to get your point across coherently and convincingly. Whether or not you succeed will depend largely on how well you prepare.
Here’s how to get ready:
Consider your strengths.
What makes you attractive as a presenter? Are you knowledgeable? articulate? Use these strengths to your advantage.
What sort of bond do you already have with the audience? Do you have background or experiences in common? Play on these things to highlight your connection to your listeners. You can also refer to those members of the audience with some sort of authority.
Ask yourself what you want to convince people to do. Then calculate how specific you will have to be to get them to do it. If you give them too little information they may be unable to do what you want; if you give them too much you may bore or insult them.
Most presentations end up longer than planned, so keep it short. Remember:
People get bored quickly — the average attention span is only minutes.
If you try to communicate too much, people will get confused and remember nothing.
Ask yourself what your audience wants. Are they after inspiration? entertainment? Do they want only facts, or are they looking for leadership and new ideas? Your objective should match their expectations. Organize your presentation to satisfy them.
Whatever your main idea is, have an apt metaphor or analogy to illustrate it.
Don’t start preparing the night before the presentation. The more time you give yourself, the more material you’ll be able to incorporate and the better your thinking will be.
When you’re brainstorming, put all your new ideas in one place.
Draft them onto Post-it notes and stick them to the wall so that you can see them all at once.
Cluster the notes into coherent groups.
Decide on the order the idea-groups will be presented.
Write the primary ideas on index cards in large, easy-to-read letters. You are not going to read your presentation. But these cards will remind you where you are in your speech and where you’re going.
Practice your presentation out loud. Stand up when you rehearse, and practice your body language — stand erect, with your chest out. This posture will make you feel and look more confident.
Write out a list of things you will need on the big day.
Scout the room in which you’ll be delivering your presentation. Is there anything that could pose a problem? Are the acoustics all right? Is there somewhere to plug in your projector or laptop?
Finally, visualize success. Picture an audience enthralled and impressed. If you have prepared adequately, that’s what they’ll be.
Reducing Stage Fright
Fear is a question. What are you afraid of and why? Our fears are a treasure house of self-knowledge if we explore them.
MARILYN FRENCH, AMERICAN AUTHOR AND CRITIC
It’s normal to be nervous when addressing a large audience. But there is no reason to be terrified — as most North Americans are. Studies have shown that people are more afraid of making a speech than they are of death! But if you avoid making presentations, which you will be called upon to do more and more as your career takes off, you will be squandering opportunities. When the spotlight is on you, it’s your turn to shine. Seize the moment. And while it is unlikely you’ll ever be totally relaxed, you can easily reduce your anxiety. Here’s how:
Use the adrenaline rush to make yourself sharp. It can improve your performance.
Confidence will take the edge off your fear. The following are some techniques to stoke your confidence:
Prepare rigorously. The more you rehearse your presentation, the more confident you’ll be.
Psych yourself up. Visualize success. If you fear a bored, indifferent audience, picture your listeners blown away by your knowledge and enthusiasm.
Give yourself a pep talk. Make personal affirmations starting with “I.” I am confident. I am an expert. I am the person to get this job done.
Give yourself stepping stones. Pencil in your flipchart notes so that you can read them while the audience cannot. Highlight your overheads so that you won’t forget where you’re going in the heat of the moment. If you’re speaking from a lectern, write out notes on index cards.
Find a few friendly faces in the audience and focus on them. You’ll be able to turn to them for support.
Speak only on topics you have some enthusiasm for. If you aren’t charged up, your audience won’t be excited either.
Begin your presentation with something you and the audience are familiar with. You’ll all feel more comfortable and fall into a comfortable rapport.
Memorize the first few moments of your presentation. If you start off right, you’ll be fine.
Never read. Reading sounds monotonous. Your audience will wonder why you didn’t just hand out photocopies of your presentation. Stick to your index cards. You will need between eight and twelve for a half-hour talk.
Features, Advantages, and Benefits
Have you ever found yourself making a great presentation without a sale? It happens all the time! Problem is, few people buy because you’re offering interesting or even wonderful features. A few may buy because there are some advantages to your offering. But most buying is done because of benefits. This being so, let us examine each in the context of the sales process.
A feature is any physical characteristic of a product. Features can include
color
size
shape
content
packaging
technical specification
delivery
Features contain little persuasive ability. They simply describe what you are offering. To get the potential buyer interested, you need to let the person know what the advantages of those features are. Describing advantages typically follows a rundown of the features. Possible advantages might be that the product runs faster, is more powerful, is more appealing, or has greater flexibility.
Customers buy on perceived value: “What return will I get on my investment?” Many customers see all vendors as having similar offerings. To distinguish your solution, you need to be able to link benefits to those key needs of the customer. The more you are able to show that your solution has added value, the higher the probability of a sale.
A benefit can be in one of many forms: increased profits, higher sales, improved market share, increased competitiveness, reduced costs, improved productivity, increased convenience, enhanced customer loyalty, improved security, increased peace of mind, and increased customer satisfaction.