Sales Presentations: A Winning Combination of Don'ts & Dos

You've created your slides and selected the presenters to speak to your customer. What do you tell your audience during the live presentation?

Two Don'ts:

1. Don't "wing it"
2. Don't copy someone else's presentation content or delivery style

When you wing it you risk getting off the track that will make the very best impression on the customer audience (you do want to win, don't you?)

When you copy someone else you are not being your authentic and knowledgeable self. Your mind is focusing on being someone else rather than being free to let your own knowledge come through.

Three Dos:

1. Use a specific structure to craft your spoken content. I recommend 

• Attention-getting opening--setting the scene (not the title of the slide)
• 2-3 key points. From the slide content select the most important ideas
• Story or example that's relevant to your key points
• Benefit or promise-be sure you articulate the benefit rather than another feature

2. Use index cards to write down the words that will remind you what you want to say. This is your roadmap. It forces you to delve into your knowledge and come up with your own words. It also gives you the freedom to make brief notes rather than write long sentences, which is the trap of the "notes" page in your slide software.

3. Use an incremental approach to practices and rehearsals.

• Talk through your spoken content and get agreement from everyone while sitting around a table.
• Then do a stand up talk through (avoid the terrible concept of 'dry run').
• Once content is confirmed, add presentation style elements such as transitions between speakers, movement, gestures and vocal variety. The first time is a practice, the second time is a rehearsal--full blown, high-energy customer quality.

This incremental approach lets you focus on one element at a time, putting spoken content first and delivery last when your mind is free to incorporate it. A team of 5 delivering a 30-45 minute sales presentation can go through these increments in 4 hours.

There's one more part to this series on Winning Sales Presentations: How to Put the Audience First. Subscribe today so you don't miss it.