Are you confident your sales presentations are more consistently compelling than your competition’s?
When I work with sales teams to help drive more business, we look at every communication in the sales process.
What I have observed is that when several sales team members deliver formal presentations to the prospect, they miss out on a couple of valuable opportunities.
When you master the subtleties of delivering a group presentation you will gain a competitive edge.
Here is a credibility-building tactic that is far too often overlooked.
At the beginning of group sales presentations, it is common practice to around the table and each person introduces themselves. Please don’t do it! The beginning of your sales presentation needs to be exciting, arouse interest in your approach, and immediately demonstrate you are the best option.
If you sound the same as everyone else you have no advantage.
My recommended approach is to have one person act as the emcee. Open the presentation and when it is time to introduce the team, say, “At this point, let me introduce you to the expert team who will be in charge of your account.” OR, introduce them at the point of the presentation that is their domain. Build the credentials of each person. How many years in the industry? What recent projects they have been part of,? What their role would be in this project?
When they stand to speak, yes, to stand is more formal, and deliver her contribution about the prospect’s project.
Many sales teams overlook the credibility opportunity in their presentation. How often have you heard, “Next is Mary, I will let her introduce herself.”
“No. No. No. No. No!”
Each member of the team represents your team and your company.
If you do not have anyone in the emcee role
When you introduce a member of your team you should say something like this… “To cover the next subject, here is Mary who is the lead engineer on ________. She has 16 years experience in ________.”
In the same way, a speaker should always be introduced before a presentation begins, when you are initially passing off to your team member, you should always give a couple of lines of introduction – and at the very least their credentials.
Try this exercise.
When I work with companies to improve their sales presentations, I always get each member of the sales presentation team to stand up and introduce themselves as if they were another member of their team – usually someone who has three or four credentials.
It is amazing to discover that people who have worked together for years have no idea of their team members’ credentials! It’s so much more professional when we can introduce our team members with confidence. This also builds credibility. What are we are doing in a sales presentation if not building credibility? Proper introductions help to build comfort in the prospect’s mind.
If you and your sales team are losing out because of poor presentation skills, why not get the help you need on your own schedule? Become a great speaker easily, conveniently, and quickly with Fripp Virtual Training.
For 20 years I have hired Patricia Fripp to train and coach sales teams with amazing success. FrippVT, in combination with in-person training and coaching, is an unbeatable combination.
– Greg Stivers, Senior Vice President, Client Development, Concur
Companies hire sales presentation skills expert Patricia Fripp to help them drive more sales by improving their important conversations and presentations.
