When A New Relationship Is Worth Millions Remember This Advice

Make More Sales More Often when you perfect your sales presentation

How do you handle a sales presentation when a new relationship is potentially worth millions?

These four principles will help you and your sales team build a strong foundation for a new client relationship.

Imagine my surprise when a national sales manager addressed his top 60 associates and said, “At lunch, the sales team and I agreed that we had no idea how we managed to sell anything before we met Patricia Fripp!”

He later explained, “It can take us a year just to get an hour-long presentation in front of a small group of executives from a prospective client. At that point, a new relationship could be worth $5 to $10 million annually to us.”

Naturally, I asked, “How long do you spend rehearsing a presentation of that importance?”

I expected him to say, “We spend a week locked in the boardroom, going over the presentation, recording ourselves, and bringing in team members to fire tough questions at us.”

Instead, he shocked me by saying, “If we have a run-through in the back of Joan’s car, we’re lucky.”

Incredible!

As Oscar winner Sir Michael Caine once said, “Rehearsal is the work; performance is the relaxation.”

Most companies invest heavily in ensuring their sales teams know the ins and outs of their products, territories, and competitive landscape. However, they often fail to prepare their team to deliver a persuasive sales presentation that truly speaks to the prospect’s interests.

Before rehearsing, ensure your presentation structure and focus are proper. Here are four fundamental principles to ensure your sales presentation helps you build that valuable new client relationship:

  1. Find Clarity
    Imagine a busy executive saying, “You have ten minutes to tell me what I need to know about your company.”

What’s the real question here? It’s not about you—it’s about how your company can improve theirs. Can your product solve their problems, create opportunities, increase savings, or grow their market share? At this stage, they care more about their company than yours.

If you can clarify this, you can present your solutions formally.

  1. Ask Questions
    The secret to connecting with a prospect is asking questions, not talking about your company. The quality of the answers you get depends on the quality of the questions you ask—and on your ability to listen.

At the early stages of the sales process, focus on open-ended questions that encourage conversation. Don’t rush through pre-scripted questions without considering the answers you’re given. Your questions should be thoughtful and designed to dig deeper into their challenges and needs.

For example:

If they want to increase sales, ask, “By how much? In the same market or a new one?”
If they want to improve morale, ask, “What signs make this a priority? What’s been done so far? How successful was it?”
If they upgrade technology, ask, “How long have you been exploring options?”
These questions will help you determine whether they’re interested or desperate, which is crucial in shaping your approach.

  1. Structure Correctly
    Your prospect needs to believe, “Our company will be dramatically better if we do business with you.”

Avoid a presentation about your company’s history, methodology, and client list. Instead, build your structure around their interests, challenges, and opportunities. Use the information you’ve gathered to prove that you’ve listened and incorporate as much of their language into your presentation as possible. After all, people rarely argue with themselves!

Every part of your presentation should address their specific concerns. Ask yourself:

Why would they care?
Are they engaged?

11 Biggest Mistakes
Patricia Fripp works with sales teams to drive more results. get this report

Can they see how we’ll solve their challenges?

  1. Remember Storytelling
    Your exact words may be forgotten, but the mental images they create will stay with your audience. Support your key points with vivid, relevant client success stories. These stories should illustrate how you helped clients in similar situations, using them as memorable characters your prospects can relate to.

Describe their initial problem, the steps you took, and their successful results. Make your clients the heroes of your story with dialogue and drama that make your points memorable. As Alfred Hitchcock said, “A movie is life with the dull parts left out.” So, leave out the dull parts, and make sure your success stories hit home.

For example, you might say, “When the Vice President of Sales first called, he said, ‘Help! We heard you’re the best person to solve…’” Use your client’s words to build credibility and connection. Then, explain how your solution applies directly to the prospect’s needs.

By applying these four principles, you’ll create a more compelling sales conversation—and be better prepared to win the client relationship. And don’t forget, rehearsal is critical.

Why not talk with Patricia Fripp to discuss how you can gain a competitive edge in your sales conversations and presentations?

“Back in 2018, we invited you to help us with an important sales presentation, which we won. You will be as excited to know that it continues to reap dividends! Last year, we were awarded $1.6 million in business with them. We received a $2.8 million order from them already this year, which is still January. Your advice and coaching are awesome. What a ROI!” Michael E. Stryczek, President & CEO, AB&R® (American Barcode and RFID)

 

Fripp Virtual Training, FrippVTIf you and your sales team are losing out because of poor presentations, 

For 20 years, I have hired Patricia Fripp to train and coach sales teams with tremendous success. FrippVT, in combination with in-person training and coaching, is an unbeatable combination.
– Greg Stivers, Senior Vice President, Client Development, Concur

Join FrippVT today!

Turn Your Presentation into A New Client Relationship

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Want to know a secret? Even the most seasoned speakers feel slightly nervous before a high-stakes presentation. It’s completely normal—just a human reaction, not a professional flaw. So, how do you transform that nervous energy into a presentation that captivates your audience? Here’s some of the advice I give my clients:

First. Master Your Material. Familiarity breeds confidence. Know your topic so well that it feels like a natural part of you. I always tell my clients, “Know your speech so well you can forget it.” In other words, you should be able to open your mouth, and the words fall flawlessly from your lips.

Second. Commit to Rehearsal. As Sir Michael Caine famously said, “Rehearsal is the work. Performance is the relaxation.” Don’t just rehearse alone; get feedback from a trusted friend, mentor, or professional coach. Rehearsing in front of others builds your confidence, helps refine your message, and allows you to receive positive feedback.

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This isn’t just about storytelling; it’s a journey to understand the true essence of your communicative power. Your unique experiences resonate with others and build connections beyond the usual speaker-audience relationship.

For example, when discussing strategy, I asked my client, “When was the first time you realized the importance of strategy?” He replied, “When I was a 14-year-old ball boy before the French Open…”

Another, I asked, “How do you describe Corporate Citizenship to your children?” The reply was, “It was the day after Christmas, and I sat both of my children down…”

Another, “When did you become passionate about statistics?” I heard, “In college. Our professor was a new PhD, and we were his first class. When he began telling us…”

Another question was, “When did you become determined to be a success?” She said, “I was ten,  sitting at the kitchen table. My 36-year-old father had just died with no insurance. My 29-year-old mother of four had never worked outside of the home. She said, ‘Mary, you will never be in the position of not being able to support yourself and your family…’”

I advise my clients who need to inspire and motivate their associates, “Your audience will respect your title. They will fight in the streets when they see the person behind the position.”

As you embark on your exploration, remember that every experience, no matter how small, has the potential to inspire, influence, and ignite change.  This is an excellent time to look back on your memory.

Let’s make your message memorable, your presentation powerful, and every conversation successful.

Join FrippVT.com, and I will become your personal speech coach.

“I wanted a Super Bowl quality coach. Patricia Fripp’s help in coaching and scripting was world-class. With Fripp on your team, you can go places.” Don Yaeger, Long-Time Associate Editor for Sports

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Mehrabian’s research, from which the 7-38-55 Rule is derived, was actually about a particular kind of communication: situations where a person is expressing feelings or attitudes, and there is a mismatch between the verbal message (the words) and the nonverbal cues (tone of voice and facial expressions).

This rule is often summed up as:

7% of communication is through words

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On the other hand, “interpret” is similar yet different. The primary definition is to make sense of, assign meaning to, or explain something.

Understanding this distinction is crucial when speaking to an international audience. Let me share a few examples from my experiences that might help you navigate this unique dynamic.

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While working with a large sales company, I developed a close relationship with several professional interpreters. As I often advise, I interviewed them to understand their craft better. They shared, “Patricia, translating documents is one part of our job. However, real skills come in when interpreting live for a speaker. When we interpret, we are acting out the stories. That means the international audience might not hear word-for-word what the speaker says, but they get the essence.”

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Conversions begin with “Hello.”

Conversations are an endless source of original content for speakers for our presentations.

You’re opening a door to a treasure trove of ideas when you have meaningful conversations, especially with those with different backgrounds and perspectives. This exposure keeps your mind sharp and enhances your ability to think creatively, a crucial skill when crafting compelling presentations. Picture this: You’re chatting with a scientist, an artist, and an entrepreneur. Each person offers a unique insight that could inspire the next brilliant point in your presentation. These conversations add layers of richness to your content, making your message more engaging and impactful.

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A young woman raised her hand and said, “I went into a store to buy a leotard to go under my child’s Halloween costume. I made a mistake and took the wrong size. I hadn’t opened the package, so I returned it and said, ‘Excuse me, could I change this for another size?’ The clerk rolled his eyes and said, ‘You don’t even know what size your kid is?’”

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