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When making a sales presentation, you need to remember this is how a prospect determines if they will buy from your company or not. A good sales presentation requires pizazz and needs to be compelling enough to motivate the investor into a well informed decision. If you follow these seven guidelines you should have no problem giving your sales presentation that extra edge.

First, have a relevant point to your presentation. Most presentations fail from lack of structure or approach. The presentation cannot be cookie-cutter and the same from client to client. People are different and so in theory so should your presentation. It should appeal to everyone.

Second, create a rapport between yourself and your prospect. Explain why you should be the one they should be dealing with for whatever product or service you are offering. Bring the item with you to your presentation as an example of the service in question. Allow your target prospect to hold and feel the item or see the service in action. Instead of telling them about it, let them feel it or experience it firsthand. This promotes your prospect to ask questions and even develop a feel for what you are offering.

The third piece of advice is get to the point fast. Time is money and people do not enjoy feeling as if their time is being wasted. This is on you to be prepared, know your key points and learn how to make them quickly. Do not be afraid to practice on friends or in front of a mirror. It all hinges on your ability to communicate and articulate your sale to your prospect.

Fourth on the list of guidelines is to be animated! Be lively, show your prospective buyers that you have energy and you care. Change up your hand movements and vary your voice inflection some. Being monotone and stationary is a recipe to have your buyers loses their interest in you and what you have to say.

This fifth point goes without saying – use showmanship. Remember to grab your prospective buyer’s attention. You’re trying to make a sale, so sell your buyer. Showman ship can go a long way and demonstrate character and faith in what it is you are trying to sell. Buyers like this. Tell them why they want to buy from you; business is one tenth knowledge, two tenths money and seven tenths of showmanship.

Using a physical demonstration is the sixth point to always remember. Use flipcharts and white boards. Use projectors and slideshows. Graphs and pie charts can easily demonstrate figures and gauge what will happen over time with your product or service.

And finally, number seven, believe in yourself. You have to walk into that presentation with your head held high and know you are a winner. Without sounding trite, others can see a failure far off and probably won’t care to deal with them. You’re only a failure if you believe you are one. Conduct that presentation with a sense of worth and a commanding presence and you should be able to sell anything.

Who delivers a better presentation and why?

Recently I listened to a group of senior sales and marketing executives speak at a networking meeting. I also served as a judge at a speech contest for 12-year-olds. These two unrelated events prompted me to compare the presentation skills of each group.

1. Guess who was more engaging, attention grabbing and memorable?

2. Guess who was boring, uninspiring and easily forgettable?

The answer to question one is – the 12-year-olds. They were good.

The answer to question two is – the sales & marketing executives. They needed improvement.

Why did 12-year-olds deliver better presentations than senior sales and marketing executives?

Competition The 12-year olds were competing in a speech contest. Many of their parents were there. Money and prestige were on the line, so they were well rehearsed.

Focus Each presenter had a focused message. Their presentation was designed to deliver that message. Some were deep and serious while others were light and whimsical. In all cases the message was clear and easy to summarize.

Relate The presenters spoke to the interests of the audience. The topics ranged from “the influence of the media”, “tourism in third world countries”, “the family van”, “peculiarities of the English language”, and “homework”. Yet each speaker related the topic to the listener.

Stories Each speaker told colorful stories. That sparked images in my mind. Many said things that were funny and made me laugh. Some statements challenged my opinion. I was impressed by the carefully selected words and phrasing. All were simple and understandable.

Passion Each speaker conveyed passion for their message. Each radiated that they were happy to be speaking to us.

Bold These speakers were bold. They stood before the audience, looked people in the eye, delivered their statements and performed.

What did the Sales & Marketing Executives (SME) do poorly?

Winging it The SME seemed to be winging it – even though they were competing for attention, memorability and jobs. These SME were between jobs but seemed reluctant to compete and rehearse. Yet, clearly a lot of money was on the line. If their family had attended, would they have prepared better?

Vague There was no focus or purpose evident. It almost seemed that they first were reciting their resume and then what they had for breakfast. Okay, I’m exaggerating the breakfast part – but it seemed as boring as porridge.

Pain Each speaker seemed to be caught in their own self-centered world. Most didn’t relate to me or how they might fix my pain or that of my contacts. How could I help them if I didn’t know what they were offering? Stating “who you worked for” tells me little. They needed to speak of pain and solutions.

Blah Facts, history and blah, blah, blah. Some related recent experiences but none that were worth remembering. Many used filler, self-sabotaging and jargon words. I was bored, confused and unimpressed.

Passion? I didn’t feel it. The emotion that I felt was remorse. “Why am I here?”

Timid You might think that Sales & Marketing Executives would be anything but humble. You might think that Sales & Marketing Executives would grasp the difference between benefits and features. I thought so too.

All of the SME sat while speaking, crunched in their chairs some with an arm draped over the back of the chair. It was as if this was a family picnic instead of a possible career defining meeting. I found it curious that none of the men wore a tie. Did they want to be taken seriously? Or was this just a social club?

Presentation Skills Contest Results What’s the score? 12-year olds -1. Sales & Marketing Executives – 0.

Some of you might think that I’m too hard on the Sales & Marketing Executives. That I’m expecting too much from them. Maybe – but I bet that I’m not the only one.

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