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A sales presentation can be nerve-wracking, especially since the goal is often to get someone to buy into either a service or product that you have. But for that to happen, you have to ensure that sales presentation is effective and powerful.
What Makes a Sales Presentation Effective?
There are three elements that can affect how compelling and exciting a sales presentation can be.
- Informative. When making a sales presentation, ask yourself whether this can help your audience learn more about what you represent better.
- Persuasive. A sales presentation requires that you can encourage your audience to pick you instead of your competition. Thus, it has to be compelling.
- Memorable. You are less likely the only person who made a sales presentation to your executives or potential client. As such, your presentation has to be memorable for you to stand out.
How to Make an Effective Sales Presentation
Now that you know the three elements that can make a sales presentation effective, it is time to discover how you can apply them in action.
Organize your presentation venue
Taking the time to clean and organize your presentation venue ensures that your sales presentation starts on the right foot. You would not want to come unprepared and clamoring to run the projector or attach the white screen to the wall.
According to Maid Sailors, commercial cleaning service new york – “Cleaning the office to prepare for potential client visits is a necessity for many organizations. A clean office reflects the values and the brand that the business represents.”
In times like these, it is best to arrive at the venue an hour early at the very least. That way, you have ample time to clean up and prep the place to ensure that your audio-visual tools are up and running.
Some things you should check on would be:
- Your presentation file and a back-up
- Any video or audio you plan on playing during the presentation
- Your electronic equipment (projector, laptop, microphone, speaker, pointer)
- Sufficient number of seats in the venue
- An extension cord
- Noise levels
- Any handouts
- Overall cleanliness and tidiness of the venue
Once you’ve run through these things, you can then start practicing your presentation for a bit so that you can get used to the venue more.
Include a goal early in the presentation
We recommend assigning a general goal for your sales presentation to make it easier for you to plan out what to include in the presentation.
A common mistake during the sales presentation is that we often include irrelevant information to the matter at hand. However, sales presentations often have us meeting with people whose time is valuable. Therefore, you want to ensure that most of the morsel of information you present is vital to your audience.
Having a presentation goal can help you stay on track with the purpose of the presentation, so you don’t start including fluff in your presentation.
Provide a framework
Once we’ve set a goal for the presentation, the next step is to chart out a destination and action plan. You can do that by following a framework on how you plan on presenting the information.
Here’s a basic presentation framework that you can follow:
- Objectives
- Features and benefits
- Examples or use cases
- Closure
Keep in mind that sales presentations are all about coaxing your audience to buy your products. Hence, you should bank on what your products can be to your client to make your presentation relevant and persuasive.
According to HubSpot, the SCR framework is the presentation framework that is most effective when it comes to persuasion. The SCR framework is an acronym for Situation, Conflict, and Resolution.
The SCR framework is best for sales presentations because it puts your audience in the center of the presentation. Instead of sharing general information, address actual client problems that your products can solve. Thus, making it more compelling.
Start with a straightforward question
A great opening line can help catch your audience’s attention immediately and is a “hack” that we like to use often.
Asking a general question that has your audience looking inward is the best. That’s because it gives your audience something to do and gives you a chance to engage with them.
It will also serve as a great way to introduce your first central point in the sales presentation.
Make the sales presentation relevant
If you’re persuading different people for the same product or service, it doesn’t mean that you should create a template to use for each one. We encourage you to personalize your sales presentation to ensure that the information you present is as relevant to your audience.
A tailored presentation makes your audience feel more engaged with whatever you’re presenting in front.
Smile and make eye contact
You’d think this step is easy, but many people find this hard to do, especially when you don’t make sales presentations often or any presentation at all. However, looking your audience in the eye instead of constantly looking up at your presentation communicates a sense of confidence. This makes you more convincing to your audience.
If your body language isn’t confident in what you’re presenting, why should your audience buy your products or services?
Make it enjoyable
If you can, we recommend injecting some sense of joy into your presentation. No matter how big the stakes are, including some form of amusement in your presentation can help you retain your audience’s attention. It is also an excellent way to loosen up a bit and have a relaxing environment.
It doesn’t have to be a whole stand-up show, but a few funny remarks can help make your presentation more enjoyable.
Use sales presentation tools
Text is powerful, but you want to use an adequate amount of the sales presentation tools available to you for a presentation. Some sales presentation tools that you should include are:
- Images
- Diagrams
- Charts
- Videos
These can help break up the text on your presentation. It also enables you to convey your message without relying on a bunch of texts.
Fail “the airport test”
A sign of an amateur presentation is if it passes the “airport test,” as mentioned in Sales Hacker.
Think of it this way: If you leave a copy of your printed sales deck at the airport gate, will someone find it easy to interpret? If the answer is yes, then your presentation is not a presentation. It is a report.
A sales presentation should be experienced from the eyes of the presenter. Hence, you should be mindful of how much content you include in your presentation. That’s because you have to make your presence integral in interpreting and understanding those data.
Encourage questions and conversation
Throughout the presentation and, most importantly, at the end of it, ensure that you give your audience the chance to ask questions.
Encouraging conversations allows you to showcase how prepared you are. Hence, making you more convincing.
Plus, it allows your audience to stay on track as you move along the presentation, so they don’t feel lost.
Use feedback loops
Speaking of questions, feedback loops throughout your presentation help open up the conversation with your prospects. It gives them the opening in the presentation to confirm and deny whether they’re on track during the presentation.
You can use phrases like:
- With me so far?
- Are we on the same page?
- Any questions so far?
These are examples of feedback loops that you can ask your audience to ensure that they are still with you.
If they’re not, this is your chance to get them back into the loop.
Make it nine minutes long
Neuroscientists say that a primitive timing system in people’s brains makes them tune out after ten minutes. Therefore, you might want to make your presentation nine minutes long to ensure that you have everyone’s attention.
Aside from that, it helps you limit yourself so that you don’t add in unnecessary information to fill the time. A crisp nine minutes should be enough for the sales presentation, and then you can switch it up to the Q&A.
That way, you can regain your audience’s attention.
Final Thoughts
A sales presentation can be nerve-wracking, but being prepared can help you feel more comfortable. It also allows you to look convincing, making it easy to get buy-in from executives or potential clients.
That said, make sure to follow the tips listed above to ensure that you have an effective and interesting sales presentation.
