{"id":179255,"date":"2017-09-26T07:24:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T12:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ntegrait.com\/sales-101-5-presentation-mistakes-that-are-costing-you-sales\/"},"modified":"2017-09-26T07:24:00","modified_gmt":"2017-09-26T12:24:00","slug":"sales-101-5-presentation-mistakes-that-are-costing-you-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ntegrait.com\/sales-101-5-presentation-mistakes-that-are-costing-you-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Sales 101: 5 Presentation Mistakes That Are Costing You Sales \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s wrong with your Sales presentation?<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re a salesperson, you work hard to make calls, research the company, attend events and send millions of emails just to get in the same room with a potential buyer. It\u2019s painful when they don\u2019t respond positively to your presentation after all that work.<\/p>\n

\"Sales<\/p>\n

Are you going into a meeting with an unsuccessful sales deck? The most persuasive of people can\u2019t overcome a buyer\u2019s natural psychological barriers. But if you understand them, you can help them commit. Meanwhile, others sabotage themselves with bad presentation habits, turning away leads.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to watch another one slip away, but not hitting your numbers is worse. But if you can perfect your pitch, you can roll in that juicy commission and finally fund that dream vacation you have been planning.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we made a list of mistakes you can avoid to pitch your best pitch and close more sales.<\/p>\n

Your Presentation Wasn\u2019t Professional<\/h2>\n

As a salesperson, you can be friendly and appropriate and still unknowingly make your audience question the professionalism of you and your company.<\/p>\n

Consistency is Key<\/strong><\/p>\n

Any inattention to detail can make you come across as careless so make sure your background and font, font size, and font color are all the same on each slide. Align each photo with text the same way throughout.<\/p>\n

The easiest way to ensure consistency is to pick a PowerPoint template, but you can\u2019t always count on them to capture the essence of your company brand. When you make changes, speed up the process by using the paintbrush tool to copy the style and apply it to each slide.<\/p>\n

Lose the Transitions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The animations between slides can be fun to play with. But more often than not, they come across as tacky and distracting, and unprofessional. Instead, impress them with the substance of your pitch. Focus on your exciting, life-changing product or service.<\/p>\n

You Wasted Their Time<\/h2>\n

You\u2019re a salesperson. You know firsthand how busy people are and how tight their schedules are. That\u2019s how small your window of opportunity is.<\/p>\n

The fact that someone agreed to meet with you is encouraging. Don\u2019t make them regret it! Even small hold-ups can make them feel like you don\u2019t respect their time.<\/p>\n

Be prepared by setting up in advance so you can avoid any hassle of connecting your laptop to the screen. Run through it at least once to identify any problems that could come up. When it comes down to it, there really is no excuse to say, \u201cStay with me. Technical difficulties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, don\u2019t let the presentation drag on by overloading it. Successful salespeople usually have a 5-15 minute version and a 30-45 minute version depending on the length of the meeting.<\/p>\n

You Don\u2019t Know Your \u201cStuff\u201d<\/h2>\n

The worst feeling during a presentation is when a potential buyer puts you on the spot with a question you don\u2019t know the answer too. The better you know your product and industry, the more you can respond with those snappy definitive answers.<\/p>\n

But even salespeople who really\u00a0do\u00a0<\/em>know their stuff can come across like they don\u2019t when they read off their presentation. You should be able to speak about it as if you were having a conversation.<\/p>\n

Your Presentation Was Missing Elements<\/h2>\n

You can put together a perfectly professional, seamless and competent presentation. If it doesn\u2019t have these\u00a0agreed-upon<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>elements, it probably won\u2019t close.<\/p>\n

Visual and Interesting Stat or Thought<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the hook that draws them in like the opening of a page-turner. Use a visual to grab their attention and some kernel of an idea that will interest your audience. Maybe it\u2019s a little-known significant fact. Or maybe you\u2019ve framed a problem in a way they\u2019ve never thought of before.<\/p>\n

Value Proposition<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cut right to the chase. Tell them in concrete terms how your company helps them do something in a way that benefits them. The most common formulation of a value proposition goes like this: [Your Company] helps [Your Audience] with [Service] so you can [Benefits].<\/p>\n

Tell a Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

Show them how you do it. The most compelling way to do this is a story with a previous customer. It will also help them understand how you do what you say you do.<\/p>\n

Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n

All happy endings have a solution to the problem. Don\u2019t forget to tie in the benefits from the value proposition so they can see\u00a0how\u00a0<\/em>you deliver what you claimed to up front.<\/p>\n

Proof and Credibility<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the most often overlooked element of presentations, but one of the most important. Basically, you are answering the critic in your buyer\u2019s mind that asks, \u201cWhy should I listen to anything you have to say?\u201d Silence their doubts by providing proof with testimonials and compelling case study statistics.<\/p>\n

You can take this time to anticipate other doubts that can be barriers in committing. Show them how the price is low in comparison to the large return on investment. Mention any guarantees you have that will assuage any worries and get them to come around.<\/p>\n

Call to Action<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the end of your presentation, give them a clear call to action. For some, that could be \u201cbuy now.\u201d But for most, you aren\u2019t going to pitch and close in one sitting.<\/p>\n

In that case, agree on a future task. You can promise to research their specific problem. This positions you as their resource and builds a relationship.<\/p>\n

You Didn\u2019t Connect<\/h2>\n

You could give a great pitch to the wrong audience and it will fall on deaf ears. Avoid this by asking questions along the way and seeing if they have any questions for you.<\/p>\n

You can better understand their problems through their answers and questions, and personalize the solution to them.<\/p>\n

What are your keys to a winning presentation?<\/em><\/p>\n

If you live in {city}, contact {company} at {phone} or {email} to learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s wrong with your Sales presentation? If you\u2019re a salesperson, you work hard to make calls, research the company, attend events and send millions of emails just to get in the same room with a potential buyer. It\u2019s painful when they don\u2019t respond positively to your presentation after all that work. Are you going into…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":158402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-179255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSales 101: 5 Presentation Mistakes That Are Costing You Sales \u00a0 - IT Services in Virginia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ntegrait.com\/sales-101-5-presentation-mistakes-that-are-costing-you-sales\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sales 101: 5 Presentation Mistakes That Are Costing You Sales \u00a0 - IT Services in Virginia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What\u2019s wrong with your Sales presentation? 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