9 Steps To Giving A Successful Sales Presentation

If you are in sales, then you know that one of the most important steps in the sales process is your presentation. However, for some people, giving a presentation can be very challenging. This is especially so for people who lack confidence and are not comfortable speaking in front of people. 

There are many successful tactics that you can use to create a presentation that will have a long lasting effect on your audience. The key to a good sales presentation is understanding your clients needs and then creating something that directly speaks to them. 

Remember, you do not have to be an expert in the field of public speaking to succeed at a presentation. You must simply be an expert at the point that you are trying to get across.

Write down your goals

Put yourself in the shoes of your prospects and ask yourself the following questions:

• “What information do I want to retrieve during this presentation? “;
• “What solution will I push to solve his problem? “;
• “How will my product / solution / offer allow him to solve it?” “;
• “How am I different from the competition for this issue? “.

By asking yourself these questions, you get straight to the point and your objectives will be clearer: you prioritize and prioritize them. This will prevent you from losing sight of them during the interview. 

This step will allow you to adapt your messages to your contacts and to anticipate the time constraints of your sales presentation . Remember: you only have a limited time to present your offer. Be in accordance with this timing to finish on time. 

Write a clear and concise story to highlight your business proposition

Your PowerPoint presentation should be professional, straightforward and relevant to be understood by everyone you speak to. Avoid overly complex terms and industry jargon and get to the point by avoiding drowning them in a flood of uninteresting slides. You never know who you are in front of you: the level of knowledge can vary from one interlocutor to another. Knowing how to adapt his speech and being a mentor is the strength of a salesperson .

The sales presentation is an opportunity to do storytelling (tell a story) to project your client into a concrete example of a situation he could face. For example, you sell a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution . 

Your prospect is looking to open new accounts in their business. Put him in a situation: all of his salespeople open accounts for different clients, but no one knows who deals with which client or when they are dealt with because they do not have a shared document. Your CRM is a solution that allows you to share all this data within an entire team. You present the right solution to your client’s needs.

Start your presentation off with a bang

One of the best ways to start a successful presentation is to have a compelling introduction that immediately captures the audiences attention. 

You may think that when you stand up to speak to your audience that this is the first impression, but it is not. Your introduction is actually the first impression that the audience will get of you. 

“Many people fail to integrate a successful introduction into their presentation” suggests Dan Smith of KeyNoteSpeakers.info. “When you are preparing for what you will say at your presentation, you should also type up an introduction that will capture the attention of the audience.”

Capture your audience’s attention

Once the introduction has been made, it is important to ensure that the audience is listening and interested in what you have to say. Unfortunately, there is a time frame that you must do this in. It has been noted by professional speakers everywhere that a person has a minute or less to capture their audience. 

More times than none, this also includes the time that you are being introduced. Do something that catches the attention of the audience right in the beginning, or your presentation will be a failure.

Deliver your presentation at the right pace

As you are walking through your presentation, it is important to pace the content appropriately. “Moving too slow or too fast could cause your audience to lose interest” suggests John Rogan. “Giving too little information or too much information can result in losing the attention of your audience as well.”

Practice your speech thoroughly

Many people resolve these types of issues by practicing their speech in front of others prior to giving the official presentation. 

Make the content of your presentation exciting and interact with the audience frequently. 

If you request participation from the audience, they will be more likely to pay more attention to what you are saying.

Be an expert on your topic

It is very important to be an expert on the subject matter that you are presenting. This will allow you to show a confidence that is sure to capture the audience. 

By being an expert, it also allows you to speak more freely and not feel stuck on having to follow your slides or notes. When you are constantly looking at your notes, this removes the flow of your speech which then makes the audience start to lose interest.

Use humor and be personable.

Additionally, it has been found that by using a little fun and humor, and even personal accounts, the audience will be more compassionate towards the presentation. 

While it is important to always remain professional, most people find that when they are able to connect with the person giving the presentation on a more personal level, they are more interested in what you have to say.

Connect with your audience.

It is also important to use eye contact frequently and demand the attention of the audience. By doing so, not only do you project confidence, but you keep them engaged by connecting with them so that they feel you are speaking directly to them.