Creating a Powerful Sales Presentation The quality of your sales presentation will often determine whether a prospect buys from you or from one of your competitors. Here are seven strategies that will help you create a presentation that will differentiate yours from your competitors’. √ Make the presentation relevant to your prospect One of the most common mistakes people make when discussing their products or services is to use a generic presentation. They say the same thing in every presentation and hope that something in their presentation will appeal to the prospective customers. I have fallen victim to this approach more times than I can remember having been subjected to many “canned” PowerPoint presentations. The discussion of your product or service must be adapted to each individual customer; modify it to include specific points that are unique to that particular customer. If you use Power Point, place your company's logo on the slides and describe how the slides relate to their situation. Show exactly how your product or service solves his specific problem. √ Create a connection between your product/service and the prospect In a presentation to a prospective client, I prepared a sample of the product the customer would eventually -use. After a preliminary discussion, I handed my prospect the item his team would be using on a daily basis instead of telling him about the item I placed in his hands. He could then see exactly what the finished product would look like and was able to examine it in detail. He was able to ask questions and see how his team would use it in their environment. Also, remember to discuss the benefits of your products, not the features. Tell your customer what he will get by using your products versus your competitors √ Get to the point Today's business people are far too busy to listen to long-winded discussions. Know what your key points are and learn how to deliver them quickly. Make sure you know what key points you want to discuss and practice verbalizing them before you meet with your prospect. Be animated. The majority of sales presentations are boring and unimaginative. If you really want to stand out from the crowd, make sure you demonstrate your enthusiasm and energy. Use voice more effectively and vary your modulation. A common mistake made when people in a monotone voice. This causes the audience to quickly lose interest in your presentation. √ Use showmanship In the book, The Sales Advantage, an example is given of how a vending sales person lays a heavy sheet of paper on the floor and asks his prospect, "If I could show you how that space could make you some money, would you be interested?" √ Make a physical demonstration A friend of mine often uses the whiteboard or flipchart in the prospect's boardroom during his presentation. Instead of telling his client what he will do, he stands up and delivers a short presentation. He writes down facts and figures, draws pictures, and records certain comments and statements from the discussion. This approach never fails to help his prospect make a decision. Lastly, believe in your product/service Without doubt, this is the most critical component of any presentation. When you discuss solutions, do you become more animated and energetic? Does your voice display excitement? Does your body language exhibit your enthusiasm? If not, you need to change your approach. After all, if you can't get excited about your product, how can you expect your customer to become motivated enough to buy?