Making too much money already? Don't want the business to grow? Getting confused because you have too many clients? Well, here are some ways you can screw up a presentation and prevent that annoying revenue from getting any bigger:

1. Offer a solution without first explaining the problem - Solutions without problems seem, to even the most gullible among us, like a rip-off. Worse, a solution offered without knowledge of the prospects problems could end up being catastrophically wrong, like a doctor prescribing a drug without a careful review of the patient. While the drug may work for a lot of people, that patient might have an allergy that a simple investigation could have uncovered. Your prospect isn't likely to forgive a mistake made from a lack of proper diagnosis.
   
2. Be stingy with your expertise - The free consultation you are providing is important. The prospect needs to gain valuable information from the process. Be stingy with your knowledge and the client won't really listen to your pitch, let alone become a client.
   
3. Insult the prospect - This is actually incredibly easy to do. Most people imagine an insult to be a direct attack on a person's appearance or character but there are actually many simpler ways to hurt a prospective client's feelings. If you want to insult your prospect and lose your chance at a new client you should make them feel stupid for the software and hardware choices they have made to date. You should belittle their current solution harshly. You should avoid providing any information about the solution you are providing and concentrate on tearing apart the solution they are currently using. That is a surefire way to leave a sales opportunity empty-handed.

Well, for a little while we became one of those sadly typical corporate blogs that starts, stops and wanders into complete stagnation. This, as we know, is worse than not having a blog at all, but fortunately there is a way to fix such a mistake . . . start writing again. So, here I am.

Now, you may be wondering what Captain Obvious has to do with our restart of blogging. Basically he is here to deliver our first topic which we will be discussing in depth for the next few weeks. As we everything that Captain Obvious discusses, this will seem like something that everyone already knows, something . . . obvious.

Captain Obvious says, "If you purchase sales data you must work that data to see a return on your investment." Obvious, right? But, I could tell you many stories about companies disappointed with leads they never worked. I could give you anecdote after anecdote of sales managers complaining about data that didn't bother to use.

Over the next few weeks we will talk about how to properly work sales data, from the initial calls to the close. Through this we will make sure that everyone is getting the most from their leads. While the focus will often be on the type of data we provide, we will also discuss leads generated through marketing campaigns and online efforts.

We're aiming for two posts a week so keep an eye here or, better yet, sign up for our RSS feed and get the updates delivered.

During a sales presentation one often encounters consistent objections or road blocks at particular points in the process. In fact, after delivering a presentation over and over, one can often predict the exact timing and wording of the objection. Once the trend has been noticed the sales person is left with two options. They can either prepare a defensive response to the objection, or they can preemptively address the issue.

The defensive response tends to come across as . . . well . . . defensive. The prospect can see even the most articulate answer to their objection as  scrambling for an explanation. Even if the objection is completely ungrounded, merely giving the prospect an opportunity to spit it out can derail a sales presentation because after expressing their concern the prospect is now aligned against the salesperson.

The preemptive strike, on the other hand, can remove the objection before the prospect even has a chance to consider it. Even better, this tactic can spin the objection to a positive. Since these concerns always seem to rise at the same point in the presentation, it is easy to time your "strike" when the prospect is most open to the concept. They are just forming the idea that will become the objection when you grab the reins and steer them in the direction you want to go.

Let's illustrate:

Stan is a pocket knife salesman that sells a slimmed down version of the traditional Swiss Army Knife. To create a smaller, easier to carry knife, Stan's company has removed some of the less utilized tools. Now, during his sales presentation, right after he demonstrates each tool, Stan keeps getting the same objection . . . "Where's the toothpick?"

After the prospect asks about the toothpick, Stan explains that it was a seldom used piece of the original Swiss Army Knife and was actually, if one thought about it, somewhat unsanitary. However, now the prospect is thinking about the toothpick, remembering how he used to clean his nails with it, wondering what other uses it might have. Despite the truth of Stan's argument, the prospect is now on the other side of the toothpick/no toothpick debate. The sale is now hindered by an irrelevant objection.

Stan, being an excellent knife salesman, realizes that this objection is costing him money and decides to preempt the objection in his presentation. As he draws to the end of the tools section of his pitch Stan says, "You probably noticed we removed a few of the less useful tools like the toothpick from our design making the knife easier to carry and easier to use. Believe it or not, some guy last week actually thought the toothpick was a necessity. The toothpick. I mean, we both no nobody in their right mind ever used it. The only thing it was even remotely good for was cleaning your nails. Can you believe that guy actually thought we should have kept the thing?"

Almost all of Stan's prospects found themselves laughing with Stan at this poor fool who thought the toothpick was a necessary part of the Swiss Army Knife. "That guys an idiot," they agreed. Despite the fact that these same prospects would have probably expressed regret over the missing toothpick without Stan's preemption, they now all agreed with him. The toothpick was a silly, unnecessaryextravagance and the objection was dismissed before it appeared. 

Preempting objections requires attentive sales people who will document both the objections and the points at which they occur. Once identified you then need to provide the prospect reason to side with you against the unthinking masses. Give them a chance to feel in on the joke and they will defend your side as rabidly as they might once have attacked it. Obviously some objections will be more complicated to preempt than Stan's toothpick, but addressing them yourself is better than letting the prospect discover and gain ownership over a troubling objection.

What success have you had in preempting objections? Share your stories in the comments.

 

 

In honor of all the good luck the number 13 has brought me I thought I would pass on an equal quantity of advice to all you burgeoning sales geniuses. These sales presentation tips have all been gleaned from the wise minds around me and are supported by several accumulated lifetimes of experience.

1. Boy Scout It - Always be as prepared as possible with demos, marketing materials, witty comebacks and FAQ answers. The less paper you have to shuffle through to find an answer, the smarter and more capable you look.
2. Practice, Practice, Practice - You may or may not consider yourself a sales person, but like it or not you are now playing one. It's a good idea to practice the techniques you plan to use in your presentation. Get used to speaking well and warm up your voice before going in. We recommend repeating "Unique New York" or "How now brown cow" a few times to warm up the mouth and vocal cords. Other favorites include, "The tarantula enjoys a tasty piece of chewing gum" and "The arsonist has oddly shaped feet". These saying will lighten your mood and prepare you to speak clearly about your offerings.
3. Wow Them - Within the first few moments of presenting your solutions you had better have grabbed their attention or it will wander elsewhere. Prospects are like raccoons, you've only got them until something shinier comes along. Present your expertise, their needs and your solution within the first few minutes of the review.
4. Surprise Yourself - Anytime you see something unique about your product or service, particularly if the prospect points it out, be as excited as you were the first time.
   
5. Let Them Touch It - If you have a tangible solution to a problem, hardware or software, give your prospect the opportunity to use it. Give them the illusion of already owning it. Chances are they won't want to give it back.
6. Lighten Up - It is alright to be funny. In fact, humor can be a great way to disarm and identify. If you don't happen to be particularly funny in your own right, feel free to bring someone or something funny along. Just remember: No politics and no religion. Peoples concept of "funny" tends to differ extensively in those areas.
7. Look at Me When I'm Talking to You - Make eye contact. People who avoid eye contact are usually lying or trying to look at something they shouldn't. Looking someone in the eyes conveys honesty.
8. Gesticulate (aka Move your hands). Visually illustrate your points. When discussing points, count them off on your fingers or illustrate the size of savings with some kind of "so big" hand motion.
9. Paint a Picture - Get your prospect to visualize the benefits your offering. Maybe they are cozy beside a fire instead of flicking frozen tears off their face in a chilly server room. Or, maybe they are being lauded at an awards ceremony for saving the company all of that money your fantastic hand motions just implied.
10. Give Them the Wheel - Does the prospect seem tense? Worried? Irritated? Give control back to them. Humble yourself a little by appealing to their particular expertise. Set that mood.
11. Watch the Watch - Stick to your time promises. If you hit the limit you set for yourself prepare to wrap up. If you have done everything right, the prospect will ask for more time.
12. Speed Zones - Speaking quickly while presenting tends to draw people in and make them keep pace. It also makes you look smarter than the stumbling, bumbling type. Then, when you hit technical specifications and pricing, slow down. This will add a sense of importance and ensure comprehension.
13. Apples, Oranges and Kumquats - Be sure to create a clear separation between different offerings. If customers don't understand the lines between solutions, one dud might drag the whole sale to the bottom.

Feel free to add a few more in the comments.

You can see that we have chosen to name our blog Right Person, Right Time which might strike some of you as a slightly awkward title. But, awkward or not, Right Person, Right Time is a fairly accurate reflection of our sales philosophy. It captures the key consideration for each and every prospect. Is this the right person for my product/service, and is this the right time to be talking to this person? A sale doesn't happen unless the answer to both of those questions is yes. No matter how perfect an individual might be as a prospect for your product, they are not going to buy it if the timing is wrong, and regardless of serendipidous timing, an individual who needs a different solution isn't going to close.

This concept can be applied to almost any effort at communication. Timing and compatibility need to mesh in order for the attempt at connection to succeed. It seems obvious, but many people set themselves up for failure by ignoring it. No matter what sort relationship you're intending to build, finding the right person at the right time is crucial.

So, are you the right person to be reading this blog? Is it the right time? 

I hope so.