The Power of Preparation

Preparation: Your Key to Success

You've made it! After all your hard work, you have reached the point in the selling process where the qualifying, researching, and planning stages pay off. Finally, your story and the customer's story are about to connect excitingly. Most salespeople think of the presentation as the best part of the selling process. It's the opportunity to show the prospect that you know your stuff – and the chance to deliver value by putting your problem-solving skills to work. So get ready, visualize the best possible outcome of your sales presentation, and take the necessary steps to make this outcome a reality.

Keep Your Eye on the Prize

As excited as you might be about your product or as eager as you are to demonstrate your solution, remember that your sales presentation is primarily about building a relationship and beginning a partnership, especially in the business-to-business (B2B) arena. When Selena Lo, CEO of Ruckus Wireless, is gearing up for a sales presentation, she focuses her final preparations on making it personal. Lo's company specializes in wireless routers that handle video, voice, and data capabilities for businesses. When she identifies a prospect, Lo's first priority is finding the person she calls "the fox": her ally in the prospect company who wants to see technological changes in his organization. Lo gives this relationship special attention, often inviting this individual out to dinner before the presentation to win his loyalty and get any additional details about his company.

Several days before the presentation, Lo researches everyone who will be in the meeting. She reads their bios and googles them to find out their employment histories. "You don't want someone to think you checked out their entire past," says Lo, but "you try to strike up more links between you and that person." She prepares the seating arrangement for the sales meeting strategically, making sure that she will be sitting directly across from the highest-ranking person there so that she can make eye contact. On the day of the presentation, she asks a member of her sales team to write down each person's name when they walk in the door – and to make a point of using the names during the presentation. Lo's efforts to give the sales presentation a personal touch remind you that in relationship selling, you can never lose sight of the most important thing: your customer. Coach yourself on this on the day of your presentation and keep it in mind in the days leading up to it. What can you do to personalize this presentation and show your customers that it's all about their organization?

Taking a customer-centric approach lies at the heart of delivering value. In these terms, value isn't about offering a good price. It's not just about solving the customer's problems either. As Tom Reilly, author of Value-Added Selling: How to Sell More Profitably, Confidently, and Professionally by Competing on Value, Not Price, explains it, delivering value means that you "define value in customer terms, ask questions, listen to customers, and put the spotlight on customer-centric solutions". This might mean that it takes more than one meeting to close your sale; you might need several visits to adequately respond to your customer's needs. According to one study, "Today's presentations typically are conducted over several meetings, with the salesperson often doing more listening than talking". Make it your goal to see that you and your prospect get what you want out of the meeting.

It's a good idea to visualize this outcome before going into the meeting. Review your precall objectives. What will it look like to achieve these objectives? What steps will you and your prospect have to take? How will it feel when you both have achieved your goals? This isn't just about calming your nerves; visualizing the outcome you want is actually a powerful tool to help you achieve that outcome. For one thing, it's another form of planning. If you mentally run through a "movie" of the sales presentation, allowing yourself to picture your reactions and the steps you will take to close in on your objective, you will be better prepared when the meeting takes place. Each step of the presentation will come naturally to you because you have already mentally rehearsed, and you will be better positioned to sell adaptively because you have already imagined a number of possible scenarios and customer responses.

For another thing, mental rehearsal fools your subconscious mind into believing you have already achieved your goals. Sales trainer and CEO Brian Tracy says, "Your subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between a real experience and one that you vividly imagine," so if you imagine a successful presentation and its outcome several times before your actual presentation, you will be as calm and confident as if you had already closed the sale. You will smile more easily, you will speak more slowly and clearly, and you will command attention. In addition, if your subconscious mind believes you have already been in this situation before, it will direct you to say and do the things you need to achieve your objective.

The Power to Adapt

The sales presentation is where adaptive selling makes all the difference. Up until this point, you have researched and prepared and developed a solution that you think will meet your prospect's needs, but walking into the presentation and delivering on that preparation requires a different set of skills. Among other things, it requires flexibility and the ability to think on your feet. The best salespeople adapt their presentations to their prospect's reactions, and they go in knowing they may have to adapt to surprises for which they were unable to prepare (maybe the building has a power outage during the slideshow, for instance, or maybe one of the people from the customer organization decides to send another employee in his place at the last minute). These top-performing salespeople know that keeping a customer-centric focus, visualizing a successful outcome, and mentally rehearsing your presentation before you deliver it will give you the power to adapt confidently and easily.

Adapting is all about listening. As Paul Blake noted in the video ride-along at the beginning of the chapter, your sales presentation is a compilation of all the listening you have done to this point. And listening doesn't stop there. It's impossible to adapt if you're not listening. When you are creating your presentation, keep in mind that it is not one-way communication. Presentations are for listening, adapting, and solving problems.

Logistics Matter

There's nothing worse than putting hours into preparing a killer sales presentation, only to blow your chances because you forgot to bring an important part of your demonstration or got lost on your way to the meeting. Don't let disorganization hold you back: take charge of the details so that your only concern on the day of the presentation is the delivery.

The Night Before

The evening before your meeting, read over your precall objectives; practice your presentation a number of times out loud; and walk through your mental rehearsal, visualizing success. You can't practice too many times. The content of your presentation should be second nature by the time you get up in front of your audience so that you can focus your energy on your prospect. Rehearsal is one of the best ways to calm your nerves so that you can focus on delivering your presentation naturally and connecting with your prospect.

The night before, you should also get together all the materials you will need for your presentation – handouts, files, product samples, and contracts – and have them ready to go for the following morning. This will save you time tracking down loose supplies at the last minute when you are trying to get out the door to make it to your meeting. It is also a good idea to set out your clothes the night before for the same reason.

If you are planning to use multimedia equipment in your presentation, make sure in advance that your prospect will have everything you will need to make it run. If you are unsure, bring everything (e.g., cables, adapters, remotes). And of course, make sure you know how to use all your equipment. When Keith Waldon, CEO of Earth Preserv, was preparing for a meeting with JCPenney, one of his biggest prospects, he spent hours rehearsing with his multimedia equipment. The technology was a key element of his presentation, and he wanted to ensure everything would work perfectly for the big day. "I had to learn how to use all the remote-control equipment," he says. Waldon also brought a technical assistant as backup to safeguard against any glitches.

Getting There

It may surprise you to know how often salespeople show up late to their own presentations because they get lost on the way to the meeting. When traveling to an unfamiliar place for your appointment, get directions in advance, and allow extra travel time in case of traffic delays or wrong turns. Make sure you also research the parking situation beforehand. If your prospect is a large corporation with its own complex, are there reserved employee lots and visitor lots? Will you have to walk far from your car to the meeting room? If you will meet in an urban area, is street parking available, or will you have to find a parking garage? You don't want to arrive on time only to get delayed because you spent 20 minutes searching for a parking spot. It's a good idea to make a "test" trip before your meeting. That will help avoid surprises with traffic, parking, security, or other areas that might cause a delay. If something unavoidable does come up to set you back, make sure you call ahead to let your customer know you will be arriving late.

Besides the extra time you allow for travel, plan to arrive at the meeting a little early. Not only does this convey professionalism, but it also gives you the time to mentally prepare once you arrive and to set up any equipment you will be using. It's a good idea to allow time to stop in the restroom and take one last look to be sure you're at your best (and it's a good time to use a breath mint). Finally, bring something to read in case you have to wait: a business magazine, a newspaper like the Wall Street Journal, or maybe a Kindle.

Figure 10.1 Pre-presentation Checklist

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 This text was adapted by Saylor Academy under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License without attribution as requested by the work's original creator or licensor.

Dress for Success

Your appearance communicates volumes about you before you ever open your mouth.

Tom Reilly tells the story of a salesperson that showed up to one of his recent seminars dressed in flip-flops and a T-shirt. "I thought he was there to clean the windows," Reilly says. You want prospective customers to take you seriously at first glance, so pay careful attention to what you wear on your sales call. Think about it this way, when you are buying a product off the shelf in a store, isn't packaging the first thing that catches your attention? Marketers know that packaging can influence a consumer's buying decision before she even researches the product or reads about its features. 

In the same way, your prospect will make a judgment about you based on how you "package" yourself; a professionally dressed salesperson can have a huge influence on a prospect's perception of him, his company, and the product he represents." Your appearance should convey professionalism, competence, and success. Most important, regardless of the dress code at your prospect's business, be sure your appearance includes a smile. A smile is an instant rapport builder. No one wants to buy from someone who isn't excited about the company or product he's representing. Show your prospect that this isn't just a job; it is a passion.

Business Casual or Business?

When making a sales presentation at a company, remember to dress one step above what you would wear if you worked at the organization. If you are ever unsure about a company's standard dress code, always dress up. It's easier to take off a jacket and tie than to put them on at the last minute. However, if your prospect tells you the dress code beforehand, here are some general guidelines.

Business Attire

For most of your business-to-business (B2B) sales situations, business attire will be the norm. In the 1990s there was a trend toward more casual clothing in the workplace, but that trend is mostly on the way out. "I see a return to more traditional business wear," says Gary Brody, president of the Marcraft Apparel Group. Even if your customer says business casual is the standard in his workplace, if you aim to dress a notch up from that standard, you might decide that business attire is the way to go. As Mark-Evan Blackman of the Fashion Institute of Technology says, suits "universally project an air of authority."

For men, business attire means a suit (matching pants and jacket), a necktie, a long-sleeved shirt, and lace-up shoes. Go for conservative, dark colors such as gray, black, or dark blue for the suit; white or light blue for the shirt. For women, business means a suit (skirt or pants and matching jacket), shoes with moderate heels in a basic pump style (closed-toe), a blouse, and tan or light pantyhose.
Business Casual

Business casual can sometimes be tricky because it is less clearly defined than business attire. According to Monster.com, business casual "means dressing professionally, looking relaxed, yet neat and pulled together." For men, a bare minimum approach to business casual means dress pants and a collared shirt. Women can wear skirts or pants, but skirts should be a conservative length, and pants should be well tailored: not too tight or too loose. On the top, a blouse or a tailored knit sweater are good choices, and for footwear, make sure to wear closed-toe shoes. Business casual for men or women does not include workout clothes or shoes, wrinkled clothing, worn blue jeans, shorts, miniskirts, athletic socks, or overly revealing clothing.

Details Matter

Getting the clothes right but missing the mark on the details will create a poor impression just as much as underdressing for the occasion can, so make sure everything from your nails to your hair and choice of accessories conveys professionalism.

• All clothes should be cleaned and pressed. Wrinkled or stained clothing looks very unprofessional.
• Take the time to review your wardrobe days before your presentation to be sure everything is cleaned and pressed. A trip to the dry cleaner is money well spent.
• If the garment has belt loops, wear a belt. Belts should be dark leather.
• Make sure your briefcase or handbag is professional, not casual.
• Men should avoid sports watches, and women should wear conservative jewelry - nothing flashy.
• Make sure your hair looks professional and well-groomed.
• Carry a good-quality portfolio or notebook and a nice pen.
• Women should wear hosiery if they are wearing a skirt. Avoid wearing perfume or cologne.

And do not forget good grooming. Body odor, bad breath, poorly manicured fingernails, and messy hair can be a deal breaker.

The Image Your Customer Wants

When employees whose businesses rent space in the Coca-Cola building on New York's Fifth Avenue want to bring a canned or bottled beverage to work, they have a list of drinks to choose from. Vermont Pure Water is OK, but Evian is out. Food and drink orders coming into the building are scanned, and anything with non-Coca-Cola products gets sent away. While this rule is on the extreme side, even the products you use reflect an image, and when you're doing business with a potential customer, you want that image to be the right one. This is something worth researching before you go into your sales call. If you know who your prospect's customers are, use those company's products.

Does the prospect do advertising for Apple? Do not listen to your Zune while you are waiting for the appointment. If your prospect is a publishing house, read some of their books before you go to your meeting. If they have a radio station or record label, listen to it. Knowing the prospect's products, or their customers' products, is part of your credibility.

Making Your Presentation Work

When deciding on the structure of your presentation, there are several things to consider. Will you present to a group or to an individual? Where will you be giving your presentation? What tools will you use? Sometimes these options are under your control, but often in business-to-business (B2B) sales, you must adapt your presentation to your prospect's needs. In either situation, you can maximize your presentation if you know what to avoid, what to prepare for, and how to make your solution come to life with the tools you have.

The Right Size

A good salesperson can read group dynamics as skillfully as she can read an individual prospect's verbal and nonverbal cues and is comfortable in one-on-one and in group presentation situations. This is critical because, as a salesperson, sometimes you have control over the kind of presentation you will deliver (group versus individual). Still, in many situations, the audience size you will present is determined by the needs and structure of your prospect's organization. In many organizations, large purchasing decisions are the responsibility of purchasing committees or of a combination of individual and group decision-makers. You might find that you begin with several individual presentations to decision-makers in an organization and then are asked to give a follow-up group presentation to a purchasing committee.

Presenting to Individuals

In one-on-one presentations, of course, you only have one person's needs, preferences, and background to research and adapt to, so customization is usually an easy task. You can closely observe your prospect's nonverbal communication and listen to her stated needs and concerns, and respond accordingly. Does he look worried when you tell him that your company's integrated marketing plan usually takes four months to develop? You can explain that for preferred prospects, you can sometimes turn around a faster solution. Does he seem distracted when you begin discussing product features? You can back off and begin asking more questions.

As you learned in the discussion about social styles, you will be better positioned to deliver value during your sales presentation if you know something about your buyer's personality before going into the meeting: Is your prospect conversational and people-oriented, or is he task-oriented and businesslike? Does your prospect care about details and thorough descriptions, or does he prefer to see the "big picture"? Is he competitive? How does he feel about change? Understanding these things about your prospect will help you to favorably position your product and plan your presentation so that you can put emphasis on the things that matter most to the individual. If you know your prospect is highly competitive, for instance, he will probably be interested in learning about the features that set your product apart from others on the market and the ways in which your product can give him or his company a competitive edge.

Writing up a customer trait description before your meeting can be very helpful so that you can use the information as a guideline in preparing your presentation. If you are working with an existing customer or interacted with your prospect before the presentation, you can use your observations to write a trait description. If you haven't met the prospect before, try asking other salespeople in your organization, noncompetitive salespeople at other companies, or other contacts who might have met your prospect and can tell you something about her personality. Also, use the company resources, including the CRM system, to gather as much information as possible about the company and your contact. In addition, it is also a good idea to send a precall questionnaire to your contact to gather information such as the names and titles of the people who will be attending the presentation, how much time has been allotted for you, objectives for the meeting, and any other information that will help you plan the meeting. This information can provide valuable information and help you create an agenda, which is a good idea to send to the prospect before the meeting.

In adapting to an individual buyer, it's also important to consider his motivation. What are his responsibilities in the organization? What pressures does he face? Is he on a strict budget? Is he concerned with his status in the company? If you have two buyers who purchase the same product, chances are they'll be doing it for different reasons: one person might buy a car from you because he sees it as a status symbol, while another person might buy the same car because it gets good gas mileage and is well built and reliable. Keep in mind that delivering value isn't only about meeting a prospect's needs; it's also about showing him that you understand his specific motivations and concerns. The best salespeople present themselves as advisors their customers can trust. Is a prospect worried about proving herself in a new role in her company? Show him how your product can help him perform her role better, or demonstrate how people in similar positions at other companies have used your product with success.

Presenting to Groups

If customization is that straightforward with an individual buyer, why would you ever choose to sell to a group? Besides the fact that sometimes the nature of the sale demands it, selling to groups is also more efficient than selling to individuals. If you are selling accounting software to several departments in an organization, rather than meeting individually with a decision-maker from each department, you can save time by giving your sales presentation to several decision-makers at once. Group presentations can also help you identify the decision-makers in an organization if you are not yet sure who they are. By observing group dynamics during the presentation, you can usually observe the "pecking order" among members and identify the individuals in the group whose opinions hold the most leverage.

Additionally, group presentations can be a way to win greater support for your sale. If you know one or two people in an organization who are excited about your product, you can allow their enthusiasm to influence others in a group setting. Recall Selena Lo of Ruckus Wireless, who finds the "fox" within her target organizations and leverages his support of her product to sway the group's buying decision.

If you know what is at stake for each group member, you can facilitate the discussion during your presentation much more effectively. This is why it is important to gather information about everyone who will attend your sales meeting. Again, think of Lo's method, where she reads each group member's bio and googles their names before going into a group meeting. Find out the individual's needs within the organization. What is her status? How does she perceive the urgency of the problem you want to solve? Does she have any ego involvement in the product or service? (For instance, an accountant in the organization might feel threatened by new accounting software if it replaces part of her current role.) This will help you understand the most important concerns you must address in the presentation. If certain parts of your presentation apply more directly to certain group members, you can direct those parts specifically to those individuals.

Keep in mind that people act differently in group settings than they do when you are interacting with them alone, so finding out about individual members' personalities is less important in group presentations. Instead, adjust your presentation to the dynamics in the room. Watch the group for nonverbal cues; when one member is talking, observe how others react to see whether or not they support what she's saying. If the energy in the room feels low, or if you get the sense that the group is getting restless, consider moving on to the next part of your presentation or changing tactics.

Sometimes you won't know who or how many people you will be presenting to beforehand, so you will not be able to research the individuals. However, it's always a good idea to ask when you call to schedule your meeting. You may be able to find out information that your contact at the organization wouldn't otherwise volunteer.

The Right Place

You also might not know where your presentation will happen. If you know you will present to your prospect at his office or in a conference room at his company, you will not have control over the environment. What happens if your prospect has reserved a meeting room and when you arrive, there are no empty walls on which you can project the PowerPoint presentation you brought along? When you know you will present in an unfamiliar environment, have a contingency plan. If slides or other multimedia equipment are central to your presentation, talk to someone at the company to make sure you can use the equipment. And if this fails, be ready to rely on your handouts, product samples, or the good old whiteboard to carry the presentation through.

Of course, in other situations, you will have control over the environment. In real estate, for instance, the presentation takes place inside the product. In retail, the presentation generally happens at your store. And there are other selling situations in which the prospect will come to your office or a conference room at your company or where you will meet at a "neutral" location like a rented meeting space. Here are a few guidelines to follow, depending on the environment you will be presenting.

Your Place of Business

When the prospect comes to you, treat her like a guest in your home. Make sure you set up any presentation materials well in advance and have refreshments set out in the conference room or your office. Think about ways you can add personal touches – for instance, a sign with the prospect's name on it ("[Your company name] welcomes [prospect's company name]"), or, for a group presentation, information packets at each person's seat with his or her name on the front. Sales professional John Chapin suggests having small items on hand that you can give to your prospect, such as pens or calculators with your company logo on them. Small, thoughtful details can make an important difference.

A Neutral Location

If you present in a neutral location like a rented conference room, you can set up and work out any technical bugs well beforehand. When Keith Waldon of Earth Preserv prepared for the presentation that secured his biggest customer, JCPenney, he rented a boardroom near JCPenney's corporate headquarters. He opted for the rented space to pull out all the stops for the presentation. "I wanted to catch JCPenney by surprise," Waldon says.

When the five executives arrived, Waldon had set up multimedia equipment for video, sound, and slides. He had placed a thick binder of presentation materials (including television storyboards, magazine advertisements, and product comparisons) at each executive's seat with his name and the JCPenney corporate logo embossed on the front. Besides the conference room, Waldon had also rented an empty storefront in the same building. Halfway through the presentation, he took his customers to see the retail window display he had created there to look like one JCPenney might use to display Earth Preserv products in their stores.

Since you will have time to set up beforehand at a rented location, you can treat the presentation the way you would treat a presentation at your home office. Bring refreshments, set up any multimedia equipment well in advance, and arrive early to make sure everything is in working order at the facility. Make sure you know the name of the facility's contact person; you can call her several days beforehand to find out what equipment she has on hand and what you will need to bring.

Your Prospect's Place of Business

When you deliver your presentation at your prospect's location, you won't have the luxury of extensive setup time, and you may find that you have to adapt to the space and resources on hand. However, there are a few things you can do to make a good impression and ensure that things go as smoothly as possible:

• Arrive early and set up any technology you plan to use to minimize the chance of something going wrong.
• When possible, call ahead to find out about the space in which you will be presenting and the materials that will be available to you.
• Let your prospect know how long you need to set up – particularly if you use multimedia equipment.
• When you arrive, the first person you interact with will probably be the receptionist. Introduce yourself and let her know that the customer is expecting you.
• In addition to your presentation items, consider bringing food, coffee, or small giveaway items.
• In B2B sales, if your presentation will be around the lunch hour, it's often customary to offer to take your prospect to lunch before or after the meeting.

Webinars and Video Conferences

So how do you give a sales presentation if your prospect lives across the country but you have a limited budget for travel? Unless there is a good chance that a prospect will become a key customer, it usually isn't practical for a salesperson to travel long distances to make one presentation. However, thanks to improved technology, it's becoming increasingly common for salespeople to address this problem using Webinars, video conferences, and online meetings. These technologies are allowing companies to reach more prospects in less time and to reach prospects internationally and across long distances.

Of course, there are some drawbacks to giving sales presentations through video conferencing rather than in person. It is always easier to establish rapport with your prospect if you can interact face-to-face. Video conferences offer the benefit of visuals, so you and your prospect can read one another's body language and visual cues, but this is not a complete substitute for sitting in the same room with someone. Additionally, since the presentation relies entirely on technology – both on your end and the prospect's end – there is a greater chance that a technological malfunction could prevent the presentation from working.

In-person presentations are still the most effective and personal method, so whenever you can (and when it is practical) give a face-to-face presentation, this is your best option. However, technology keeps improving, and online meetings and video teleconferences are becoming more successful as an alternative method." Depending on your selling situation, this is something you might consider. As online sales strategist Joanna Lees Castro points out, video conferencing can be almost as effective as an in-person meeting in several selling situations. It is undoubtedly a better, more personal approach than email or telephone.

Even though video conferencing feels different from in-person communications, you should essentially treat your online meetings the way you would treat any sales call. Keep in mind that nonverbal communication has a strong influence on interactions – and, especially with good technology, your customer can see you. Pay attention to your body language and facial expressions, and avoid personal gestures (like playing with your hair or scratching an itch)." Dress professionally, plan your agenda carefully, and prepare and get your materials set up ahead of time. If you are conferencing from a location other than your office, arrive early to make sure the technology is set up to run smoothly for your presentation.

It is also essential to resist multitasking during your video conference. Close down any other applications you might have open on your computer, clear off your desk, and make sure you will not be interrupted until the call is over. Mute any cell phones and close the door to the room you are presenting. Give your customer your full attention. While this level of focus is given on your end, unfortunately, you cannot always be certain that your prospect will give a video conference meeting his full attention by minimizing distractions. For this reason, it is essential to have a clear agenda that you follow closely. Keep your presentation brief, and know you must work harder to hold your prospect's attention. Live interaction from your audience is critical to ensure your participants are engaged.

Besides a greater likelihood of distraction, there are a few other extra considerations to remember in a video conference situation. Sales and Management magazine notes that privacy is expected during a video conference. So, if you want to record part of your presentation, it is essential to ask your prospect for permission. When the presentation is over, Joanna Lees Castro suggests closing the meeting with a clear call to action in which you include a wrap-up and well-defined next steps that you and your prospects should take. At the end of a conventional sales presentation, Lees Castro points out, next-step discussions can happen more organically as the customer walks you to the door, but this is impossible online.

The Right Tools

In the best sales presentations, the product or service comes alive. Try to see the presentation through your prospect's eyes. What is the best way to capture his imagination? How will you tell the story that will make your product or service compelling? In what ways can you delight or surprise your customer? Few people know how to do this better than Dann Ilicic, CEO of Wow Branding. A small start-up frequently outperforms big-name competitors when vying for a prospect. Ilicic approaches each presentation with the same mindset: you can't bore your customer into buying from you, so why not dazzle them? One customer said the presentation Ilicic put together for his company couldn't have been better: "Dann unquestionably knocked it out of the park compared with the other firms, and they were high-end firms with spectacular portfolios."

So how does Wow Branding wow its prospects? Ilicic's approach offers three lessons:

1. Take customization to a new level. Ilicic says he and his team spend about fifty hours preparing for a sales presentation. They call low-level employees in the customer company, the company's past customers, and companies that have chosen not to do business with the prospect to learn things the prospects might not even know about themselves. Glumac, an engineering firm in Portland, Oregon, and one of Wow's customers, said Ilicic's technique "was a brilliant move…because he was not asking what our imagery should be"; instead, he researched to find out what the image already was.
   
   
2. Never miss an opportunity to delight. Ilicic likes to surprise his customers with small things: stamping green thumbprints throughout a proposal for an agricultural company – or, for a pharmaceutical company, handing out vitamin bottles on which he has replaced the label with a message about Wow. Sometimes he brings in a cake on which he reveals the suggested name for a new company. Because Ilicic's intensive research allows him to understand his customers so well, he can perfectly match the wow factor to each prospect and make the product come alive.
   
   
3. Always make the presentation creative and fun. This technique engages the customer, even when the meeting agenda isn't exciting. It also allows Wow to get around difficult or sensitive parts of the presentation. Rather than talking about Wow's successes, Ilicic records customer testimonials about his company and plays these for his prospects. On another occasion, rather than potentially putting a prospect on the defensive by telling the company what its image should be, Ilicic told them that Wow had been assigned a branding project for their biggest competitor. He launched a multimedia presentation to show them their competitor's branding overhaul, and by the end, his prospects were asking themselves, "Why didn't we think of that?" After the presentation, Ilicic revealed that he had not made the campaign for the company's competitor; it was for them.

So what techniques can you use to achieve these goals in your sales presentations? The tools you choose will depend on the situation and your presentation style. As Ilicic demonstrates, the possibilities are almost endless, but whatever tool you use, it is essential to carefully consider your choice and how you can maximize its effectiveness.

PowerPoint Presentations

PowerPoint slides make it easy to organize your presentation and add helpful visuals. For many salespeople, PowerPoint is one of their go-to presentation tools. It can be an especially helpful tool for salespeople who are starting out and want the security of a clear framework from which to present. An added benefit is that it does not take much technical know-how to create a clean-looking PowerPoint demonstration.

On the other hand, not all presentation situations lend themselves to PowerPoint (e.g., conference rooms with no wall space on which to project or presentations given in the field), so if you plan to use this tool, make sure that you will be presenting in a space where you can make it work. Additionally, be aware of – and avoid – several common mistakes salespeople make when using PowerPoint that can ruin a presentation. As sales coach and author Anne Miller says, "Putting PowerPoint into the hands of some sales reps is like putting matches into the hands of some children." To maximize PowerPoint as a tool to successfully sell your story, use the tips in Figure 10.5, "Guidelines for PowerPoint Visuals."

Figure 10.5 Guidelines for PowerPoint Visuals

These dos and don'ts can help you prepare for your PowerPoint presentation.

• Do not turn down the lights. It takes the focus away from you, and it can put people to sleep.
  
  
• Do not go overboard with technological gimmicks. Fancy fades and clever add-ons will only distract the audience from you and the content of your presentation.
  
  
• Do not hide behind your computer screen when using PowerPoint; face your audience and make eye contact. This can be a temptation when the computer is set up on a podium close to eye level.
  
  
• Do not fill your slides with words. Use bullet points, separate each point with white space, and cut out any unnecessary words you can.
  
  
• Do not bore your audience with visual sameness. Slide after slide of bulleted lists gets monotonous; visuals and charts have a stronger impact.
  
  
• Make your slides easy to read. Avoid small fonts, visual clutter, and dark text against dark backgrounds.
  
  
• Replace descriptive headlines with headlines that sell. No one cares about a headline that describes what's already on the page. For example, rather than "Our Statistics" at the top of the page, write "See Significant Savings in the First Year."
  
  
• Use the 10/20/30 rule: Limit your slides to 10 or fewer. Focus on the things you want people to remember, rather than overwhelming them with information. Give yourself 20 minutes to go through your ten slides. Any more than this, you will reach the limit of your audience's attention span. Finally, use only a 30-point or larger font size so that your audience can read what you have written.

Guy Kawaski, best-selling author, venture capitalist, and entrepreneur, created this rule and described it.

• Remember PowerPoint is only an aid. "You are the star," says communications consultant Ronnie Moore. "Media and visuals support you. Use dynamic speaking strategies, move around, and keep your audience involved; do not let your technology take over.

Brochures, Premiums, and Leave-Behinds

It is usually expected that you will have printed material to give your audience during a presentation. In addition to a printed supplement to your PowerPoint presentation (i.e., something that conveys the same information as your slides and on which your audience can take notes), you may bring along brochures on your company, products, and services. What are the benefits of brochures? According to sales expert and author Geoffrey James, in some situations, you need a brochure to make your firm look serious. However, James lists "I promise to read your brochure" as one of the top ten lies customers tell sales reps. His conclusion: the brochure might gain you credibility, but it probably won't get read. Do not rely completely on brochures because they will not be a focal point of your presentation.

Sometimes a brochure can be a reminder about you and your company after you have left, but this is assuming your customer doesn't throw the brochure away. Regarding reminders, a better bet is leaving something functional that your customer will use regularly. These reminder objects – calendars, refrigerator magnets, pens, or mouse pads labeled with your company name – are called premium leave-behinds and are a proven method of reminding customers you exist. Almost all salespeople bring some sort of brochure or premium to leave behind on their sales calls.

Samples and Demonstrations

There is almost no better way to make your story come to life for your customer than letting him experience it for himself. Think of television courtroom dramas: when the lawyer is making her final statement to the jury, and she wants to pull out all the stops, what does she do? She doesn't just give the jury the facts or tell them the version of the story she wants them to believe – she brings the story to life; she puts the gun in the defendant's hand; she brings out the pictures of the stab wounds. Think about this when you plan your sales presentation.

During the presentation, you can bring your story to life by offering product samples for your prospects to try or by running demonstrations that let them see what your product can do. When winemakers sell their products to large distributors, they don't just bring in descriptions of their wines for the buyers to read; they offer tastings so buyers can experience the product. When caterers want to sell their services to someone planning a wedding, they bring in samples from their menus, so the customer can say, "Wow, this pasta is delicious!" Or think of Keith Waldon of Earth Preserv, who did not just tell JCPenney, "We can make displays of our environmentally friendly products for your store windows;" instead, he set up a real shop window display so his prospects could see their place in his story.

Besides bringing your story to life, there are several other good reasons to use demonstrations:

• To educate your prospect. If you are selling a complex product, such as a highly involved software program, the best way to help your customer understand how it works is to show her.
  
  
• To involve your prospect. Let him find the results for himself. Just as car shoppers get to take the wheel in a test drive – and this often makes the difference between a decision to buy or not to buy – customers who use your products for themselves are more likely to make a personal connection with it. A salesperson selling insulated windows, for instance, might place a piece of glass in front of a heat lamp and ask her customer to put out his hand and feel the heat. Then the salesperson might substitute the sheet of glass for a window sample. "Now put out your hand," she will tell the customer. "Can you feel how this window will keep the elements out and save you money on your energy bills?
  
  
• To prove the performance of your product. Of course, you can tell your prospect, "our air purifiers are quieter than the leading model, and they take up less space in your home." But if you bring your air purifier to the presentation and set it next to the leading model, and if you ask your prospect to turn both machines on, he can see for himself that your product is smaller, and he can hear for himself that it makes less noise.

Give Them the Numbers: Cost-Benefit Analysis and ROI

When you present your solution to the customer, especially in B2B sales, closing the sale usually depends on whether the cost of your solution is offset by the value it delivers. Gerald L. Manning and Barry L. Reece, Selling Today: Creating Customer Value, 9th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2004), 256. If you can quantify your solution using cost-benefit analysis and ROI (return on investment) analysis, you can help your customer determine whether a project or purchase is worth funding.

A cost-benefit analysis asks, "Will this purchase save more money in the long run than it costs?" Imagine you are selling an energy-efficient commercial dishwasher to a pizza kitchen. The dishwasher costs $3,000, but the average cost savings per year are $800 in energy bills and $200 in water usage: $1,000. Your dishwashers are guaranteed to last a long time; in fact, you offer a five-year warranty on any purchase. At a savings rate of $1,000 annually, your customer will have saved $5,000 in energy and water expenses by the time his warranty expires. Based on this information, you present this cost-benefit analysis to your prospect:

$3,000 = cost (initial investment)

cost savings – initial investment = benefit

$5,000 – $3,000 = $2,000

In this case, the cost savings is $1,000 per year times five years for a total of $5,000, minus the initial investment of $3,000, means that there is a benefit of $2,000.

In other words, the dishwasher has a three-to-two cost-benefit ratio over five years ($3,000 in cost to $2,000 in benefit). You can tell him, "This purchase will save you money in the long run. After you make back what you spent on the dishwasher in cost savings, you will continue to save $1,000 each year." Similarly, you can show your customer a return on investment (ROI) analysis. ROI shows the customer the return (profit or cost savings) compared to the investment he will make. In the case of the dishwasher, the ROI would be calculated by dividing the benefit (in this case $2,000) by the cost of the product or initial investment (in this case $3,000), then multiplying the result by 100, which would yield a 66 percent ROI after five years.

$2000 (savings over five years) ÷ $3,000 (initial investment) × 100 = 66% ROI

You can maximize ROI by cutting costs, increasing profits, or accelerating the rate at which profits are made." Some businesses have a minimum ROI that must be met before a purchase can be approved. While you might be able to learn this information in your preapproach, it is more likely that you will have to discuss minimum ROI with your customer during the sales presentation. You might present your solution and find out more about your customer's specific needs (including budget constraints and minimum ROI) during the first sales presentation and then write up a proposal in response to your findings, which you deliver during a second presentation.

How to Use SPIN Selling in Your Sales Call

In 1988, Neil Rackham and his company Huthwaite, Inc., researched more than 35,000 sales calls, observing successful and experienced sales professionals doing their best. In the process, they disproved several popular myths about the selling process, and they developed a sales model of their own, which they called SPIN selling. Today sales professionals around the world incorporate the SPIN selling model into their sales process with great success, and if you learn a few simple principles, you can too. The following section describes SPIN selling in a nutshell.

What Is SPIN Selling?

SPIN works from the theory that relationship selling is customer-centric. It requires you to adapt your selling process to your customer, and it delivers personal solutions. To make this work, you must ask your buyer many questions, let him do most of the talking, and give his responses your full attention.

In the SPIN model, there are four components of a sales call: opening, investigating, demonstrating capability, and obtaining commitment. SPIN gets its name from the four questions during the investigation stage: Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-payoff.

With smaller sales, these four components of the sale (opening, investigating, demonstrating capability, and obtaining commitment) often happen sequentially. In a short period of time, a customer might walk onto your car lot and commit to buying a car from you an hour later. But often, in business-to-business (B2B) sales, especially complex ones, you will incorporate SPIN components into a number of the steps in your selling process. For instance, you will investigate during your preapproach, and you might make an early presentation in which you open, investigate, and demonstrate capability. Because larger sales take more time, you won't close the sale at the end of your first presentation, but you might get a commitment from your customer to move the sale forward. SPIN selling is not a rigid, step-by-step model; rather it provides an effective, flexible framework for customer-centered selling.

Opening

According to Rackham, the opening of the sales call is not the most important part, but it does pave the way for the important steps that come after. At the beginning of every call, you want to set the preliminaries and make any necessary introductions. (In larger B2B sales, you usually won't spend very long on introductions because 95 percent of the time, you will meet with an existing customer or a prospect you have already met). If you are following up on an earlier sales call, it's important to recap the conclusions of your last discussion: "The last time we spoke, we talked about pricing and setting a timeline, and you agreed that you would like to move the sale forward if we could put together a proposal that matched your budget and would meet your deadlines." Then, most important, you want to begin the conversation by getting your customer's agreement to let you ask him some questions.

Investigation

Investigation – asking questions to uncover your buyer's needs – is at the heart of SPIN selling. This is the stage during which you ask the types of questions that give SPIN its name: situation, problem, implication, and need a payoff. Here is how each of these types of questions works during the sales presentation.

Situation Questions

Situation questions deal with the facts about the buyer's existing situation and provide a starting place for understanding your buyer's needs. If you ask too many situation questions, you risk boring your prospect and damaging your credibility, so ask situation questions sparingly. If you do careful research before your sales call, you should find out most of the basic information about your customer's current situation before your meeting so that the situation questions you ask are only the ones that will provide information you aren't able to track down elsewhere. For instance, if you sell Internet connectivity, you might ask your buyer, "Which of your offices currently use DSL?"

Customer:	Our four branch campuses use DSL, but our main offices downtown use cable service.
You:	Oh, they use cable? Who is their provider?
Customer:	Ajax Communications. We've been with them for about two years.
You:	I understand Ajax sometimes offers their service on a contract basis. Do you currently have a contract with Ajax?
Customer:	We had a contract, but that ended a couple of months ago.

Problem Questions

You already know that your prospect will only be motivated to buy if she recognizes she has a need. Asking problem questions helps customers understand their needs, and ultimately it paves the way for you to propose a solution that seems beneficial to your customer. Problem questions are the most effective in small sales: "Was limited storage space ever an issue with your last computer? How much has the size and weight of your current laptop affected your ability to carry it with you?"

But in B2B sales it is still important to ask a few problem questions so that you and your buyer share an understanding of the problem or need. Sometimes it is tempting to jump right into presenting the benefits of your solution, but keep in mind that your prospect might not always see his problem right away, even if it is already evident to you." Imagine you sell tractors. To understand the difficulties your prospect faces with his current machines, you could ask problem questions like "How much does it cost to maintain your current farm machinery?" "How often do your tractors break down?" and "Who is usually responsible for maintenance?"

Implication Questions

In larger sales, implication questions are closely linked to success because they increase a prospect's motivation to seek change. Implication questions uncover the effects or consequences of a prospect's problems. These questions are especially effective when your prospect is a decision maker whose success depends on understanding the underlying causes of a problem and its potential long-term consequences. Say, for instance, your prospect has offices in five locations, but he only has IT staff at two. To help him understand the implications of this problem, you might ask questions like this:

You:	If a computer crashes at one of your branch offices, who takes care of the problem?
Prospect:	That depends. Our Bellevue and Redmond offices have their own IT people, but when we have a problem downtown or in North Seattle, we call someone from the east side offices to come fix it.
You:	Wow, that must be a hassle for the IT people! How often do they drive out to another location for computer trouble?
Prospect:	Usually, not more than three or four times each week. If the problem isn't an urgent one, the IT guys usually make a record of it so that they can fix it during their regular visits.
You:	So your IT people have regularly scheduled maintenance visits in addition to the occasional "emergency" trips?
Prospect:	Yes. Someone from IT visits each of the three locations once a week to run maintenance and fix any issues that have come up since the last visit.
You:	The travel time from Redmond to downtown is about half an hour each way, and it can take an hour during rush hour! Isn't the commute from Redmond to your other locations even longer? In total, how much time and money would you guess your company invests in these maintenance trips each week?

Your buyer might have told you upfront that the shortage of IT staff is a problem, but he might not yet realize all the implications of this problem (like higher costs, wasted time, and inefficiency). By asking this set of implication questions you have just asked, you are helping your prospect explicitly state a need (or needs) that you can solve for him."

Need-Payoff Questions

Once you help your prospect uncover his specific needs, you can help him to discover a way out by asking how his problem could be resolved. These questions are called need-payoff questions. If you ask your prospect the right need-payoff questions, he will tell you how your solutions can help him; you won't even need to spend much time talking about your product's benefits because your prospect will have already convinced himself that your solution will be valuable to him. For example, following the previous conversation about your customer's IT problem, you could ask, "How would it help if the IT staff could fix at least half of your computer problems remotely?" or "How much time would you save if I could help you find a way to cut down on your IT support calls from the branch offices?"

Demonstrating Capability

When you present your solution, you can tell your customer about FAB,

• The product features, or what the product has: This car has all-wheel drive, and the back seats fold down to expand the trunk.
  
  
• Its advantages: The all-wheel drive capability makes for better handling in ice and snow, and the ability to fold down the seats means you get a larger storage capacity than you would with other cars.
  
  
• What the feature does and its benefits: The all-wheel drive will give you peace of mind when your daughter drives the car in the winter, and the added storage capacity will be especially helpful for any odds and ends you need to transport during your upcoming move. This includes what the features mean or the ways in which your solution addresses your prospect's acknowledged needs.

All three methods demonstrate capability, but which method moves you closer to a sale? If you guessed benefits, you're right. SPIN selling is all about customization; when you are demonstrating capability, you want to show your prospect how your solution applies to the needs he has expressed. Listing a product's advantages demonstrates how that product could be useful to anyone (a generic customer), but you do not want to treat your buyer like a generic customer. Okay, the car you are selling has an excellent sound system that delivers a superior music-listening experience. But what if your prospect only ever listens to talk radio? If you go on at length about the advantages of the sound system, he will not be impressed.

Rackham and his team concluded that salespeople who demonstrate capability by presenting benefits (rather than advantages) don't have to deal with as many objections from their prospects. However, you can only demonstrate benefits successfully if you have asked the right questions to uncover your prospect's specific needs. This is why the investigation stage is so important. Here are examples of some benefits you might share with your prospect:

Dr. Hogue, our software allows you to organize large quantities of information (like those complicated medical records you mentioned) visually. If you use this software, it will be easy to identify relationships between patients' medical histories so that you and your staff can save time whenever you have to perform a complicated diagnosis.

Ms. Lewis, you mentioned that you have a long commute to work each day, so I think the podcast versions of our training seminars will be a good solution for you. You can download them onto your iPod and listen to them on your way to work to maximize your time and leave your evenings and weekends open to spending with your family.

Our custom engagement rings will allow you to choose an antique setting in a style you said your fiancée prefers and to pair this setting with a smaller stone that will fit your current budget.

Obtaining Commitment

In smaller sales, obtaining commitment is fairly straightforward: your prospect decides to buy, or he tells you he is uninterested. In complex sales, however, fewer than 10 percent of calls have one of these two outcomes. It might take several years before your prospect agrees to purchase your solution, so a sales call that ends without a sale is in no way a failure. Between your first sales call and your prospect's decision to buy, you will have several calls in which you either decide to move the process forward, terminate the process, or continue the process without an advance. Any time your prospect ends a call by agreeing on an action that moves you closer to the final sale, you have experienced a successful outcome.

In the SPIN model there are three steps to obtaining commitment:

1. Check whether you have addressed key concerns.
2. Summarize the benefits you presented.
3. Propose a commitment that will move the sale forward.

Consider this example:

You:	So what I understand from our discussion is that you are concerned your image has become outdated, and you want your television advertising to appeal to a younger generation.
Prospect:	Yes, that is the biggest issue we're facing right now.
You:	As I mentioned earlier, Rockstar Marketing has successfully overhauled the brand image of several well-known retailers. We could do the same for you by creating the youthful image you want.
Prospect:	That sounds like it might be a good fit, but I'd have to get the approval of our marketing committee before I could give you an answer.
You:	Then what I would like to do, if it is OK with you, would be to write up a more specific proposal. If you agree to arrange a meeting between our sales team and the members of your marketing committee about two weeks from today, we could discuss the proposal options at the meeting.
Prospect:	All right, that sounds like a good plan. I'll have my secretary arrange the meeting and give you a call to confirm the day and time.

The commitment you propose at the end of the call will depend on your precall objectives. According to Rackham and his team, the most effective precall objectives include actions on the part of the customer, such as "get the prospect to agree to call two of your past customers" or "get the prospect's list of vendor selection criteria."

Why Use the SPIN Model?

In relationship selling, the idea of a sales "presentation" can be misleading. To deliver customized value to your prospect, you have to understand his needs and make sure that you are in agreement with him about a solution he could use. This means the sales presentation is a two-way communication. When you make an effort to listen to your prospect this way and when you work to understand his needs, not only will you close more sales, but you will also build stronger-lasting customer relationships. Your prospect will trust you and rely on you as a problem-solving expert.

Putting It All Together

As you have probably realized by now, there are many things to remember when planning and executing a sales presentation. It can be enough to overwhelm even the most experienced sales professional.

While there is no one magic formula that will make your presentation come to life, successful presentations generally have several elements in common. Thinking of your presentation in terms of the following five steps will help you to plan and execute it with greater ease and success. Before the presentation, it's a good idea to ask your prospect how much time is allotted for your presentation. That will help you tailor your presentation appropriately, considering your prospect's time. It's also a good idea to start the meeting by setting expectations in terms of time: "Just as a time check, I'll spend thirty minutes on the presentation and allow 15 minutes for discussion. We'll plan to wrap up by 11 o'clock."

Step 1: Build Rapport

In relationship selling, building rapport with your prospect lays the foundation for a selling partnership that could continue for many years. Especially if the sales presentation will be your first in-person interaction with your prospect, put effort into making a good impression. Offer your prospect a firm handshake and start with some small talk to break the ice. This is not difficult; you can establish a connection with a complete stranger over something as simple as the weather or a recent sporting event.

Experienced salespeople use observation to their advantage, learning about the customer by noticing the environment of the prospect's office. Are their photographs or artwork displayed on the walls? What items does the customer keep on her desk? As Bruce Harris, account manager with UPS, says, "A person's office is a reflection of who they are and serves as an insight into his/her personality." You can make a personal connection and break the ice by questioning your prospect about a family photograph or a trophy he keeps on display.

However, make sure not to go overboard on the small talk. Remember that your prospect is busy and has a limited amount of time to meet with you. If you spend too long on chit-chat, you will eat up some of the time you need to get through your call objectives. Build rapport and then get down to business. This is also a perfect time to confirm the time allocated to you for your presentation. Although you discussed it when you set up the appointment, it's always a good idea to confirm since things change at the last minute. This will help you quickly make adjustments if need be.

In group presentations, it is harder to leave room for small talk because if everyone starts talking, the meeting could lose its focus quickly – and in very large sales presentations, small talk is impossible. Geoffrey James suggests building "group rapport" by opening your presentation with a memorable remark: something challenging or amusing. You could also open with a brief anecdote that establishes a common connection: "When I dropped my son off at school this morning, he told me to make sure not to give a boring presentation today.…." A comment like this might get a chuckle out from your audience and will build a connection because others in the audience probably have children as well and may have had common experiences.

Leading your presentation with situation questions is another way to break the ice and get people talking. In group settings, people are often uncomfortable sharing their opinions right away. Still, if you ask questions that call for factual observation rather than opinion (How many departments in your organization would be affected by this decision? What is the average turnaround time once an issue goes to press?), people can answer without feeling threatened. Once you get people talking, you can lead to problem and implication questions that require your audience members to voice an opinion.

Recall from the last section that it's always a good idea to recap the findings of your last meeting at the opening of your call. This is another way to build rapport, remind your customer of your previous discussion, ensure everyone is on the same page, and transition into your business topic.

Step 2: Make a General Benefit Statement

Remember that to effectively demonstrate capability, you should sell benefits – solutions that address your prospect's needs – rather than features or advantages. If your sales call is a follow-up on a previous call, you can make a benefit statement early on that will address issues you discussed in your last meeting:

In our previous discussion, you mentioned that you had a minimum ROI requirement of 20 percent per year. You said you would be interested in pursuing this sale further if we could propose a solution that would meet your requirements. I have created an ROI analysis here that shows how outsourcing your back office work through our firm will yield an annual ROI of 25 percent. Other businesses like yours have experienced these results with us and have been very satisfied with the transition. Here's what we envision for your company. (Show a slide with a diagram or chart giving a visual representation of your prospect's cost savings with this solution.) Is this something you would be interested in?

In this general benefit statement, the salesperson has

• recapped the findings of the previous conversation to provide context,
• explained the value in an idea that meets the customer's needs, rather than trying to sell a service,
• helped the customer to see himself as part of the story,
• used a closed-ended question to lead into the rest of the presentation.

Closed-ended questions – questions that demand a yes or no response – can help to move your presentation forward, keep your customer involved throughout the presentation, and confirm your understanding. Closed-ended questions have a role during your sales presentation, as demonstrated above.

However, closed-ended questions should be balanced with open-ended questions that will help you probe further into the problem your product can solve. For instance, you might ask, "What are some of your biggest frustrations with your current back office operations?" It is virtually impossible to learn more from your prospect if you do not use open-ended questions. If you are interested in learning more and engaging your customer in your presentation, be ready with open-ended questions. For example, the situation, problem, implication, and need-payback questions in SPIN selling are all open-ended. Open-ended questions start with who, what, when, where, or why. Figure 10.7, "Examples of Closed-Ended and Open-Ended Questions," provides examples of closed-ended and open-ended questions.

Figure 10.7 Examples of Closed-Ended and Open-Ended Questions

Asking the right questions is one of the skills required to be a successful salesperson. This is where your ability to ask the right questions comes into play. It is the open-ended questions that you ask during this portion of the presentation that set the tone for the rest of your presentation. But do not stop here. Ask open-ended questions throughout your presentation to engage the prospect and continue to gain valuable information.

Step 3: Make a Specific Benefit Statement

Once you have investigated to uncover your prospect's needs, deliver a specific benefit statement: one that demonstrates in detail how you are going to solve his unique problem. It's impossible to deliver a specific benefit statement at the opening of your sales call because there is no way you can understand your prospect's needs and expectations without listening to him first. Sometimes, a prospect may ask you to solve a problem that sounds similar to one you just solved for another company or customer. Still, if you assume you already understand your prospect's situation and treat her just like your old customer, you might lose the sale. Approach each new presentation as if it were your first.

In B2B sales, the specific benefit statement is generally something you prepare before your presentation. However, before launching into specific benefits, you can investigate to ensure you understand and have all the necessary information: "So let me make sure I understand. What you're saying is that a 5 percent reduction in process time will reduce your costs by 20 percent?" In any selling situation, the information you get from your prospect is usually just the tip of the iceberg, and you will not get an idea of the pressures she is facing unless you can get her talking.

After confirming that you and your prospect are on the same page, you can move forward with your presentation, adapting, if needed, based on your prospect's answers to your questions. This is part of your presentation where the solution comes to life. Bring your customer into the story with videos, recordings, displays, or anything else that will allow him to experience the product for himself.

You:	So let me just confirm – your biggest priorities in purchasing this SUV are gas mileage, safety, and reliability. You would sacrifice some luxury features if your vehicle met these other conditions.
Prospect:	Yes, those are the most important things. This will be a family car, something I can use to drive the family around and take camping trips. And our oldest child is going to college soon, so we want a car that will last for a while because we'll need to save money to pay tuition.
You:	OK, Cindy, you will be excited about the RAV4 we discussed earlier. It has the best fuel economy of almost any SUV on the market, and Toyotas are known for their reliability, so this car should last you well past the time your daughter graduates from college. You can also feel confident driving your kids around in this vehicle because the RAV4 received five stars in the National Traffic Safety Administration crash tests. Does that sound like a good option to you?
Prospect:	Yes, that sounds like just the kind of thing we are looking for.
You:	Great! Then why don't we go for a test drive, and you can see how well this car handles on the road?

When you demonstrate your product to the prospect, draw attention to the features, advantages, and benefits that make it a good solution for her situation. In the example above, when your prospect takes the car out on the road, you could turn on the climate control settings that allow her to adjust for a different climate zone in the front and back seats and explain that this way, she and her family can stay comfortable on long car rides. If she has her kids along, you could turn on the rear DVD player for them. These sorts of extra, customer-specific benefits help your customer to make a personal connection to the product and to see her story aligning with your solution.

During this part of the presentation, make sure to ask open-ended questions that will help you learn more about the prospect's needs and her perceptions about the product: "You said that you like to go on family camping trips; how well does your current vehicle meet your family's needs on these trips? It sounds like your current vehicle gets poor gas mileage; how does this affect your frequency of use or the length of your road trips? How would the storage capacity of the RAV4 change how you use your family vehicle? How important is the car's sound system to you?" Not only will these questions help you to uncover your customer's needs and expectations that are still below the surface, but they will also help you to anticipate potential objections as you transition to the next part of the selling process.

Step 4: Presentation

This is the reason you are here – to present your solution that will solve your prospect's problem. Since you started your presentation by asking questions, your presentation is a perfect way to incorporate the things you just learned from your prospect and incorporate them into your presentation. Yes, this means you have to be quick on your feet. That is another reason preparation is so important. It allows you to be comfortable with your presentation material yet customize it on the spot to point out specific areas that address your prospect's problem.

You are taking the prospect on a journey, so make it interesting, compelling, and relevant. Here are a few tips:

• Keep your presentation short and sweet. A shorter presentation is better. It helps you reach the point more quickly and have more time for dialogue with your prospect.
  
  
• Start with a quick review of the prospect's objectives. This technique confirms you were listening to your prospect throughout the process and that you are on the same page. This also provides the ideal platform to present your solution and why it will help your prospect reach his objectives.
  
  
• Get a reaction from your prospect throughout your presentation. Use open- and closed-ended questions to confirm that your prospect agrees with the information you are presenting and to gain new insights into how your product or service can help him. "This time savings in your production cycle can help you save at least 10 percent over your current processing. Would you like to see how this would work?" is an example of a closed-ended question that helps keep your prospect engaged. "How do you think your team would like to submit invoices like this?" is an example of an open-ended question that helps the prospect think about the product or service in use in his organization.
  
  
• Use demonstrations whenever possible. Showing how a product or service will work is far more dramatic and memorable than simply talking about it. If it's possible to demonstrate the product in person, do it. If not, have a demonstration video. Bring samples, mock-ups, or prototypes if the actual product is not yet available.
  
  
• Have fun. When your passion and enthusiasm come through, it makes a difference to your prospect. A monotone or boring presentation is neither interesting nor compelling. Show your prospect you believe in your product or service with a powerful and personal presentation.
  
  

Step 5: Close

If you have successfully delivered value to your prospect in your presentation, it is time to consider closing the sales call. This is where you obtain your customer's commitment, either to buy or to move the sales process forward. Especially if you expect your prospect to purchase at the end of the sales call, it is a good idea to use a trial closing technique to test his buying readiness. How likely is he to commit now? By testing the waters with a trial close (e.g., "On a scale of one to ten, how important would this opportunity be to you?"), you can ask your prospect for an opinion rather than asking him for a commitment, so there is less pressure for both of you.

A negative response to a trial close does not mean that your prospect will not buy or move forward with the sale; instead, it is a signal to change your strategy. A trial close often leads to objections that you will need to overcome before your prospect feels prepared to make the purchase.

If your prospect responds positively to your trial close, it is time to close the sales call by asking for a commitment. There are a variety of closing techniques you might use. The closing technique you choose will depend on the customer, the selling situation, and your goal for the end of the sales call.

Step 5: Recap

According to sales trainer and experienced salesman Tom Hopkins, all successful presentations and demonstrations have three steps: tell your audience what you're going to tell them, tell them what you're there to tell them, and tell them what you have just told them. After making your presentation and successfully closing, recap the important points of your meeting and the direction you and your customer have agreed to take from here: "I will touch base with you tomorrow once you have checked on that budget detail, and in the meantime, let me look up those part specifications for you." This will reinforce the prospect's decision and pave the way for the next steps, which may include anything from follow-up, to a next meeting, to a formal proposal, depending on the selling situation and the length of the sales cycle.

Role of the Proposal in the Sales Presentation

In many B2B sales and some larger business-to-consumer (B2C) sales, once you have presented your solution, if your prospect is interested, she will ask for a proposal – a document that proposes the specific terms of the sale, including pricing, delivery time frame, and the scope of the products or services you are offering. In relationship selling, there is no standard proposal; the proposal should include the details of a customer-specific solution and reflect what your customer values most. Even in retail situations – like car buying – while you might have a basic template for your contracts, you will adapt and renegotiate the contract depending on your customer's needs. The key is that the proposal, like your presentation, should be customized to the individual prospect.

Nitty Gritty: The Hows and Whys of a Proposal

While every proposal should be customized, there are a few common elements that good proposals share:

• an introduction
• a definition of the project or need
• a discussion of the solution and its benefits
• the costs associated with the project
• a time frame for completion of the project or project milestones
• a call to action that asks the prospect for a response
• evidence that you are qualified to perform the job.

In addition, a proposal should accomplish three things:

1. Educate the prospect about the specifics of his need and the pertinence of your solution. The proposal should showcase the value you are bringing to the individual prospect or organization; help your prospect to see why he cannot reach his objectives without the specific solution you offer.
   
   
2. Convince the prospect that you can deliver what she needs. Show her how your expertise applies to her situation by providing relevant information and presenting the proposal professionally. This is especially relevant in situations where the proposal will be reviewed by a committee that is unfamiliar to you or your company.
   
   
3. Justify the prospect's investment in clear terms. The information in the proposal should be practical and explain the problem and solution in terms that could be understood by someone outside of the industry. In addition, the proposal should include a cost-benefit and ROI analysis (discussed earlier in this chapter). This will give the prospect financial information about cost and the expected return on investment.

In some B2B situations, your customer might submit a formal request for proposal (RFP), which sets out very specific guidelines for the format of the proposal and the information it should include. Organizations usually use RFPs when requesting proposals from several potential suppliers at once. By providing a proposal structure, RFPs simplify the process of assessing risks and benefits associated with the purchase and can help your prospect decide in complex buying situations. If you receive an RFP, make sure that you stick closely to the requested formatting and respond to all the questions in the document. Many qualified salespeople with strong solutions have lost prospects because they failed to respond to everything in an RFP document.

Whether or not you are responding to a formal RFP, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Make sure most of the document discusses your prospect and his objectives and how you and your company will meet them.
• Keep the writing clear and concise. This will make it easy for your prospect to assess the proposal, demonstrating respect for his time on your part. Choose the most relevant information and present it efficiently.
• Make sure you understand how the proposal will be reviewed, who will be reviewing the proposal, what the primary selection criteria will be, and when you can expect a response.
• Use a straightforward approach to pricing that your customer can easily assess.
• Pay attention to the visual presentation of the proposal. As Kimberly Kayler, president of Constructive Communication, puts it, "Prospective clients facing the task of wading through stacks of proposals filled with thousands of words usually welcome efforts designed to make their lives easier." Graphics can add meaning and make information more accessible.
• Make it easy for the prospect to accept your services by attaching an agreement he can sign that outlines the terms of the contract.
• Do not forget to check grammar and spelling. This is an important part of credibility and professionalism.
• Do not overuse we or us. Your language should reflect a customer-centered focus.

Figure 10.8, "Template for Preparing a Strong Proposal," presents a sample of an outline to follow when preparing your proposal.

Figure 10.8 Template for Preparing a Strong Proposal

Timing: When to Deliver Your Proposal

Have you ever noticed that when you go into a high-end clothing boutique or a store that sells expensive jewelry and watches, the price tags are hidden? The thing you immediately see is the product itself, beautifully displayed. The goal is a psychological one: to get the buyer to make an emotional connection with the product before he considers the cost. As a buyer, if the cost were one of the first things you saw, you might never make that emotional connection with the product in the first place.

This is something to keep in mind in sales. Never present a proposal – or otherwise mention pricing – early on in the sales presentation, not until your prospect has fallen in love with your product. You want your prospect to pick out the car's color before she asks about payment; if she picks out the color, she has already imagined herself owning the car, and you have probably made your sale.

Of course, in a situation like car sales, you generally present the proposal on the same day as you present the product. You discuss your prospect's needs, show him the car, let him test drive it, and then tell him, "Let me talk to my manager to see if we can work out the numbers." The process is a relatively simple one. However, in complex B2B sales, your sales presentation will probably end with a request for a proposal, in which case you will agree to a future meeting when you can present your proposal to the customer. B2B proposals are generally more involved, requiring careful planning and a greater investment of time. If your prospect says, "Just send us the proposal," ask for a face-to-face meeting; you can always send them the proposal ahead of time, but following up with a meeting in-person will help you address objections, answer your prospect's questions, and demonstrate your enthusiasm for the project.

Delivering Value in Your Proposal

Until you understand the areas in which your customer places the greatest value, it is impossible to develop a proposal. For instance, say your organization offers advertising services, and you find out from your prospect that her company especially values competitive pricing on individual projects. You decide the best way to deliver value is to drop your pricing below the competitor's lowest price and to make up for the lower cost in your retainer fee – the fixed fee that your customer will pay in advance to secure your services. This way, you can deliver value in the area that is most important to your customer while still generating the profits you need to run your business. Ultimately, you want a situation where everyone wins – but it takes some work to uncover the key to making this happen.

Sometimes your customer's area of greatest value is determined by business needs, and other times the issues are emotional. For instance, if you are selling a car to a customer that wants a good value on his trade-in, recognize that he might have an emotional connection to his old car (in his mind, it has a high value), so offering a low trade-in price, even if it is combined with competitive financing options, might be enough to drive your customer away. Your customer might be willing to pay more for his new car if you can give him a good price for his trade-in.

Selling Yourself During an Interview

In many ways, gearing up for a job interview is like gearing up for a sales presentation. You cannot control the interview's outcome, but you can control the preparation that goes into the interview. Preparing beforehand, paying attention to logistics, and knowing what to expect will set you apart from your competitors and put you in the best possible position to let your personal brand shine. Here are ten steps to guide you through preparation for and follow-up after every job interview.

Ten Steps to Successful Interviews

1. Be ready to show and sell.
2. Accept and confirm the interview.
3. Research the company.
4. Rehearse your elevator pitch.
5. Prepare your answers to popular interview questions.
6. Prepare your questions and answers.
7. Prepare for the logistics.
8. Prepare your wardrobe.
9. Make a personal connection during the interview.
10. Follow up, follow up, follow up.

Step 1: Be Ready to Show and Sell

In a sales presentation, you want to make your product come to life by showcasing it in a way that gets your audience involved. You want your prospect to "smell the leather in the car." The same applies to a job interview; it's not just about your résumé. Let your interviewer see examples of the work you've done and help her to envision the work you can do for her company. You can start preparing for this now while you're still a student. Bring your portfolio to every interview.

Step 2: Accept and Confirm the Interview

When one of your target companies calls or emails to offer an interview, do not leave anything to chance. Grab a pencil and paper or your personal digital assistant (PDA) and take down the information you need on the interview day. Do you have the correct day and time written down? Do you know the name, title, and office location of the person with whom you'll be interviewing? Do you have directions to the company's location? Remember that googling the company's address on the day of your interview may not get you where you want to go. Sometimes companies have large campuses with several buildings, and Google won't be able to tell you how to find the right entrance to the right building and how to find your contact person's office once you get there. Take care of logistical details like this beforehand, so you won't have anything to slow down on the big day.

While you have a contact from the company on the phone, take the opportunity to ask whether there is a job description on the website that you can review before the interview. It's also a good idea to ask for the title of the job for which you will be interviewing and the names and titles of the people with whom you will be interviewing. You should also ask for your interviewer's phone number and email, and bring the phone number with you on the interview day if you are unavoidably delayed. Email your interviewer several days before the interview to confirm your appointment, or call her the day before. This demonstrates professionalism and ensures that everything will run smoothly.

Step 3: Research the Company and Your Interviewer

Just as you would never go into a sales presentation without carefully researching your prospect's company beforehand, you should never go to a job interview without the same preparation. Begin by reviewing the job description on the company Web site if it's available. Then spend some time on the Web site, researching the company's mission statement and description. If you know which department you might be working in, pay careful attention to any specific details you can learn about this department on the Web site. Some of the basic facts employers will expect you to know include

• How many locations and employees does the company have?
• Does this company deal in B2B or B2C services?
• How long has the company been in business? Have they recently merged or been acquired?
• Is the company expanding globally?
• Does the company have any new products or services?
• Have the CEO or others in the company been recognized for any achievements or publications recently?

Then go beyond Web site research; after all, your interviewer knows what's on his company's Web site, so don't just repeat back the information you find there; show him your motivation and professionalism by coming prepared with your own research. Use the company's product or service and talk to other people who use the product or service. Go online and read what customers have to say about the company. Go through the company's purchasing process to understand the company's workings from a customer's point of view. Read any recent press releases or press coverage about the company.

Don't forget to research your interviewer. Chances are, he has a profile on LinkedIn, so you can get some insight about him and even see what he looks like. Also, do a Google search, as you may learn about his personal hobbies and other pertinent information.

Step 4: Rehearse Your Elevator Pitch

Do not be surprised if one of the first questions your interviewer asks is something along the lines of "tell me about yourself." This is a common opening question designed to put job candidates at ease, but it can be one of the hardest questions to answer. "As part of your job-search arsenal, having a good elevator speech is a critical tool," says Alysin Foster, consultant, and managing partner at the Centre for Strategic Management. Sometimes all you get is 30 seconds to make a good impression.

Review the Selling Yourself section to be sure your elevator pitch is your strongest starting point. Then, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, so it sounds and feels natural as a response to that dreaded first question, "Tell me about yourself."

Step 5: Prepare Your Answers to Popular Interview Questions

"Tell me about yourself" is only one of several popular interview questions for which you should prepare before going into the interview. While there's no way to know which questions you'll get for sure, you can be relatively certain that your interviewer will ask at least one or two of the common standbys. Preparing answers to popular interview questions beforehand will empower you to respond with clarity and poise. "What traps many people is they think and talk simultaneously," says Bill McGowan, founder of Clarity Media Group. "It's better if you know your conversational path." These can be included in answers to just about any interview question. Practice telling your stories out loud to be concise and focused yet sound natural.

Some common questions interviewers ask and a few pointers for coming up with a response are shown below.

Step 6: Prepare Your Questions and Answers

Toward the end of the interview, every interviewer will ask you if you have any questions for him. So make sure you have three or four questions in mind. Preparing these will show your interviewer that you have thought about the position and the company. Here are a few questions to consider asking:

• What opportunities will there be beyond this position in the company?
• What would the ideal person for this position look like?
• What are some challenges facing the department in the next three months? What role will the person in this position play in tackling these challenges?
• How would you describe your company culture?
• What are the next steps in the hiring process?

After the interviewer responds, be ready to follow up by restating your strengths. For instance, if you ask what qualities the ideal candidate for this job should have, your interviewer might mention something you had not thought of mentioning earlier. You can respond by telling a relevant story about a specific time when you overcame an obstacle or helped a colleague solve a problem.

You can ask these questions even if you already know the answer. If you interview with multiple people in the organization, it is OK to ask the same question multiple times. It will help to get a variety of perspectives - and keep in mind that the questions you ask are also a way of showcasing your experience and your knowledge about the company.

Step 7: Prepare for the Logistics

Before you interview, handle the logistics just as you would for any sales presentation. Control the things that are in your power to control so that you can focus on your performance during the interview. Double-check that you know where you'll be going (including building, room, and/or suite number) and allow extra time for travel in case you get stuck in traffic. Ensure you know the position title for which you will be interviewing.

Remember to assemble your materials the night before the interview: have your work samples ready in a portfolio and print at least four extra copies of your résumé on twenty-four-pound paper. Bring these extra résumés to your portfolio. Even though your interviewer will have already received your résumé, she may not have it on hand, and you should always be prepared if you are asked to meet with anyone who was not on the original interview schedule. Arrive early, fix any wardrobe malfunctions, and get ready to give a stellar presentation.

Step 8: Prepare Your Wardrobe

Your wardrobe is part of your personal branding, so dress like a professional for your interview. This holds true even if you are interviewing in a more casual industry; you can always dress down after you get the job.

• Dress conservatively. Go for a suit or dress in dark or neutral colors (black, gray, or navy for the suit). Avoid hyper trendy clothes or clothes that otherwise make a bold statement. Women should avoid dresses with thin straps or low necklines.
  
  
• Make sure your suit or dress fits you well. If it needs to be tailored, have it done. You will use the suit in your new job, and a good fit will increase your confidence during the interview.
  
  
• Wear appropriate, professional shoes. Both men and women should wear conservative, close-toed shoes in a dark or neutral color to complement their wardrobe. Women should avoid stiletto, open-toe, or platform shoes. Men should avoid athletic shoes and make sure their shoes are polished.
  
  
• Wear appropriate accessories. Avoid flashy jewelry or watches. Carry a professional briefcase or handbag - no backpacks or messenger bags. Keep in mind that even your accessories are part of your personal brand.
  
  
• If you have tattoos or body piercings, ensure they are not visible during the interview. Make-up such as Conceal FX, available at Sephora.com will camouflage tattoos. It is acceptable for women to wear conservative earrings - but avoid anything large or distracting.
  
  
• Select appropriate hosiery. If you are wearing a suit, your socks should match your pants or shoes. Women wearing skirts and dresses should always wear pantyhose (even if you think you have a great tan).
  
  
• Make sure your clothes are ironed. Do this the night before. Lay our your clothes the night before so that you will have one less thing to worry about on the day of the interview. Wrinkled clothing and stains are considered among the biggest grooming red flags for job interviews, according to a recent survey of employers conducted by Gillette Career Advantage."
  
  
• Ensure impeccable grooming, including a conservative hairstyle and appropriately manicured fingernails. Don't forget deodorant and a breath mint; body odor or bad breath can be a turn-off in an interview. It's a good idea to stop in the restroom right before you go to the interview for one last check in the mirror (it's the perfect time to have a breath mint).

Step 9: Make a Personal Connection during the Interview

Make an effort to connect personally with your interviewer. People want to hire people they like. Smile, make eye contact, and greet him with a strong handshake. Allow yourself to relax and begin the conversation with some small talk.

Notice the surroundings in your interviewer's office. Does he have school memorabilia, family photographs, sports paraphernalia, or vacation photos? Try to discover commonalities that will allow you to make a connection. During the interview, remember to smile and maintain eye contact, and when the interview is wrapping up, make sure to close by telling the interviewer you want the job.

Step 10: Follow-Up, Follow-Up, Follow-Up

Do not wait to do this! Get in contact while you are still fresh in your interviewer's mind: write a thank-you email the same day. Besides the email, send a hand-written thank-you note on a plain, white business note card. Mail this the same day so your interviewer will receive it the next day or the day after. Very few people send handwritten "thank-you's" anymore, so this extra touch will make you stand out – and it only costs the price of postage, so why not do it?

During your interview, you should ask the interviewer for a time frame so that you will know when to expect a response. If you haven't heard back by the appointed date, follow up with a phone call. Asking your interviewer for a time frame is essential to follow up: if she isn't planning to make her hiring decision for another two weeks, calling her after one week will only be an annoyance. Be persistent, but remember there is a fine line between persistence and pestering.

When you get voice mail, you can leave a message – once – but then keep calling back until you reach your contact. Following up by phone signals that you are still interested in the job and motivated enough to pursue it. Sometimes hiring decisions get delayed because of issues that come up at the company, so not hearing back by the date you were expecting is not necessarily an indication that you weren't selected for the position.