Nothing is worse than a long, drawn-out meeting that feels like a trip to the dentist. The last place you want to find yourself is leading a snooze fest or a presentation that has people checking their watches every other minute. To be an effective salesperson, it’s important to master your presentation skills and learn to engage your audience effectively with highly targeted information that gets results in the shortest period of time.
1. Be prepared. Always be ready for the people you’re meeting. Never make anyone wait for you.
2. Sell the jockey before the horse. Every sale begins with your first impression. Demeanor matters. Be likeable, down-to-earth, and confident. Attract people with your enthusiasm, energy, and passion.
3. Say it in 30 seconds or less. Get to the point. Your prospects and potential partners have other things to do, so get them to say yes as quickly as possible. The more you say, the more you’re giving people to consider. Make it easy for them: Say what needs to be said, and not a single word more.
4. Fit the pitch to the person. Create the right presentation, not “your” presentation. Do research before any pitch to customize applicable portions and ensure that you have all of the necessary and correct information as it pertains to the person sitting across the table—or on the other side of the Internet.
5. Show, don’t tell. Whenever possible, keep your presentations interactive. Demonstrate your product or service firsthand to show off your results rather than just talk about them.
6. Make it visual. Don’t kill people with excessive text. Keep slides or videos simple and clean. Focus on creating visually appealing presentations using photos, videos, audio, and graphics with minimal body text.
7. The best presentations are conversations. Talk with prospects; never lecture them, put forth mandates, or tout ultimatums. Engage and interact with the people in the room. Always encourage discussion and questions as you go.
8. Speak plainly. You’re speaking to people, not robots. Don’t use jargon or clichés to make your points. Eliminate terms such as these from your vocabulary: innovative or innovate, out of the box, Web 2.0, next generation, original, and world’s greatest. Use the tools on gobbledygook.grader.com to keep your pitches in check and jargon-free.
9. Back up or shut up. You are asking someone else to invest his or her time and money into your product or service. Show them that you deserve it by supporting your expertise with relevant experience and real results. Avoid hypothetical arguments or unsubstantiated claims. If you can’t do or promise something, then find another way to sell your services until you can.
10. Know what you are talking about. Don’t say things to try to look smart or claim anything that sounds too good to be true to close a sale. Less is not only more—it also keeps you out of trouble. Remember, you’re accountable for every word that comes from your company. The smartest thing to do when you don’t know something is to admit that you don’t know—then figure it out within 24 hours and get back to the individual with an answer.
Now where did 2010 disappear to so fast, hm? With another new year upon us (in the best possible sense), many of us take a look back at all the good, challenging, rewarding and inspiring things we encountered over the past 12 months. And many are planning ahead, making new year resolutions. So what will be happening here at Cavalletti Communications? And what does 2011 have in store for you and me as small business owners out there, I wonder?
2010 was an eventful year on all fronts
Cavalletti Communications celebrated its 1st official birthday, our team of talented experts has been growing steadily, friendships and collaborations have been formed across the net and at networking events. I have had the honour of meeting many business owners and thought leaders who shared their expertise and knowledge. You, my clients and connections have been kind and generous in passing on referrals to me, and thus help my business grow. Thank you!
Running an expanding business has also thrown challenges my way, of course: How do you do it all in only so many hours in the day? When do I find the time to put all those fantastic (I think) ideas into practice? Surely I can do that myself? We have to learn the hard way at times, and so have I here and there.
On a personal note, 2010 saw me getting married and meet the huge gaggle of what is now my new, significantly larger (but equally lovingly boisterous and fun) family. So, 2010 certainly held a lot of changes for me, on all fronts.
Starting off a successful 2011
So far so good: January of this new year is already over, and has been a good month for most of us. Like many of you, I have made plans and set goals on various fronts. On where, how and when to grow my business. And personal ones (hello, fitness & balance!).
2010 will see a new range of Cavalletti Communications writing & marketing services developed. I am already in exciting conversations with a number of very talented people regarding affiliations and working with us. And Cavalletti Communications will get another boost via our about-to-be-signed-off membership at the Artisans chapter of BNI.
But as business owners we also are people. And as people we need personal challenges – and time to relax. I was lucky to be able to combine the two on a recent camping trip in the beautiful Snowy River and Snowy Mountains regions. If you like a glimpse of the stunning view from Australia’s highest peak, Mt Kosciuszko, below is a little video for you. I scaled my first mountain for 2011. : )
So, what are your challenges and inspirations for 2011?
Looking forward to reading your take on the new year!
What’s your favourite blog?
Which websites do you enjoy reading?
Seen an ad lately that stayed with you for a long while?
Chances are, their writers were saying something that mattered. To you.
They appealed to you because you could find out quickly what the writer was trying to say. And they were relevant, not just waffling on. They may have been funny, entertaining, educational, silly, serious, or even pure marketing.
What they have in common is good writing – with you, the reader in mind. They “got” what you need, what you were looking for. Rather than just going on about themselves, without saying anything that matters to you, their reader/client/prospect/fan. People and companies can get very wrapped up in their own jargon, their way of talking about their services and products, because they are just too close to the topic they write about. It’s their baby, after all.
Getting a professional copywriter like myself involved, does not mean you loose control of what’s written. A copywriter or editor helps you say what you want and need to say – but in a way that actually gets your message across.
Seth Godin, marketing “guru” extraordinaire, has this example of copywriting gone haywire on his blog:
“The firm will remain competitive in the constantly changing market for defense legal services by creating and implementing innovative and effective methods of providing cost-effective, quality representation and services for our clients.”
Now, I am sure you’ll agree: there are better ways of saying whatever it was the writer intended to communicate.
Remember: Communication is what’s received.
Now… fire away & let me know your thoughts on this topic.
Looking forward to hearing what you have to say.
Wow! Some information I gather, read, like, digest and get (very) excited about is just too spot-on to even try to change! So, here is the text of marketing “guru” Seth Godin’s latest blog offering – shamelessly repeated in its entirety.
He poses some very important questions that are worth considering before you start any new project, job, venture or adventure. I hope you will find his writing and ideas as useful and thought-provoking as I do. Enjoy!
If you’re starting out as an entrepreneur or a freelancer or a project manager, the most important choice you’ll make is: what to do?
As in the answer to the question, “what do you do?”
Some questions to help you get started:
Who are you trying to please?
Are you trying to make a living, make a difference, or leave a legacy?
How will the world be different when you’ve succeeded?
Is it more important to add new customers or to increase your interactions with existing ones?
Do you want a team? How big? (I know, that’s two questions)
Would you rather have an open-ended project that’s never done, or one where you hit natural end points? (How high is high enough?)
Are you prepared to actively sell your stuff, or are you expecting that buyers will walk in the door and ask for it?
Which: to invent a category or to be just like Bob/Sue, but better?
If you take someone else’s investment, are you prepared to sell out to pay it back?
Are you done personally growing, or is this project going to force you to change and develop yourself?
Choose: teach and lead and challenge your customers, or do what they ask…
How long can you wait before it feels as though you’re succeeding?
Is perfect important? (Do you feel the need to fail privately, not in public?)
Do you want your customers to know each other (a tribe) or is it better they be anonymous and separate?
How close to failure, wipe out and humiliation are you willing to fly? (And while we’re on the topic, how open to criticism are you willing to be?)
What does busy look like?
In my experience, people skip all of these questions and ask instead: “What can I do that will be sure to work?” The problem, of course, is that there is no sure, and even worse, that you and I have no agreement at all on what it means for something to work.
