Not too long ago we featured some presentation pratfalls from sales trainer Daniel Adams - luckily he came right back with fixes that were realistic and do-able. Today he's back with more fixes to get you feeling confident - and get them to say yes!
No Customization
During my workshops one of my client's key take-aways is that, "as of today, There Are No More Standard Presentations!" This is key for several reasons. First, this best practice provides push-back to the customer who questions why each key attendee must be contacted prior to the presentation. You may have heard a customer say, for instance, "Why do you have to talk with our key executives? Can't you just come in a give us your standard presentation? After all, your competitor did." A Superstar responds: "I'm glad that the other vendor was able to present to you. At our company we do not have any standard presentations. Each one of our presentations is highly customized based upon the client's current and future needs. Our clients appreciate this approach because it insures that we present only what is essential to them and insures that we respect their time."
Weak Eye Contact
No audience member wants to be lectured. If they wanted you to read material, they could accept your literature and skip the presentation. Instead, they want you to connect with them. Make a point to connect with the eyes of the audience with each key point you are delivering.
Sticky Floor Syndrome
There is a saying in presentation skills: "Get out of the phone booth." That simply means, don't glue your feet to the floor and limit natural gestures as if you are stuck in a phone booth. Unless you are making a speech behind a podium to a large crowd you will appear much more relaxed and approachable if you move around naturally. Keep in mind that the key area for you to deliver your presentation is the LEFT side of the screen.
Poor Ending
Don't end your presentation on a flat note. Take a cue from the great singers who end on a high note delivered with passion. With respect to our memory there is the rule of primacy and recency. It states that we remember the first and last thing we heard. Of the two, we remember the last words the most.
No Follow Up or Thank You Note
Every attendee must receive a thank you note from you. The note will summarize the top 3 to 5 Unique Competitive Advantages of your offering relative to your client's specific need. It will conclude with a listing of the Next Step - Action Items and Owners.
Forgetting Your Number One Presentation Goal
Many reps get so caught up in the content of an upcoming presentation that they lose sight of the overall goal, which is to establish or improve your level of TRUST. A presentation provides an excellent opportunity for your customer to compare your diligence and ability to consult relative to that of your competition.
Daniel Adams, author of Building Trust, Growing Sales, and creator of Trust Triangle Selling helps corporations improve their profits by optimizing the performance of their sales teams. He is a frequent and popular speaker at national sales meetings, workshops and association events. Visit www.trusttriangleselling.com
Looking for a way to add interest to your presentation that's meaningful and shows your attention to detail? Customized presentation materials like folders, binders, index tabs and pocket folders from Binders.com may be just what you're looking for! Check out their excellent prices and quality materials here.
Showing posts with label Daniel Adams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daniel Adams. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Presentation Mistakes That Can Cost You
You've done a lot of work to get to the point where you can make a presentation to a new prospect - so don't ruin all your hard work with a little presentation mistake that's easily avoidable. Today sales trainer Dan Adams shares some of the biggest presentation mistakes with us - and tells you what to do to avoid them.
Mediocre First Impression
Jack Welch said: "Whenever I see a young man make a great presentation, I never forget that young man. Unfortunately the opposite is also true." You will never get another chance to make a great first impression. Your first impression is key to a great presentation. Consider the very first few slides you intend to show your client. Do they convey that you have done your homework and that you have created a highly customized presentation? Or, do they smell like the same old "standard" presentation you have used over and over again?
No Presentation Goal
Every meeting and every presentation must have a goal or objective. Your presentation's goal should be clearly communicated at the beginning of the meeting to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Poor Visual Aids: Less Is More
Dump the cartoons, and remember that the primary goal of the slides is to remind you what points you want to make to your client. The 4 X 4 rule of thumb works great. Never use more than 4 bullets per slide and never more than 4 words per bullet. Avoid paragraphs of data!
Too Long: Less Is More
In general, most people don't want to sit through a very long presentation; they get bored. If I learn that my competition has taken 2 hours to bore my client with their presentation I might open my presentation with: "I know you are very busy. Out of respect for your time I plan to take 30 minutes to share the information you requested. If any of you would like me to stay longer that's fine, we can delve deeper as needed."
Allowing "Derailments"
A presentation may get "derailed" if you permit a question or comment to take you in a direction that is not in your mutual best interests. Questions and comments are fine as long as they are controlled and take you in a direction that you find acceptable. Otherwise respond with: "Judy, that's a great question, thanks for bringing it to my attention. If you can hang on to that I'm planning on addressing that specific issue at the end of our time together."
No Audience Involvement
Without audience involvement you will not know if you have connected with them. You will not know if they understand your points. Stop occasionally and ask the audience members questions such as, "Does that point capture how your department may benefit from ABC?" Or, "Give me your opinion on our approach to ABC". Once you pause for reinforcement the audience becomes more receptive to your effort to satisfy their objectives. Just be sure that you maintain a balance between audience involvement and derailment.
Daniel Adams, author of Building Trust, Growing Sales, and creator of Trust Triangle Selling helps corporations improve their profits by optimizing the performance of their sales teams. He is a frequent and popular speaker at national sales meetings, workshops and association events. Visit www.trusttriangleselling.com
Looking for a way to add interest to your presentation that's meaningful and shows your attention to detail? Customized presentation materials like folders, binders, index tabs and pocket folders from Binders.com may be just what you're looking for! Check out their excellent prices and quality materials here.
Mediocre First Impression
Jack Welch said: "Whenever I see a young man make a great presentation, I never forget that young man. Unfortunately the opposite is also true." You will never get another chance to make a great first impression. Your first impression is key to a great presentation. Consider the very first few slides you intend to show your client. Do they convey that you have done your homework and that you have created a highly customized presentation? Or, do they smell like the same old "standard" presentation you have used over and over again?
No Presentation Goal
Every meeting and every presentation must have a goal or objective. Your presentation's goal should be clearly communicated at the beginning of the meeting to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Poor Visual Aids: Less Is More
Dump the cartoons, and remember that the primary goal of the slides is to remind you what points you want to make to your client. The 4 X 4 rule of thumb works great. Never use more than 4 bullets per slide and never more than 4 words per bullet. Avoid paragraphs of data!
Too Long: Less Is More
In general, most people don't want to sit through a very long presentation; they get bored. If I learn that my competition has taken 2 hours to bore my client with their presentation I might open my presentation with: "I know you are very busy. Out of respect for your time I plan to take 30 minutes to share the information you requested. If any of you would like me to stay longer that's fine, we can delve deeper as needed."
Allowing "Derailments"
A presentation may get "derailed" if you permit a question or comment to take you in a direction that is not in your mutual best interests. Questions and comments are fine as long as they are controlled and take you in a direction that you find acceptable. Otherwise respond with: "Judy, that's a great question, thanks for bringing it to my attention. If you can hang on to that I'm planning on addressing that specific issue at the end of our time together."
No Audience Involvement
Without audience involvement you will not know if you have connected with them. You will not know if they understand your points. Stop occasionally and ask the audience members questions such as, "Does that point capture how your department may benefit from ABC?" Or, "Give me your opinion on our approach to ABC". Once you pause for reinforcement the audience becomes more receptive to your effort to satisfy their objectives. Just be sure that you maintain a balance between audience involvement and derailment.
Daniel Adams, author of Building Trust, Growing Sales, and creator of Trust Triangle Selling helps corporations improve their profits by optimizing the performance of their sales teams. He is a frequent and popular speaker at national sales meetings, workshops and association events. Visit www.trusttriangleselling.com
Looking for a way to add interest to your presentation that's meaningful and shows your attention to detail? Customized presentation materials like folders, binders, index tabs and pocket folders from Binders.com may be just what you're looking for! Check out their excellent prices and quality materials here.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Writing a "Close Plan Letter"
You've just gotten a verbal agreement for the sale - congratulations! But as we all know, a lot can happen between the verbal agreement and the signing of the contract. That's why it's essential you take control and let your client know the schedule ahead of time. Sales trainer Dan Adams has a great example of a letter he sends at this time - adapt it to fit your own situation, and you'll be less likely to lose the sale after the verbal agreement.
"Let's say the customer gives you a verbal agreement to purchase your product," says Adams. "Even with that in place, events can easily occur that could jeopardize your sale. A close plan letter is an effective way to manage the unpredictability of this time. It outlines the steps necessary to take the customer from her verbal commitment to the issuing of a formal, contingent-free purchase order and down payment."
"The superstar uses the letter to micro-manage the steps to complete the process, limit any surprises, and hasten the sale," explains Adams. "The close plan letter's purpose is to prevent surprises in the run-up to the final purchase order."
Here is a suggestion for a basic close plan letter:
July 31, 200X
Mr. Mike Jackson
Senior VP of Administrative Services
ABC Healthcare Systems
Chicago, IL 60603
Dear Mike:
Thank you for meeting with me today to discuss the _________ Project.
This note serves as a summary of the action items and owners required to finalize the paperwork and approvals by ___ . This is the date which will allow us to keep on schedule for your _____ Department's _______ (Critical Event).
·Department Approval---Owned by Mike by July 29th
·Board Approval--Owned by John by Aug 12
·Legal Approval & Signatures--Owned by Mike by Aug 21
·Procurement Signatures--Owned by Mike by Aug 31st.
I will call Jill on Friday to set up a meeting for a review of our status.
Sincerely,
Dan
Daniel Adams, author of Building Trust, Growing Sales, and creator of Trust Triangle Selling helps corporations improve their profits by optimizing the performance of their sales teams. He is a frequent and popular speaker at national sales meetings, workshops and association events. Visit www.trusttriangleselling.com.
"Let's say the customer gives you a verbal agreement to purchase your product," says Adams. "Even with that in place, events can easily occur that could jeopardize your sale. A close plan letter is an effective way to manage the unpredictability of this time. It outlines the steps necessary to take the customer from her verbal commitment to the issuing of a formal, contingent-free purchase order and down payment."
"The superstar uses the letter to micro-manage the steps to complete the process, limit any surprises, and hasten the sale," explains Adams. "The close plan letter's purpose is to prevent surprises in the run-up to the final purchase order."
Here is a suggestion for a basic close plan letter:
July 31, 200X
Mr. Mike Jackson
Senior VP of Administrative Services
ABC Healthcare Systems
Chicago, IL 60603
Dear Mike:
Thank you for meeting with me today to discuss the _________ Project.
This note serves as a summary of the action items and owners required to finalize the paperwork and approvals by ___ . This is the date which will allow us to keep on schedule for your _____ Department's _______ (Critical Event).
·Department Approval---Owned by Mike by July 29th
·Board Approval--Owned by John by Aug 12
·Legal Approval & Signatures--Owned by Mike by Aug 21
·Procurement Signatures--Owned by Mike by Aug 31st.
I will call Jill on Friday to set up a meeting for a review of our status.
Sincerely,
Dan
Daniel Adams, author of Building Trust, Growing Sales, and creator of Trust Triangle Selling helps corporations improve their profits by optimizing the performance of their sales teams. He is a frequent and popular speaker at national sales meetings, workshops and association events. Visit www.trusttriangleselling.com.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Gaining Trust
Jean Baudrillard said, "Information can tell us everything. It has all the answers."
If you're looking to gain trust with your clients, information is a great way to do it. According to sales trainer Daniel Adams, "You can gain credibility and show concern by helping customers with non-solution-specific information that helps them run their business better or avoid pains."
In addition to using productivity analyses, industry benchmarking data, and your customer's own financial statements to gather information about your client and their industry, Adams also suggests using customer reference stories to give your clients information about you. Here he relays the perfect way to tell a customer reference story:
How to Tell a Great Customer Reference Story
References are another tool for gaining trust. If you can demonstrate benefits enjoyed by a specific customer, you can convincingly illustrate proven achievements with the use of your solutions.
Does your company have success stories to share? Typically these are available through your company's marketing team. If not, no whining! Simply create them yourself. Here's the best format for communicating success stories to your customers. Highlight four things: the customer, the challenge, the solution, and the results.
Here's an example:
The Customer:
ABC Corp. A large insurance company in the Midwest.
The Challenge:
The company had significant challenges with costs rising faster than revenue.
The Solution:
Implement enterprise wide software solution to automate the reporting and management of all employee purchases and expenditures.
The Result:
A significant savings due to the elimination of rogue spending and off-contract buying. Estimated year one savings: $5.4 million.
Daniel Adams, author of Building Trust, Growing Sales, and creator of Trust Triangle Selling(tm) helps corporations improve their profits by optimizing the performance of their sales teams. He is a frequent and popular speaker at national sales meetings, workshops and association events. Visit www.trusttriangleselling.com.
If you're looking to gain trust with your clients, information is a great way to do it. According to sales trainer Daniel Adams, "You can gain credibility and show concern by helping customers with non-solution-specific information that helps them run their business better or avoid pains."
In addition to using productivity analyses, industry benchmarking data, and your customer's own financial statements to gather information about your client and their industry, Adams also suggests using customer reference stories to give your clients information about you. Here he relays the perfect way to tell a customer reference story:
How to Tell a Great Customer Reference Story
References are another tool for gaining trust. If you can demonstrate benefits enjoyed by a specific customer, you can convincingly illustrate proven achievements with the use of your solutions.
Does your company have success stories to share? Typically these are available through your company's marketing team. If not, no whining! Simply create them yourself. Here's the best format for communicating success stories to your customers. Highlight four things: the customer, the challenge, the solution, and the results.
Here's an example:
The Customer:
ABC Corp. A large insurance company in the Midwest.
The Challenge:
The company had significant challenges with costs rising faster than revenue.
The Solution:
Implement enterprise wide software solution to automate the reporting and management of all employee purchases and expenditures.
The Result:
A significant savings due to the elimination of rogue spending and off-contract buying. Estimated year one savings: $5.4 million.
Daniel Adams, author of Building Trust, Growing Sales, and creator of Trust Triangle Selling(tm) helps corporations improve their profits by optimizing the performance of their sales teams. He is a frequent and popular speaker at national sales meetings, workshops and association events. Visit www.trusttriangleselling.com.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Be My Perfect Cash Cow (B.M.P.C.C.)
Sales trainer Dan Adams came up with this fun acronym as an account qualification tool. "It is a very simple reminder of the 5 key areas you must understand early in your selling process," says Adams. "When qualifying an opportunity, you need to ask questions which will provide valuable information to you regarding 5 key topic areas." Let's take a deeper look at each one:
B: What is the customer's BUDGET?
You must know how the customer will obtain the necessary funds to make this acquisition. Is the project budgeted? If it is not budgeted how can you be of assistance in the budgeting process? If it is already budgeted, is it approved? What is the budget? When does the budget expire? If the customer will purchase "off budget" what is the process that must occur? Will it be financed? Is it important to keep this acquisition off the balance sheet?
M: Who is the key decision MAKER?
Who is responsible for making the final decision? If it is a "group" decision, who are the group members and who has the power in the group? How have similar decisions in the past been made? Who will influence this decision? Who are the gatekeepers? Who are the users? Who will evaluate the decision from a technical standpoint? Do I have an internal coach? Who has the final authority to sign off on an investment of this size?
P: What is the customer's buying PROCESS?
You understand your own company's selling process; you must know that to keep your job. In order to be a true sales superstar, you must know your customer's buying process! You must know your client's compelling event. That is, exactly why, and by what date your customer must make this investment. If she does not have a compelling event, you must assist her in creating one.
C: Who are your COMPETITORS?
Who are the vendors under consideration by your customer? You must also discover the solutions your competitors are offering as well as the strategies they are using to compete against you.
C: What are your customer's decision-making CRITERIA?
You must know what is important to your customer. What are her key buying criteria? Once you have that information you then must determine the "rack and stack", or order of the criteria from most important to least important.
Dan Adams is an award-winning professional speaker, author, and consultant who draws upon more than 25 years of experience in the field of sales and marketing. Learn more at www.trusttriangleselling.com
B: What is the customer's BUDGET?
You must know how the customer will obtain the necessary funds to make this acquisition. Is the project budgeted? If it is not budgeted how can you be of assistance in the budgeting process? If it is already budgeted, is it approved? What is the budget? When does the budget expire? If the customer will purchase "off budget" what is the process that must occur? Will it be financed? Is it important to keep this acquisition off the balance sheet?
M: Who is the key decision MAKER?
Who is responsible for making the final decision? If it is a "group" decision, who are the group members and who has the power in the group? How have similar decisions in the past been made? Who will influence this decision? Who are the gatekeepers? Who are the users? Who will evaluate the decision from a technical standpoint? Do I have an internal coach? Who has the final authority to sign off on an investment of this size?
P: What is the customer's buying PROCESS?
You understand your own company's selling process; you must know that to keep your job. In order to be a true sales superstar, you must know your customer's buying process! You must know your client's compelling event. That is, exactly why, and by what date your customer must make this investment. If she does not have a compelling event, you must assist her in creating one.
C: Who are your COMPETITORS?
Who are the vendors under consideration by your customer? You must also discover the solutions your competitors are offering as well as the strategies they are using to compete against you.
C: What are your customer's decision-making CRITERIA?
You must know what is important to your customer. What are her key buying criteria? Once you have that information you then must determine the "rack and stack", or order of the criteria from most important to least important.
Dan Adams is an award-winning professional speaker, author, and consultant who draws upon more than 25 years of experience in the field of sales and marketing. Learn more at www.trusttriangleselling.com
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Defining Relationships
As you've probably experienced, personal relationships can be, well - complicated. Early on, you question every little thing: What is she thinking? Do they like me? Does he mean what he says?
Business relationships generate similar questions, like, how do you know if your relationship with your client is really strong? Sales trainer Dan Adams has some ideas to help you develop an appropriate and professionally trusting connection.
"Gain the customer's trust by showing the three Cs: Credibility, Concern, and just a bit of Competence," says Adams. "The consequence of demonstrating these three traits with your customer will be trust - confidence on the part of your customer that you have her best interests in mind." Then use these ten questions to determine the strength of the relationship:
1. Do your customers routinely take your call or return your calls promptly?
2. Do you enjoy a friendly and cooperative relationship with the customers' administrators?
3. Do you know your customers' biggest challenges, personally and professionally?
4. Do you know your customers' top three business priorities this fiscal year?
5. Are you aware of the difficult circumstances and trends facing your customers'
industry?
6. Do you know who their top five clients are?
7. Do you understand the needs of those top five clients?
8. Do your customers consider you a true problem solver or a problem avoider?
9. Do you frequently bring helpful best practices to the attention of your customers?
10. Do you exchange new business with one another?
If you can answer yes to all of these questions, it's likely you've got a very strong relationship with your client. If not, continue to build that trusting relationship. To do this, Adams suggests you follow the Modified Golden Rule: "Treat customers the way they would like to be treated."
Dan Adams is an award-winning professional speaker, author, and consultant. Having honed his sales skills selling multimillion dollar solutions for Fortune 500 and high technology companies, Dan founded a sales consulting company, Adams & Associates, utilizing his own strategic selling principles embodied in his program Trust Triangle Selling. Learn more at www.trusttriangleselling.com
Business relationships generate similar questions, like, how do you know if your relationship with your client is really strong? Sales trainer Dan Adams has some ideas to help you develop an appropriate and professionally trusting connection.
"Gain the customer's trust by showing the three Cs: Credibility, Concern, and just a bit of Competence," says Adams. "The consequence of demonstrating these three traits with your customer will be trust - confidence on the part of your customer that you have her best interests in mind." Then use these ten questions to determine the strength of the relationship:
1. Do your customers routinely take your call or return your calls promptly?
2. Do you enjoy a friendly and cooperative relationship with the customers' administrators?
3. Do you know your customers' biggest challenges, personally and professionally?
4. Do you know your customers' top three business priorities this fiscal year?
5. Are you aware of the difficult circumstances and trends facing your customers'
industry?
6. Do you know who their top five clients are?
7. Do you understand the needs of those top five clients?
8. Do your customers consider you a true problem solver or a problem avoider?
9. Do you frequently bring helpful best practices to the attention of your customers?
10. Do you exchange new business with one another?
If you can answer yes to all of these questions, it's likely you've got a very strong relationship with your client. If not, continue to build that trusting relationship. To do this, Adams suggests you follow the Modified Golden Rule: "Treat customers the way they would like to be treated."
Dan Adams is an award-winning professional speaker, author, and consultant. Having honed his sales skills selling multimillion dollar solutions for Fortune 500 and high technology companies, Dan founded a sales consulting company, Adams & Associates, utilizing his own strategic selling principles embodied in his program Trust Triangle Selling. Learn more at www.trusttriangleselling.com
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
C.O.W. Questioning Strategy
"There's no such thing as a stupid question."
How many times did your parents and teachers tell you that growing up?
I absolutely believe in the importance of questions - especially when you don't understand something - but there's a time and a place for everything. Peppering a busy CEO with questions while they're rushing out the door for a meeting? Not a good idea. Asking questions during a presentation to feel out what the CEO wants from your solution? Good idea.
"Insightful, well-researched, finely tuned questions can establish your credibility and earn the customer's trust," agrees sales trainer Daniel Adams. "The goal is to listen to the customer instead of launching into reasons why the customer should buy. Great questioning - which provides key information needed to qualify, set strategy, and gain credibility - requires research, preparation and great listening skills."
"Questions can also kill - if they're the wrong ones or at the wrong time," says Adams. "Asking too many questions, or asking questions that reveal you have not researched the company can decrease your credibility. Only ask questions that demonstrate you have done your homework and you know something about the customer's business."
For these reasons, Adams has put together the C.O.W. questioning strategy to help you remember the best way to use questions to further the sale:
C - questions about their current situation (e.g., "What do you like about your current situation? What do you dislike?)
O - questions about their optimal situation (e.g., "In a perfect world, if you could design your own solution for your needs and challenges with unlimited funds, what would that situation look like?")
W - questions about the win that the proposed solution would provide for the corporation (e.g., "How does your company or department win if the optimal state is realized?") or for the individual customer (e.g., "Assuming that these needs and challenges are solved, how would things change for you personally?")
"These personal impact questions are the most powerful;" says Adams, "they provide valuable insights about the customer that can be continually referenced and leveraged throughout the sales process."
"Simply by showing that you have done your homework and by asking powerful and insightful questions, you will begin to understand your customer's world and gain her confidence. You are well on your way to establishing the one crucial element - TRUST!"
Daniel Adams, author of Building Trust, Growing Sales, and creator of Trust Triangle Selling, helps corporations improve their profits by optimizing the performance of their sales teams. He is a frequent and popular speaker at national sales meetings, workshops and association events. To learn more, visit Daniel's website at www.trusttriangleselling.com
How many times did your parents and teachers tell you that growing up?
I absolutely believe in the importance of questions - especially when you don't understand something - but there's a time and a place for everything. Peppering a busy CEO with questions while they're rushing out the door for a meeting? Not a good idea. Asking questions during a presentation to feel out what the CEO wants from your solution? Good idea.
"Insightful, well-researched, finely tuned questions can establish your credibility and earn the customer's trust," agrees sales trainer Daniel Adams. "The goal is to listen to the customer instead of launching into reasons why the customer should buy. Great questioning - which provides key information needed to qualify, set strategy, and gain credibility - requires research, preparation and great listening skills."
"Questions can also kill - if they're the wrong ones or at the wrong time," says Adams. "Asking too many questions, or asking questions that reveal you have not researched the company can decrease your credibility. Only ask questions that demonstrate you have done your homework and you know something about the customer's business."
For these reasons, Adams has put together the C.O.W. questioning strategy to help you remember the best way to use questions to further the sale:
C - questions about their current situation (e.g., "What do you like about your current situation? What do you dislike?)
O - questions about their optimal situation (e.g., "In a perfect world, if you could design your own solution for your needs and challenges with unlimited funds, what would that situation look like?")
W - questions about the win that the proposed solution would provide for the corporation (e.g., "How does your company or department win if the optimal state is realized?") or for the individual customer (e.g., "Assuming that these needs and challenges are solved, how would things change for you personally?")
"These personal impact questions are the most powerful;" says Adams, "they provide valuable insights about the customer that can be continually referenced and leveraged throughout the sales process."
"Simply by showing that you have done your homework and by asking powerful and insightful questions, you will begin to understand your customer's world and gain her confidence. You are well on your way to establishing the one crucial element - TRUST!"
Daniel Adams, author of Building Trust, Growing Sales, and creator of Trust Triangle Selling, helps corporations improve their profits by optimizing the performance of their sales teams. He is a frequent and popular speaker at national sales meetings, workshops and association events. To learn more, visit Daniel's website at www.trusttriangleselling.com
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