I’ve been spending a lot of time lately training broadcast sellers on the art of a good presentation – maybe too much time. My dream is to not lose sight of the goal – to solve the customer’s marketing/advertising problem and to continue to provide resources and solutions to that customer.
Every interaction with that customer is a presentation – a phone conversation, an email, an outing at a ballgame, or a meeting with their Board of Directors. They are all opportunities to gain momentum.
The very best presentations are no presentations at all. They are conversations or dialogues. The customer can easily participate, ask questions, get the information they need and make a decision. There’s no reading involved, no paper, no power point, nothing but you and her – just equals sharing information in a non-threatening atmosphere. Purely one to one.
If you must have something in writing, the next best presentation is a brief memo – one the customer can read faster than you can present! Quick, clear, easy and uncomplicated. If they are interested they will respond so make sure it is engaging and written from their point of view. I call this “because marketing” which means “this is good for you because…”
Sometimes a presentation requires more than a memo. How about doing one with no bullets, no text? How about just pictures or stories to make your points? Hard on the presenter? You bet! You REALLY have to know your stuff!! But easy on the audience and we must FOCUS ON CUSTOMER SUCCESS. They listen to you – YOU become the presentation, YOU become the focal point, YOU are able to influence their mind, YOU become their solution.
Yes, you are “presenting” all day long. Taking up someone’s time is a privilege. If you are to change or influence someone’s mind make sure your presentations honor that privilege.
Happy Holidays to all and a joyous and prosperous 2010. I am grateful for your follow.
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You’re right on, Margie. We often get caught in the “pitch,” and don’t always appreciate the time people make available to us.
I especially like your point about bullet-less memos and finding other ways to tell stories. We think that maybe the biggest challenge for business people in social media: telling better stories. It’s an absolute must in the presentation world.
Cheers!
Margie — great points here. Too often legacy sales staffs in broadcast and print are “pitching product” rather than listening to customer needs. How many times do we heard them doing that! They want a one-size-fits-all presentation they can just email out when they get a call….just too busy to talk face to face to the client! That would make another great item for you…how often do our sales folks take short cuts and not do the face to face call.
[...] • EVERY contact is professional and respectful of their time (their time is a privilege) [...]