Make The Pitch Stand Out
WRITTEN April 25, 2019
Author: John Epstein
Where Does It All Go Wrong?!
We have all sat in on many sales presentations, and both internally or by an outside solution provider. But it is so obvious when it is just PowerPoint slides cut and pasted from a standard pitch deck with the client logo slapped on the front. And even worse, not even remotely customized for the pitch.
WAIT, WHAT?!
To make matters worse, often the presenters are uninspiring, and the content not thought-provoking. After all of that, the presenters often stumble at the finish line instead of securing the commitment of their audience. They did not know how to make the presentation stand out.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
In our Sales Classes we work towards building a relationship, where the presenter becomes more of a consultant than just a sales rep. They are there as the expert to provide a solution to an existing problem or need, and the presentation will ultimately demonstrate why.
Using A Consultative Selling Process:
- Make the meeting happen. Securing meetings with influencers and decision makers is time-consuming and frustrating. There are a lot of people vying for their attention. Do your research to find that “something extra” to pique their interest enough to clear time on a busy calendar.
- Perform due diligence. Learn about the company, products, stakeholders, competitors and marketplace so that you are smarter and better prepared than the competition. “Doing the homework” pays big dividends with insightful questions, business-focused conversations, and clients recognizing early-on that you are more than just a face for a product or solution.
- Get a total view of a client’s situation and needs:
- the current environment and their desired objectives;
- existing roadblocks;
- the potential impact of doing nothing or of not achieving objectives; and
- the issues driving the client’s buying decision.
- Prepare client-focused, mutually agreed-upon agendas. Nothing is more frustrating to time-starved executives than solution providers who do not prepare. But they will be pleased with an efficient, productive meeting where they gain new knowledge and perspectives.
- Influence the client’s viewpoint. Understand the competitive solutions and showcase your solution’s unique advantages aligned with the client’s business issues. Strengthen your position above the alternative solutions without denigrating the competition.
- Address concerns and objections so that the buying process continues moving forward. Sometimes, not every client issue will be thoroughly resolved when closing a deal, but how you handle the issue will be a big impact on success rate.
Do The Work
It takes a lot of time, energy and effort to be a finalist who delivers a solution presentation to a client. Sadly, it is at this point, the last step in the long consultative selling process, that many fail.
Why? Because the extra effort needed to develop and deliver an engaging, tightly-focused and persuasive solution presentations is not given, or even worse, may be an afterthought.
Prepare for your meetings thoroughly. Only when you truly know their needs, and focus on the solutions, will you make the presentation and make the pitch stand out to the client.
Check out the Improving Communications Sales Presentation Skills Class and see if you can stand above the competition.
Other IC Blogs:
A Pre-Presentation Pep Talk
Avoiding Death By PowerPoint
A Magic Number for Presenters – Speech Key Points
Other Resources:
5 Killer Sales Presentation Techniques to Help You Close the Sale
How to give a Fail-Proof Presentation that Will Close Any Sale
Top Tips for Effective Presentations
Image courtesy of HackNY.org on Flickr