Ten Key Ingredients

To help you differentiate yourself and neutralize the competition, I offer ten key ingredients of an effective, creative presentation. They apply whether you are presenting to an individual, a committee, or a group.

Enjoy Yourself. Enjoy what you are doing. Selling is fun, not a battle of wits between customer and salesperson, so loosen up and enjoy. Believe in yourself and what you are selling, supported by the right mental attitude. Add your own style of enthusiasm and be somewhat entertaining as well as informative. After all, you are on stage. Communicate your belief in yourself and your product or service by exhibiting sincere enthusiasm. Involve your customer when and if appropriate. I tell my customers that I sell entertrainment. At my seminars you're going to learn something but you will have fun in the process. When was the last time you learned something that was boring or presented in lackluster fashion? You probably haven't—boredom stifles learning. Rekindle your enthusiasm if necessary and present with gusto.

Another aspect of enjoying yourself is looking good, feeling good. I often suggest the most important presentation of the day is to yourself in the mirror. You must be confident of your appearance prior to a confident delivery. People love to visualize and the visual sense is very, very powerful. In fact, it is the visual impression that makes the greatest impact. Remember, people buy you with their eyes within 10 seconds. As a result, our verbal content can be virtually smothered by the vocal and visual components.

Research suggests that the believability of a message is evaluated on three elements; 7 percent verbal, 38 percent vocal, and 55 percent visual. [2] "What you do speaks so loud I can't hear what you say." Great words spoken by Ralph Emerson.

The fun of it all begins with the process of looking and feeling good. Don your best outfit, fill your lungs with confidence, and within ten seconds your audience will be impressed with your presentation.

Prepare and prepare some more. Preparation is key to a smooth, fluid presentation. Any good seminar on presentation skills will tell you, "Don't try to eliminate the butterflies, simply get them to fly in formation." Having the butterflies is a form of positive energy that will help you get started and make a smooth transition into the body of your presentation. Here is a guideline that I use: Every five minutes of presentation time requires one hour of preparation time. Thus, a 15-minute presentation requires a minimum of three hours preparation. Trust me, this formula works. As one anonymous quote suggests, "Every time you open your mouth, your mind is on parade." Preparation will ensure your parade looks sharp, sounds sharp, and dazzles your audience. Make it fresh, not canned.

Another suggestion is to rehearse your presentation by delivering it aloud to a wall. Pick a quiet place, perhaps at home, stand back from a wall then go through your presentation, at least the verbal part. If you do it a couple of times to the wall, you'll be amazed how easy it is when you do it live.

As a professional keynote speaker, I spend days preparing for a half-day keynote. Here is another guideline: Be cognizant of when you prepare. Don't use valuable selling hours to do your homework.

Know your customer's style type. Consider how you might design your presentation to appeal to different style types. A presentation to a Director should be totally different than to a Socializer or a Thinker. Each style has different expectations that cannot be ignored.

Socializer. Must be fun, entertaining, and stimulating. Sell sizzle more than steak. Make your presentation colorful and upbeat, showing how your product or service will enhance your customer's status and visibility.

Director. Must be short, to the point, businesslike, outlining the main points. Time will be limited so don't waste it with unnecessary conversation or detail. Present the facts and the results they can expect to see. Give them options where they can make decisions.

Thinker. Must be logical, informative, and detail-oriented. Thinkers are very analytical, looking for accurate information, honesty, and reliability. Back up your presentation with supportive documentation and data and a lot of technological punch. Don't expect a decision that day. Thinkers need time to mull it over, working out any possible bugs. Arrange a specific time to follow up.

Relater. Must be sensitive to the people side of the business. Ask for opinions and feelings and show how your solution will be compatible with other departments within the company. Use lots of references and testimonials. Relaters need to know that other customers support your product or service. They tend to follow the norm, guided by routine, so don't make your solution too bizarre or outlandish.

When presenting to a committee or to more than one individual, tailor your presentation to the style type of the decision maker among the group. Identify who the key individual is prior to the meeting, and design your presentation and your approach to reflect his or her style. You cannot be all things to all people, so don't even try. It makes for a very awkward presentation if you try to satisfy everyone by floating among the four styles. I caution you. Don't present until you have determined who will be there and why. Don't ever go into a presentation blind; do your homework. If you can't meet committee members prior to the presentation, at least talk to them on the phone to determine their style and their role in the decision-making process.

Involve the senses. A Chinese proverb says: "Tell me, I'll forget. Show me, I may remember. Involve me, I'll understand." Up to 82% of what we learn is through sight. Take advantage of these findings and include visuals where you can, within reason. The more senses you can engage in your presentation, the better—visual, auditory, or kinesthetic (touch it, feel it). Research demonstrates that visual input makes the greatest impact. Psychologists agree that viewing something three times has a lasting impression and improves retention and recall. However, don't show up to your next presentation with 56 overheads colorfully presented on PowerPoint.

Be benefit-oriented. People don't buy what something is, they buy what something does. Avoid presenting your features, they do nothing to stimulate the customer into action. Benefits will. By talking about benefits you keep your customer's attention focused on the "what's in it for me" aspect. A sobering thought to consider when presenting: Your average customers will immediately forget 50% of what you told them and after only 48 hours will forget up to 75% of your message. Ouch! All the more reason to captivate your customers' attention by using all their senses, presenting benefits, and having fun.

Avoid corporate jargon. Nothing loses customers faster than confusion. Don't use gobbledegook that may confuse them; use their language and their lingo and provide explanations where appropriate. My suggestion is to present simple concepts first, then complex ones later in the presentation. Presenting simple concepts early will help warm the audience to your style and make it easier for them to understand the complex ones later. Customers are sceptical of razzle-dazzle presentations; straightforwardness and honesty should be your guideposts.

Exceed expectations. The first step is to know what 100% is, then exceed it. Know what your customer expects from you. You only learn that by asking. Unless you clearly understand what the 100% mark is, you run the risk of delivering a solution that falls short of expectations. Delivering a solution that you are excited about does little to advance the sale if it is only at 90% of customers' expectations. Once again, that may be the reason you get beat up on price. A 90% solution doesn't cut it, not nowadays.

To exceed expectations, you only have to go an extra inch, not an extra mile. All it takes is a little extra effort, giving customers something they didn't expect. Exceed expectations by delivering an extra unexpected 1%: The 1% solution. It really doesn't take much to exceed expectations. Just as little things can turn a customer off, little things will turn a customer on. An example of a 1% solution would be just as you are leaving the store with your new CD player, the salesperson you dealt with stops you at the door and says, "Thank you for your business, I appreciate it. Why don't you go over to the rack and pick out a free CD of your choice? It's on me." Would that impress you? No doubt it would. The potential return on positive word of mouth is certainly worth the investment of giving away a free CD. Keep in mind, though, no two customers are alike. Not every customer will appreciate a free CD so you will need to vary your 1% solutions. Each customer comes with a unique set of expectations and perceptions that must be revealed during the Discovery step. It stands to reason, then, that no two presentations or solutions will be the same. I suggest that from now on you deliver a solution that is 101% of expectations—under-promise and overdeliver. Don't simply satisfy your customers—surprise them.

Be professional. Your only option as a sales entrepreneur is to be guided by a professional code of conduct: walk the talk. It is critical that your verbal presentation be in sync with your visual presentation. That means sound professional and look professional. Don't show up looking like a bum but sounding like a pro, or vice versa. Also, use professional language, don't swear or use slang. Even if your customer is using colorful superlatives, don't lower yourself. Maintain a level of conduct that says you are a professional, a true sales entrepreneur. Yes, be yourself, but don't engage in activity or conversation that erodes your credibility or your professional conduct. Also, be consistent. Customers are sceptical and suspicious of inconsistent behavior. You have worked hard to get to the presentation stage. Don't blow it by being inconsistent throughout the sales process. The Sequential Model demands professional consistency at every step—no missing pieces.

Take the customer to the presentation. Rather than struggling to take all your stuff to your customers, it can be easier and a bit more exciting to take your customers out of the office on a field trip. Take them on a tour of your facility or perhaps show them your product already in use at one of your other customers' locations. I have known salespeople who have flown potential customers to tour their head office and meet the president and some of the personnel who will be involved in servicing them. Once again, most people are visual, so take advantage of that and show them anytime you get the chance. It's worth the trip and the investment.

This approach also communicates pride and clearly demonstrates your commitment to the relationship as well as the conviction that your solution is right for them.

Action plan. Don't limit your role to that of a presenter. As an entrepreneur you are there to present an entire package, which includes a next step—an action plan. Don't finish with, "Thanks for having me in. I'll call you next week." Ask for feedback, then determine a specific call to action. This could be a specific day and time to follow up, an appointment for a follow-up visit, a tour, a meeting with the design people, and so on. Don't leave empty handed.