We know a lot of work goes into a sales presentation. For many salespeople, the deck drives the conversation and is the one tool you may leave behind for your prospects to socialize internally. For all those hours spent belaboring the deck, here’s one critical question to ask yourself that will drive success in your next sales conversation.
Is this deck focused on the customer needs?
Think about your last sales presentation.
Did it contain the slide that talked all about your company? When your company began how many employees you have, the number of customers, your locations all over the globe…
Your company may be long-established and have a great history of pleasing customers, but those slides don’t drive an effective sales conversation. Potential customers really don’t care about your financial stability or company culture when they’re trying to solve a problem. They want to know how your solutions can help them achieve their business objectives. Use your sales conversations to highlight how your solutions can help alleviate the specific challenges faced by the customer.
Don’t focus them on your company story, no matter how good it is.
What if a prospect asks about your company?
We aren’t saying avoid the topic at all costs, but it’s important you use that valuable time with a prospect to focus on how you can solve their problems. Our Delivery Partner Brian Walsh coaches our salespeople, in Command of the Message® training, to frame the question in a way that provides value for the prospect.
Instead of answering the question directly, say something like this, “I would love to tell you about our company. However, I want to make sure I do that in a way that provides value for you. Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions first?”
This technique allows you to do the discovery necessary to have a value-based sales conversation. There’s a time and a place to talk about your company history and other organizations you’ve worked with. However, you should save them for the right time in the buying process.
If you find yourself discussing your company's financial stability or its leading position in the industry, instead of engaging your customer in a discussion of their needs and requirements; it’s time to retool your approach.
Logos make for nice and colorful PowerPoint slides. Mapping solutions to problems make for signed deals.