more work that keeps you from pursuing more profitable business.
Every presentation needs a clearly defined outcome. When defining that goal, the outcome must be measurable and specific. Otherwise, how will you know if you’ve achieved it? Actionable and measurable goals give your presentation focus, direction, and a clear call to action.
For example, a goal of “letting a prospect know what we offer” is neither measurable nor specific. In fact, it’s not so much a sales presentation as it is public service announcement because no selling is actually taking place. A clearly defined goal would be, “to convince the prospect to recommend our solution to the financial decision makers within two weeks.”
1. Determine what the next step is in the sales process after your presentation.
For example, scheduling a product demonstration.
2. Identify the action your prospect needs to take at the end of your presentation.
For example, setting a date and inviting attendees to the demonstration.
3. Create your call to action around this actionable goal.
For example, “For next steps we recommend setting up a demonstration to key parties within the next three weeks. Bill, if you agree, can you come up with a list of names of people who you think would benefit from attending?” Check out Chapter 7 for tips on how to build a strong call to action.
Determining the Nine Things You Need to Know
The success of your presentation is dependent on the quality of your information. Without relevant, insightful information, you can’t make a persuasive case and build value for your prospect. You’ll open yourself up to competition, negotiations on price, and longer buying cycles. If you’re selling to the C-suite – an executive with the letter C in his title, for example CEO, CFO, or CTO – you won’t win their attention or respect. That should make you want to spend more than a little time making sure you have the information you need.
In a world of information overload, more isn’t always better. If you gather enough material to write a book on your prospect’s problem but haven’t uncovered what other options she’s considering or the impact of the problem on her organization, you’ve wasted much of your time. Whether you have a month to prepare or you have to do a presentation on short notice – you’re responding to a web lead or referral, or simply a prospect who has an urgent need that can’t wait – you need the same type of information to create a new presentation or adapt a current one to fit your prospect’s needs. In the following sections I introduce nine key areas of information that you need to tailor your presentation to your prospect and provide an example of how to apply them on short notice.
You may have a good idea of what your prospect’s business challenge is but it’s important not to make any assumptions at this early stage. Often times what the prospect thinks is her problem is really part of a larger problem. Be as specific as you can when defining the problem or opportunity. For example, “They’re evaluating options to replace their current telecom system because their current system is unable to handle the volume and their contract is up for renewal” is a clearly defined scenario that can guide you as you start to build your presentation. “They’re interested in hearing about our system,” is vague and can lead to a generic overview presentation unlikely to resonate with your prospect.
People don’t typically wake up and say “Today I’m going to solve this problem.” Usually some trigger event or catalyst has brought the problem to their attention and motivated them to address it. Knowing what that event is can help you evaluate and gauge the prospect’s real desire to solve the problem. For example, “With the recent outbreak of security breaches in some well-known companies, they’re concerned that their customer-sensitive data isn’t as safe as it could be” indicates a real interest in a timely resolution of the problem and provides specific context to frame your message.
Unless the problem has just occurred or completely shut down your prospect’s business, it’s likely your prospect has developed some work-around solution. You need to find out how your prospect is currently dealing with the problem. Is your prospect whistling in the dark hoping the problem will go away? Or is she using a bandage when a tourniquet is clearly needed? Discovering how your prospect is coping with the problem can help you define the status quo, which may turn out to be your biggest competitor.
Recognizing impact is key among today’s decision makers. Knowing how the problem currently is affecting your prospect and her organization, and the potential impact of your solution can help you to develop important metrics around cost and value. Not having this information places you in a weak position against a competitor who has done their homework in this area. Here are two types of impact questions you want to be sure and explore with your prospect:
✔ What’s the impact of the problem? How much does it hurt and can your prospect quantify the pain? In other words, is your prospect just a little bruised or is she spending a thousand dollars a week on physical therapy? Understanding the answer to this question can help you establish value in relation to cost and assess your prospect’s motivation to change.
✔ What’s the impact of the solution? Knowing the results of solving the problem or taking the opportunity can help you develop a sound value proposition – a clear statement of the results that your prospect can expect to receive from your product or service – for your prospect. Just like quantifying the impact of the problem, quantifying the value of the solution is just as important, especially if you’re presenting to an executive. The prospect may be able to provide you with this information, for example, “Solving this problem would eliminate two redundant jobs” or “Gaining this advantage would increase our margin by two cents per unit.” If you don’t get the information from your prospect, look for similar clients, case studies, or industry statistics to give you direction and make your best educated guess. Find out more about value in Chapter 3.
How does your prospect spell success? The goal may be obvious, for example, “to replace our equipment with a newer model as soon as possible,” however
