3 Ways to Create Better Sales Presentations

I’ve been speaking to a lot of different groups these past few weeks, and have a variety of presentations yet to give in September. Each group is a little different, and I always try and focus some of my material on things that directly impact the audience.

As I was planning for my presentation later this week, I got to thinking about the differences between a speaking presentation and sales presentation. What are the differences?

Both provide information. Both motivate the listener to take action. Both hope for some type of outcome.

So are there really that many differences?

In both cases, your ultimate goal is for someone to take action. If you are presenting to a client, you want them to buy your product or service. If you are presenting to a group, you may wish to make connections with members in the group for future business.

Here are 3 things you can do to help you become better at presenting:

1. Plan carefully
The last thing you want to do is show up to speak in front of a group of people, and not have a polished presentation. It will show immediately, and your expertise will dwindle away. Outline what you are going to say. Provide bullet points for each topic you will cover. Research and find relevant statistics. Have stories and testimonials ready. The more prepared you are, the more your expertise will shine through, the more success you’ll have.

2. Communicate visually
In order for people to have the desire to take action, they have to “see” what you are talking about. Don’t assume they have knowledge on a subject matter unless you know them personally. Start at the beginning. Set the stage. Provide the background and lead them into a current situation. Let them see themselves in your pictures. If you can get them to feel like you understand them and their problems, you have new clients.

3. Present with perfection
I remember starting out in my first business. We had one package we tried to sell to our clients that we really didn’t like, and we felt didn’t provide the best service for our customers. Guess how we sold it?

“Well, its here if you really want it.”
“It’s not the best and doesn’t offer everything you really should have.”
“Its affordable but really doesn’t allow you to have everything you need.”

Yes, we didn’t sell it very well. And the couple of people who did buy it were lousy customers. They were problems all the way through, and quickly taught us a lesson.

If you don’t like something, and can’t sell it with perfection, don’t sell it at all.

Find a friend or relative and talk through your presentation. Can you talk with passion? Do you love what you are doing? Can you sell your information effortlessly? Sales presentations really aren’t about the sales if you love it and are passionate about it.

Your passion will shine through. And people will be attracted to you because of it. And the sales will simply come.

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Social Media – Letting Your Visitors Control The Direction Of Your Business

When people talk about social media today, you may instantly think of Facebook or Twitter. But in truth, there are hundreds of ways you can take your business social.

Have you ever been to MyCokeRewards.com?  If you drink Coke products, you can take the codes listed on the bottles and boxes, enter them into the website, and build up your points to trade in for prizes. You can trade them for things like magazine subscriptions, coupons to use at your favorite stores, or to enter sweepstakes for bigger prizes.

So Coke has a highly concentrated site where a lot of their “fans” congregate and spend time.

Now instead of simply going there for prizes, they are also trying to get you to take the next step with their branding by offering a contest where you become the designer.

For 2010, they are looking for a new design to place on their cans of Coke. Instead of letting their in-house graphics team handle the job, they’ve turned it over to millions of fans. Design a can. Submit it to Coke. And you have a chance to win one of fifteen $500 Visa gift cards.

By making this kind of offer, they are accomplishing three things:

1. Gaining more dedication to their product – if you enter, you’ll probably be more dedicated to coming back to check results.

2. Growing their worldwide exposure. What if you enter, and win? Imagine how quickly you can spread the word about your design. Share it on Facebook. Tweet about it on Twitter. Let your blog audience in on the news.

3. Making their site even more fun. If you already visit for one reason, why not come back for additional reasons? You always have to have a reason for people to keep coming back.

Are You Selling Your Business With A Story?

I just finished a great book that had been recommended to me. It’s called A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink.

According to Pink:

We’ve moved from an economy built on people’s backs to an economy built on people’s left brains to what is emerging today: an economy and society built more and more on people’s right brains.

To survive in this age, individuals and organizations must examine what they’re doing to earn a living and ask themselves three questions:

1. Can someone overseas do it cheaper?
2. Can a computer do it faster?
3. Is what I’m offering in demand in an age of abundance?

If you answer yes to 1 and/or 2, or no to 3, it’s time to rethink what you are doing.

I would highly recommend adding this to your reading list, as the book is filled with ideas that can really make you think about where you stand today.

So of course, I took an hour out this morning and looked at my business, and reworked some of the things we’re doing, adding new tasks and goals.

Ultimately everything we do comes down to how well we can share our ideas and information with others, and how well it is perceived by others.

If you are trying to sell what everyone else is, you’re going to have trouble.

But if you find a creative way to sell what you have, you’ll be a success.

People don’t want things the same old way. They want something new and different. They want to be able to put their own flare to it, be creative with it, and share their ideas in their own way.

Which is one of the reasons social networking is booming. People aren’t being marketed to; instead, they find new things by relying on “friends”.

It’s time to look at your business in a different light. What can you do to become more creative with what you do? What can you do to create something no one else is offering?

Getting Traffic By Complaining Creatively

Sometimes you just have to think outside the box to get a little traffic to your site.

A little over a year ago, a Canadian musician Dave Carroll took a flight fro Halifax to Nebraska, changing plans in Chicago. During the entire process, his guitar – which I’m sure he had to pay extra for – was damaged. Over a year later, and major hours of time spent with United trying to recover for damages, Carroll is finally getting his payback.

After all the frustration, Carroll decided to handle his complaint with United in a different way. He was a musician, right? Why not create a song?

So he did. And he recorded a simple video to go along with it. And he put it on YouTube.

And well, the rest as they say is history.

 

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Will Social Experience Impact Your Potential?

Today as I was working, I noticed an interesting post on Twitter from @treypennington

It seems Best Buy is looking for a Sr Manager – Emerging Media Marketing Job. The notice lists the usually stuff – exactly what you would expect on an employee opportunity notice. Except for the Preferred Qualifications:

In addition to experience and a graduate degree, they would also like you to have at least 250 followers on Twitter.

Wow.

What is this saying about the impact of our future? That we as a society and as potential job holders really need to get with the current times, follow trends, and use current technology to remain players in the job market.

I love it.

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How To Write An Ezine In Today’s Economy

Newsletters, or Ezines, have always been a great tool for business. I have used several for my businesses over the past few years, and have had a lot of success with them. But in today’s economy, are they still effective? And now when it seems everyone is sending email in greater proportions, can you really gain business with ezines?

Yes. The key to building a great business is to create regular marketing strategies, and use them again and again. Give your prospects and customers what they want, and you’ll be successful.

Whether you’ve been sending ezines for years, or are new to the whole process and are wondering where to begin, let’s look at 7 basic concepts to get you going in the right direction.

1. Setting up your system. Yes, you can create a simple email, and send it to a list you build through your Outlook or other email program. That’s okay with a few subscribers. But it’s not feasible once you have several hundred or even several thousand subscribers. You’ll not only risk shutting down your Outlook, but the server your email account is handled through may also shut you down for spam violations. 

The best way to get started is to set up a newsletter program that makes it easy for you to create your ezine, and keeps you in compliance with spam laws and verifications. I’ve used Aweber for years, and love their service.

2. Speak to your customers. Never write an ezine from your perspective – give your customers what they desire. You may know the technical terms and buzzwords. Yet these may completely frustrate your readers. Give them the information in language they understand and will motivate them to move forward with you.

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Using Twitter To Bring In Business Today

Your a business restaurant owner. You arrive at work before dawn to get ready for the day. You manage people, bring in the food, make sure customers are happy, market the business … and on and on.

So when someone mentions a new thing like Twitter, its easy to discount it and push it aside.

But, if you take a look at it and jump on before the majority of your competitors in your local area, you just may have a new inexpensive marketing technique that will really help you bring in the business when you need it most.

Let’s say your Tuesday’s are your slowest day for lunch. Why not start up a Tuesday Twitter campaign? You send out a Tweet offering a free appetizer or something else of value to your followers – all they have to do is mention you heard it on Twitter.

I just saw a Tweet come through from someone I’m following about a free cup of award winning clam chowder simply for mentioning Twitter. (Too bad I’m not in California, sounds good to me.) I might not be there, but how many are? And how many are planning on taking advantage of this great offer? The re-tweets are still being circulated as I write this.

Building your list is easy. Start with your clients. Give everyone that visits your location a card telling them you’re now on Twitter, and you’ll be offering surprises along the way if they follow you.

Add to the conversation every day. Even if you only have a few minutes of time, use those minutes to tweet and make contacts.

Then create your special promotions. Tuesday Twitter specials. Free appetizers. Free meals with purchase. Free desserts. Make up new specials based on your menu, the time of year, and … well really anything will work.

You’ll quickly see your followers grow. And have a new, FREE way of marketing your business and growing your client list.

Converting Your Website To Spanish

Chances are you are looking for ways to expand your market.

What if you could reach out to a completely untapped market, offering them something in a totally new way? 

Have you ever read a website in its entirely, and by the time you reach the end you know you have to connect with the company? You have to buy their product or try out their service just because they spoke directly to your heart?

That’s the power of great copy.

So let me ask you a question. Which would make better copy for your website?

Where does the photographer’s job end? The day of your wedding? After the images have been presented to you a few weeks later? Or, does it continue from the minute you choose your photographer, and continue for years?

We believe in 100 percent service. After the wedding, our service doesn’t end. We are now a part of the digital revolution, and will provide you with images to share with family and friends all across the world, thanks to the wonders of the Internet. We will provide you with a custom designed storyboard that shows an artistic rendition of your final wedding album. We will provide you with all of the tools necessary to create an elegant story album depicting each moment of your special day. We will provide you with top quality photographs and products that you will be proud to display in your home. And to give as gifts! We will be there for you as other members of you family announce their engagement. We will be there for you to remember how one day changed you life forever!

Or this?

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Do You Market More Or Less In Tough Economic Times?

One of the reasons I feel I’ve always been successful is I watch what others are doing around me, and emulate their success.

If you watch any television lately, or open up any newspaper, you must have noticed the influx of ads by Wal-Mart. They’re everywhere. Last night as I watched Dancing With The Stars, I noticed several commercials each break were from this discount giant.

And they aren’t focusing on having the lowest prices. Just giving you value for your dollar.

You can learn a lot from a company like this. 

1. Don’t stop marketing or slow it down in difficult economic times. Increase it. While others are shutting down, you can actually reach out to more people and have your message heard loud and clear because you don’t have a lot of competition. And you may get great deals on some advertising because they’re having trouble as well and welcome the

2. Repeating is okay. Wal-Mart has just a handful of ads that they play over and over again. It’s not the amount of content they put in front of you. It’s the message they’re trying to convey. They simply want you to know where you can get the most value, especially in tough times.

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3 Instant Growth Factors That May Be Crippling Your Business

Zero to one million signups in 30 days.

Build a million dollar company this year.

I’ll admit it; I’m an information junkie. If someone has an ezine signup, or an RSS feed to his or her blog, and I see it has value, I’m in.

I scroll through a ton of information every day. And while very little of it offers brand new ideas, I’m a firm believer in the right information appears when you’re ready for it.

But after years of working on my business, I must admit the get rich schemes are circling like never before.

Everyone has the next best thing, and you’re “guaranteed” to make a million doing it. Overnight of course.

After reading yet another promise today, I got to thinking about why 99% of all people who jump on board with this type of material never succeed. Why can they get so excited up front, yet never achieve success with it? And in most cases its little or no success.

1. The dream. How many people out there are floating along without a dream? They’ve worked for years, only to lose their job in hard economic times. They can’t find another one, so they jump into a “proven way to get rich quick”. And they keep dreaming.

Every opportunity does have its success stories. But what makes them a success is they took action. They treated it like a full time career, worked at it HARD every day, and slowly saw it grow.

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