Don’t Put Your Prospects to Sleep

Excite your sales prospects with value

by Susan Wilson Solovic 

Have you ever sat through a sales presentation in which the presenter droned on and on about the history of the company and how great its product or service is? Talk about being a perfect cure for insomnia. In fact, one of my former business partners who ran our sales department used to make that mistake. No matter how many times I told him no one cares about all that crap, he’d put prospects to sleep with all the details before he’d get to the punch line. (Heck – he put me to sleep too.)
Selling isn’t about convincing your prospects how great your product or service is; it’s about helping them see what is in it for them. How will they benefit from your product or service? What will they have that they don’t have now if they do business with you? That’s how you should start every sales presentation.
Get your prospects excited about getting something they want and/or need, and then show them how you can deliver that for them.
Now you’re probably wondering how to do that, right? First you have to do your homework. Never go into a sales presentation cold. Learn as much about the prospect and his or her company as you can. Then start off your presentation by asking questions. Listen and take notes.
Your sales presentation shouldn’t be a canned pitch. You should know your material well enough to adapt your presentation to the needs of the prospect. By initially asking questions and listening, you can adjust your presentation accordingly.
The best sales presentations often turn into business brainstorming sessions. Instead of being seen as a sales rep pitching a product, you can become a problem-solver. I’ve walked out of sales presentations with opportunities I wouldn’t have thought of before the meeting.
So the next time you get in front of a potential new client, don’t launch into your standard pitch. Think about what value you can deliver to the prospect, and before you know it, you may find yourself to be an important part of the team.

Susan Wilson Solovic is THE Small Business Expert, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Amazon Top 100 bestselling author, national media personality and keynote speaker. Sign up for Susan’s daily tips and newsletter at www.SusanSolovic.com.