Make It All About Them

Winning Sales Presentations

Nadine Keller

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9781118428375
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781118519622
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Debunks the myths of the traditional rules of presentations

In today's commodity-based marketplace it is harder than ever to differentiate even the most superlative services and products. The sales presentation provides the most powerful opportunity to do so. Make It All About Them reveals the truth behind the traditional rules of presentations and offers sales professionals a new way forward. It explains why focusing on three key points trumps a presentation full of details, why plain English always wins over jargon, why the audience doesn't need to know how important you are but how important they are, and other effective tactics.

• Provides quick and useful concepts and tools to help salespeople break through the "we have always done it this way" mentality that is so prevalent in corporate America
• Author Nadine Keller is founding partner of Precision Sales Coaching & Training with more than twenty-five years of experience in sales and sales leadership coaching and consulting

This unique approach will allow you to deliver a winning presentation every time by making it all about your audience.

Section II

The Skill: How You Say It

Chapter 5

Facilitating the Experience

Myth: Facilitation happens naturally.

Truth: Facilitation must be carefully planned and orchestrated.

There should always be one person responsible for facilitating the sales presentation. While this is typically the salesperson, it can be particularly powerful to assign this role to the person who will hold the responsibility for the day-to-day relationship. This allows this person to build credibility, to demonstrate the ability to manage a process, and to show his or her commitment to addressing the clients’ needs and what is important to them.

It’s especially crucial to take this approach in a rebid situation, where a relationship with an account manager or a relationship manager already exists. Handing over the reigns to a salesperson (assuming he or she does not have a relationship with the client) can cheapen the tone of the meeting. It can also potentially make clients feel like they are being sold to, which is the last thing you want. Ideally, they should feel as though they’re choosing to extend the existing relationship as a natural course of business.

Facilitation skills are paramount to the sales presentation’s effectiveness. The facilitator’s role is a complex one that requires a great deal of confidence, presence, and organization. Facilitators often have to think on their feet in situations where every detail has not gone exactly as planned (which is almost always the case).

The facilitator is responsible for managing each section of the presentation, including:

• The opening
• The introductions
• The agenda
• Reviewing and confirming the understanding of needs
• Transitions
• Questions and answers
• The close

The facilitator also:

• Sets the tone
• Manages the time
• Checks in with the buying committee to ensure understanding
• Elicits feedback and makes the appropriate adjustments on the fly

The primary skills required for effective facilitation are:

• Questioning
• Listening
• Paraphrasing
• Summarizing

It is an understatement to say that there’s a significant burden on facilitators. Fortunately, they can usually share this burden with other team members by delegating some of the responsibility. For example, I always suggest that the facilitator assign a fellow team member with the responsibility for tracking time. If this individual notices that they are running overtime according to the schedule that was agreed upon in the rehearsal, he or she can signal the facilitator. If the facilitator does not see the signal, the backup timekeeper has permission to say something like this: “Kristin, I have noticed that we have 20 minutes left; perhaps we should check in with everyone.” The facilitator would then say something like, “Thanks, Maggie—great idea. This has been a terrific discussion, and we could talk about our client service all day. I’d like to take a moment to review with you what we have left on the agenda and ask you how you would like to allocate the time remaining.”

Similarly, it’s a good idea for one person on the team to take backup responsibility for assuring that the team has addressed the objectives that were mentioned in the client introductions. As such, that person has permission to say something like this: “Ray, I know this was of particular importance to you. Has Maggie addressed your questions?”

I usually ask this person to take on an additional responsibility—paying close attention to the buying committee’s body language. Folded arms, confused or puzzled looks, dazed or bored expressions, and/or BlackBerry and wristwatch checking might indicate the need to check in with the audience. The person assigned this responsibility has permission to interject something like, “Meredith, it looks like you have a question or something you would like to say.” Or this person may say to the facilitator, “Kristin, there may be some questions here. Why don’t we check in with the group?”

These types of redirections require a great deal of trust between the facilitator and the rest of the team. Team members also need some finesse to uphold the facilitator’s credibility during these exchanges. There’s less risk of compromising credibility if the team members defer to the facilitator instead of taking over themselves. When orchestrated effectively, this approach can send a strong signal to the client that you work well as a team.

The facilitator can also delegate the role of scribing. While I prefer that the facilitator do his or her own scribing in order to maintain full control, I understand that some people either have not developed this skill or simply do not have readable handwriting. In this case, go ahead and delegate it (but practice and develop your scribing skills internally for future presentations!).

Facilitating the introductions is one of the first and most important parts of the process, as it sets the tone for the entire meeting.

Tradition: Introduce yourself by stating your name, title and number of years you have been with the company and/or in the industry.

New tradition: Introduce yourself by stating what you will do for the client, while bringing your most likable self to the table.

A traditional introduction in a sales presentation usually sounds something like this: “Hi, my name is Christopher Bennett, and I am the Assistant Associate Director of Communications. I have been with Acme, Inc., for more than 12 years, and I’ve worked in the industry for 18 years. I’m happy to be here today.”

Then, pleased that he is finished, he looks to the team member who will provide another equally boring introduction that is likely to be just as meaningless to the client: “Hi, I am PK Isacs, and I am an Associate Regional Manager of Development. I have been with Acme for three years. Prior to this, I was at [blah, blah, blah, blah, blah . . . .]” And on and on and on.

This format has been around forever—so much so that it is almost expected. The truth, however, is that clients usually forget your name, have no idea what your title means, and (assuming that you look older than 21) could care less about the number of years you have been anywhere.

It is ironic that the introductions component of the sales presentation—traditionally, the most painful part—is usually also the most important. It sets the tone and the personality of the meeting and helps the buying team assess whether they want to work with you. They are consciously or unconsciously asking the question, “Do I like these people?”

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Pet Peeve

I can’t tell you how many times I have witnessed a salesperson summarize his or her teammates’ introductions by saying something like, “Between us, we have 124 years of experience in the room.”

What does this mean? Who cares? If the competitor team has 143 years of experience, does that mean they are the better choice? I don’t think so. And neither does the client.

Of all the potential messages that a salesperson could convey, is this the strongest? Of course not. But again, we tend to do these things because that is what we saw our predecessors do.

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We have all heard the adage that “all things being equal, people buy from people that they like.” I would go so far as to say that even when things aren’t so equal, people buy from people they like. In fact, I have been one of those buyers looking for every reason to work with someone I like. Haven’t you? In many cases, after the sale, we are going to be talking to these people on a weekly—if not daily—basis. Depending on the scenario, we may be in war rooms together for long hours working on complex projects, possibly sharing meals together, and perhaps even traveling together. Who wants to spend this much time with someone you don’t like?

I recall a recent situation where I met a young woman outside a conference room before the rest of the deal team arrived for a rehearsal. We chatted for about 10 minutes, discussing the deal as well as her upcoming wedding. I was struck by her open smile and her sense of humor as she laughed about going dress shopping with her bridesmaids. When the rest of the team arrived, we all gathered around the conference table and I conducted a quick warm-up. When it was time for my new friend to speak, it seemed as if she had been replaced by her Stepford twin—either that or she had left her smile and sense of humor outside with the coffee. She became a completely different—and much less animated—person in this professional environment.

Why is it that we so often leave our likable selves outside the boardroom door? Possibly, it’s one of a number of reasons:

• The environment tends to be more formal. Boardrooms can be intimidating and sterile environments, and our behavior tends to mirror the atmosphere. While, of course, we want to be professional and have an appropriate demeanor, we don’t want to be so formal that we lose our true personality.
• There is a lot at stake! Let’s face it: This is the make-or-break situation; this is where the rubber meets the road; this is the moment of truth. However you want to describe it, it’s a very intimidating situation for people. At this point, your team has invested a great deal of time, effort, and expense—and this is the point at which it all comes to fruition, so you better not screw it up!
• We usually tend to focus on the script. “I have to remember to say X and to not stray from this.” This kind of preoccupation with the facts and figures may get in the way of our ability to be in the present moments and to connect with the people in the room.
• Nerves can get the best of us. A common symptom of being nervous is to withdraw and become a smaller version of ourselves.
• There is confusion between being professional and being robotic. We often say to ourselves, “This is a very serious subject; therefore, I need to be very serious and all about business.”

Now that we have explored some of the obstacles that may hinder your ability to showcase your fantastic personality, let’s look at ways that you can make your introductions compelling and get the client excited about the potential of working with you.

Seven Guidelines for Powerful Introductions:

1. Forget the titles! Instead of stating your title, tell clients what you will do for them. For example, “I am the person who will be responsible for making sure that all of your employees are up to speed on the new system,” or, “My role is to manage your transition. I’ll ensure that all deadlines are met and that the transition goes as smoothly and seamlessly as possible.”

2. Incorporate emotion. Don’t be afraid to tell clients what you like about your job and how happy you are to be helping them. Hearing your enthusiasm will only make them pleased. You can say things like, “What I love most about what I do is . . .” or, “I am very excited to be here today because . . .”

3. Leave the corporate mask at home. Show your personality! It could be as simple as a smile or as bold as incorporating humor. And let clients know if you have a connection with them or their products in some way. This will build rapport and give you an immediate edge. For example,

Presenting to Stop & Shop: “My first job was working at a grocery store.”

Presenting to Mars: “I have a personal addiction to M&Ms.”

Presenting to Starwood Hotels: “Your hotels are so comfortable to me that we actually purchased a W bed last year.”

4. Practice, practice, practice. We spend a good amount of time practicing the introductions when we coach teams to prepare for a presentation. I typically suggest that all team members spend a few minutes on their own, drafting an introduction that will accomplish these objectives:

• Showing their personality
• Establishing their credibility

After each person has written down his or her intro, we practice and give each other feedback. It is most effective when the introductions go in order of the seating; after one person finishes his or her introduction, that individual hands it to a teammate by looking at the teammate and saying the person’s name (e.g., “Jane . . .”). Though it seems minor, this gesture can send a message of camaraderie to clients and let them know how well you wo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Creating an Experience
• Section I: What You Present: The Messages
• Section II: The Skill: How You Say It
• Section III: The Materials: What We Say It With
• Section IV: Twenty-three Elements of the Experience
• Section V: The Tool Kit
• Index