By William F. Kendy
"We developed a presentation using an LCD
projector and were absolutely guaranteed that
we’d have a dark room. When we arrived, we
found the room had only bright lights and no
shades on the windows. Don’t get caught with
your pants down." You cannot preplan a
presentation too carefully. It’s all about control.
“We had a prospect who wanted to bring in 18 different people for a presentation, and we told him with that many people it would be a nightmare. He finally cut it down to five or six top management people, which is a good size.”
For some salespeople, presenting to even one person is a nightmare, let alone a group of five or six or more. Les Stein, president of Stein & Company Communications, a Cleveland, Ohio-based advertising agency, knows effective sales presentations are tricky when dealing with a group. And when the group is too large, your presentation won’t achieve desired results. “We’ve found that if you get too many people at a presentation the decision makers won’t say a word,” says Stein. “They’ll ask the opinion of someone at the bottom of the totem pole and just work their way up.”
Problems don’t end there. Instead of building rapport with just one person, you have to deal with multiple personalities, different concerns and various opinions and personal agendas. "You really need a clear, focused objective for your message and that’s partly determined by the composition of the audience,” Stein adds. “You need to do some background research and get an idea of who the audience is, their political tone, agendas and what issues are important to them."
Katherine Luckett-Watson, sales manager of Unibar Maintenance Services Inc. in Ann Arbor, MI, agrees that when it comes to presentations, salespeople need to define exactly what their objectives are. "Many salespeople think that a presentation is an end-all and fail to actually set realistic objectives," she says. "Of course, the bottom line is you want to get the business, but sometimes it’s not a matter of closing right then and there. It’s a matter of moving a proposal forward to a higher level."
Moving the proposal forward is not always a smooth operation, especially when you have to deal with the "what if" person. "Every organization has their ‘what if’ person, and you have to watch out for them," Stein points out. "Most of the time the primary function of the ‘what if’ people is gathering information, so the best way to handle them is to role-play all the scenarios of your proposal beforehand and have answers to every possible question you can think of."
In other words, know your material perfectly before you face your audience. "I can’t emphasize enough that salespeople need to rehearse their presentations until they know them frontward and backward," says Luckett-Watson. "Bounce it off other people in your organization and be comfortable with it before you actually stand in front of potential customers. If you’re unprepared and overly nervous, it sends a message to your customers that you’re not fully confident with the information you’re presenting."
Even simple eye contact becomes more difficult when you’re speaking to a group. It’s one thing looking one person in the eye when giving a presentation, but what do you do when several sets of eyes are on you? "The better the eye contract, the better the committee can perceive that you’re confident, know what you’re talking about and can be trusted," says Luckett-Watson. "Normally, there’s going to be one person addressing each specific area. For example, if I’m addressing anything to do with purchasing, I’ll direct more eye contact to the person in charge. Yet, you have to look at everyone – but don’t continuously shift your eyes."
Salespeople should try to put a little jazz in their presentations, but avoid turning them into three-ring circuses. "Your information has to be organized and have a flow – not be repetitive and boring," says Luckett-Watson. "I like to use little bells and whistles without going overboard. It’s surprising how a little color and some type-font changes can spruce up a presentation."
"Because we’re basically selling creative services, we use a lot of electronic devices and special effects to create what is anything but a boring slide show," Stein explains. "We try to make a presentation interactive, fun and as concise as possible without appearing rushed or eliminating main points."
When using a lot of electronic devices, however, be certain that the physical environment is what you expect and need, cautions Stein. "Make sure you really know where you’re going to present," he advises. "We had a situation where we developed a presentation using a LCD projector and were absolutely guaranteed that we’d have a dark room. When we arrived, we found the room had only bright lights and no shades on the windows. Don’t get caught with your pants down."
Do you hand out material before your presentation? Stein feels that is the kiss of death. "One of the things I’ve found that is totally devastating when you’re presenting creative proposals is to give people your document up front," he says. "Your job is to engage and captivate the audience with your knowledge, but the audience is busy reading your proposal and taking notes. They’re not paying attention to you. We tell them, ‘Don’t bother to take notes. Everything we’re talking about is covered in our handouts, which we will pass out later in the presentation.’"
Luckett-Watson disagrees. She makes sure everyone she’s presenting to has an opportunity to read the proposal in advance. "We generally prepare proposals and supply them to the people we know are going to sit in on a presentation and request they go over it before the meeting," she says. "They’ve had an opportunity to learn a little about our history and a little about our current customers and our successes. They generally just follow right along. While we’re doing the oral thing, they’re doing the mental thing on their side and taking notes."
After your presentation to a committee, follow-up can make a big difference. "Follow up with some type of message, thanking them for allowing you to present and setting the stage to get things moving forward," advises Stein. "The Internet is perfect for this. It’s personal and you can tweak the different messages from person to person to get the kind of response you’re looking for."
"Salespeople tend to forget and should realize that committees aren’t looking for a perfect presentation. They’re looking to you for knowledge of what you’re selling and how it can help them solve a problem or become more successful," concludes Luckett-Watson. "More important than perfection is truly believing in what you’re selling and showing some passion when you present it."