Suppose you are the head of sales for a new self-driving car company and you seek mass adoption for your product, would your pitch center on its potential for increased productivity or its guarantee of increased safety? That is the marketing question the self-driving car industry will have to answer in order to succeed, as …
Asking questions to engage listeners during a demo or presentation is a good thing. Asking the same two questions of your listeners over and over again, however, is not. You sound robotic and they tune you out, rather than tune you in. Yet, that is what so many demo presenters do. Is it because they …
If you could follow a group of outstanding salespeople and presenters over a long period of time, you would discover practices common to them all. These would likely range from small behaviors, like how they greet someone ,to broader skills, like how they link features to value in presentations. But, what would their “herding cats” …
‘Tis the witching hour. Here are three sales demo/presentation Tricks to try at your next meeting and one really special Treat good only until Sunday 11/2 midnight. That Old Black Magic… Imagine you are going through your presentation and your client becomes particularly interested in a point you have just made. In fact, others at the …
If you have flown lately, you might have noticed what I did on my trip to Chicago last week on American Airlines. Where once one person on a video would walk you through all the safety information, several people explained the procedures on the video I saw. One person welcomed us aboard. Another demonstrated the …
As we begin anew in 2014 with gung-ho big ideas, it pays to remember the little things as well. Years ago, I stayed at the Ritz Carlton on assignment for a client in Maclean VA. Having traveled all over the world for business, I thought I had seen everything when it came to good service. …
In the last week, by coincidence, I found myself mentoring a young woman entrepreneur, giving career advice as one of five panel members to a group in a communications program at a local university, and running a workshop for Dress For Success—all of which were immensely rewarding experiences. The entrepreneur was excited by what I …
Readers of this blog know that it is all about “making what you say pay” in a variety of business/sales situations, but if you need more contacts before whom you can employ that principal, then you will find today’s tip amazingly helpful. It will save you time, accelerate your prospecting activity, and increase the chances …
What if you could be sure your listeners were totally engaged with your information? What would that do for your confidence? What would that mean for your business? Listener’s Brains Love PEP I have created a numeric system called PEP, for Presentation Engagement Power, to measure the likely impact your information will have on listeners. PEP …
Agendas in presentations are usually seen as afterthoughts, useful low-level roadmaps, or necessary evils. Big mistake! An Agenda skillfully used can make or break a presentation. How much thought do you give to this part of your presentations? An Agenda strategy takes into consideration: · Timing · Content · Agreement and Feedback Timing is Everything If you …
A participant in a recent presentations seminar called it PowerPoint’s most valuable real estate, which, in addition to being a great metaphor, is also an accurate description of the key portion of any slide. That is the headline. Build on Solid Ground Imagine a chart in a sales presentation displaying growth of the different players …