”I’d like to end up sort of unforgettable.”Ringo Starr

Fact: Most complex sales are not decided with you in the room.

Decision-makers may not get together for days or weeks to discuss your proposal – in the mean time, they are likely to see many other presentations.  How can you increase the likelihood that YOURS is the solution they remember after you walk out the door?

Your prospect is like a casting director seeing a steady parade of actors auditioning for the same role, repeating the same lines over and over.  Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes:  Each day, one salesperson after another comes in with slides or a demo, does a boring corporate overview and agenda and claims: “We’re the best and here’s why…”  It’s no surprise we all blur together after a while.

Ask any casting director—and most prospects—and they will tell you this:  it is hard to distinguish one person from the next.  Especially if a few days or weeks pass before they make their decision.  While your product may have the edge when it comes to one feature, your competitor may be slightly better when it comes to another.  Chances are the differences are getting harder to define and constantly fluctuating as companies continue to advance their technology and new competitors enter the market.

When products and services become more like commodities, you need to find a way to help your prospect remember your solution.  You need a “Wow” factor. Ask yourself this:

If you were auditioning for a role, would you win the part?

The actor who delivers something different from his competitors, wows the casting director and leaves a lasting impression is the one who wins the part.  Even though the actor may be reading from the same script as everyone else, he delivers his message in a memorable and impactful way.  He sets the bar for every competitor who comes after him, and everyone who came before is pushed out of the casting director’s mind.  Weeks later when going through resumes, the casting director can say with great confidence, “We want him.”

Customers are also waiting for that one person to wow them, rise above the pack and make their decision an easy one so they can “cast the part” and move on to their next project. Are you making it easier or more difficult for your customer to remember you?

Take the following quiz and find out just how memorable you are:

How’s Your “Wow” Factor?  True or False:

1. I spend time not just preparing my presentation, but preparing mentally, physically and vocally to deliver my presentation.
2. I incorporate the elements of a dramatic journey to move my prospect from interest to action.
3. I leverage the power of stories to deliver my message in an engaging and memorable way.
4. I know the power of “Presence” and how to use mine so that it has a lasting impact on my audience.
5. I include a prop in my presentation to increase listener retention and I know how to use it to for maximum effect.

If you didn’t answer True to all five questions, you are at risk of not being remembered.  Why work so hard only to be forgotten when the buying decision is actually made?  If you want to be memorable, you can’t do what everyone else does.  Up your “Wow” Factor and review the resource links in the 5 questions above.

The bottom line is this:  They can’t buy from you if they can’t remember you.

photo credit: t i g g e r j k via photopin cc

The fact is that most sales presentations are dull, data-dumps that are instantly forgettable.

In a competitive market where customers are short on time and attention, sellers who present their product/service in a memorable and compelling way are much more likely to win the business.

Three Tips for a more Memorable Sales Presentation:

You need to grab your customer’s attention quickly or you will struggle to regain it through entire presentation, so whether you use a script or not, memorize and practice that first line. Your customer is forming a first impression of you, your product/service so don’t leave that first line to chance. Also, knowing your first line gives you greater confidence and helps you get into the flow of your presentation.

Think of presentation as a dialogue – not a monologue. Don’t get so focused on YOUR lines that you forget to pay attention to the constant flow of nonverbal information coming from your prospect.

And lastly, begin your presentation the way a great movie begins: in the middle of the action. Great movies don’t start with a prologue from the director telling us why they made the movie, how many awards they’ve won or what the theme is. They know they have to grab their audiences’ attention quickly or they’ll lose them – and so will you. So jump right into the action. Make your prospect sit up in their seat and pay attention.
Try these three tips and you’ll be on your way to delivering a more compelling and memorable sales presentation.

Photo By prayitno. Photobin.

The 2013 Academy Awards was chock full of examples of how to knock a presentation out of the park, or fall flat on your face (the latter taken quite literally by Jennifer Lawrence!)  When it comes to presentations, the Oscars are the great equalizer as our favorite performers are tasked with developing and delivering their own script with little direction or rehearsal.  Sound familiar?!  As a salesperson it should!

Whether accepting or presenting an award, the results were a mixed bag;  some stars lived up to expectations (Daniel Day Lewis, Ben Affleck, Adele), some surprised (Melissa McCarthy, Ang Lee) and others disappointed (Anne Hathaway, Kristin Stewart, all of The Avenger’s).

While we can take some comfort in the fact that the art of presenting is not an easy or natural skill for Oscar nominees, there were plenty of takeaways that we…ahem…more pedestrian presenters can benefit from.  Here are a few of the winners and losers.

The Winners:

1. Best Multi-Purpose Opening:
   Daniel Day Lewis
   DDL’s acceptance speech for the Best Actor award was brilliant in many ways, but from a presentation standpoint note his humorous opening reference to presenter Meryl Streep’s turn as Margaret Thatcher was a nice use of the moment and a great connection to their shared challenge of playing a public figure. In addition, it was an excellent device for firmly dispelling the rumor that he Daniel Day initially did not want the role of Lincoln.  Overall a marked contrast to many other winners who seemed either completely unprepared to win or used their time to thank a laundry list of people the audience had never heard of and couldn’t care less about.                                        sales
   sales
   Key Presentation Takeaway:  Know your first line for greater confidence and use it to maximum effect:  to make a connection, set the theme or engage the audience.
   sales
2. Best Audience Connection:
   Ben Affleck
   Ben’s speech, while a bit fast-paced, was passionate, spontaneous, funny and full of emotion.  He made the connection between his first Oscar night 15 years ago and the present, as well as an odd (which he acknowledged) connection between his wife and Iran.  It was a fun, heartfelt rant that let us feel like we might be able to sit down and pick up where the conversation left off over a beer.  And maybe Matt Damon would stop by and…oh sorry, I’m getting off track.  Where was I?  Oh right. The point is that he connected with us.
   xx
   Key Presentation Takeaway:  Don’t be afraid to open up to your audience and let them get to know you.  If you want them to share with you, you have to be vulnerable with them as well.
    ss
3. Best Twist on the Same Old Stuff:
   Meryl Streep
   When Streep announced the winner for Best Actor she did not do what every other presenter did, i.e., take a long pause while we watched them struggle with the seemingly simple task of opening an envelope.  (Not as simple as it sounds when one is nervous and sweaty!)  Streep opened it somewhere during the film clip and quickly announced his name – sans fumbling.  While this made the editors crazy, the shift in timing was fresh and unexpected and a welcome twist to a long evening of envelope opening.
   sales
   Key Presentation Takeaway:  If you must do the same thing everyone else is doing, find a way to mix it up.  It doesn’t have to be huge, just enough to set yourself apart.

And the Losers:

4.  Worst Team Presentation:
      The Avengers

I can see it on paper:  Reunite the powerful stars of the box office hit The Avengers back together for on stage!  While full of promise, this concept never delivered thanks to a lack of coordination between the five stars and a focus on inside jokes and mutual ribbing which only served only to confuse and alienate the audience.

Key Presentation Takeaway:   For a team presentations in particular, it is critical to rehearse carefully in order to get those timings down.  And while an audience can appreciate that you get along with or even enjoy your teammates, don’t risk excluding them by resorting to  inside jokes or asides.

5.  Worst Self-Serving Presenters: 
     TIE:  Seth MacFarlane and Anne Hathaway

To base the entire opening on the premise that Seth MacFarlane was in danger of being the worst host ever was selfish and egocentric.  Anne Hathaway’s “It came true!” was a little less on the nose, but still seemed a bit out of touch to an audience of millions, many of whom may have wishes on a less grand scale, like being able to make a house payment or buy insurance, for example.

Key Presentation Takeaway:  Always consider things from an audience’s perspective and think about what would be of most interest or relevancy to them.  Shockingly, we are less important to them than we think!

Photo courtesy of beaconradio on Flickr.  Some rights reserved.

The Oscars offer a great opportunity to see how the stars and those behind the scenes handle (or mishandle) their moment in the spotlight.  Out of character and costume, free of directors, scripts and props, we expect them to show an appropriate level of professionalism, gratitude and humility, as well as entertain us.   The Oscar audience is not unlike your customers or prospects.

A look back at the 2012 Oscar winners and presenters reveals some critical lessons for anyone in sales or involved in doing business presentations.  As you’ll see, some of our biggest stars disappointed (Natalie Portman) some surprised (Emma Stone) and a handful almost paid off for the three hours we invested in the show. (Christopher Plummer, Robert Downey Jr.)

Does your sales presentation deliver on all counts when you step into the business spotlight?  Take these tips from the 2012 Academy Award winners and presenters:

1. Be prepared with a strong opening (winners):
   How many times did we hear “I wasn’t expecting this!” or “I’m so surprised!” followed by an awkward grasping for words or incoherent string of thoughts?  They did get the invitations, right?  (In fact, Octavia Spencer had won the Golden Globe and the Sag Award for her role in The Help, yet she was the most shocked winner of the evening!) Knowing your first line greatly increases your confidence, sets the tone and provides momentum for the rest of your presentation.  I’m not sure anyone topped last year’s opening by Colin Firth:  “I think my career just peaked,” but you have to at least give the sound editors from Hugo props for their, “You go…No, HU-GO” bit.
2. Be prepared (presenters):
   Last year’s best actor winners Natalie Portman and Colin Firth both gave tribute to each of this year’s nominees for best actor/actress yet while Colin’s delivery was heartfelt and fresh, Natalie acted as if she’d just been handed the lines backstage.  If even Academy Award winning actors need to rehearse to give a winning performance, shouldn’t you consider giving your pitch or presentation a few run-throughs for that important client or meeting?
3. Be specific:
   Oscar winners have to thank others, but how much more engaging was Christopher Plummer’s sincere and specific thanks delivered to a select few than those grocery lists of names or even Hugo’s sound editor who thanked “anybody who’s here tonight or not,” and “anybody who’s ever been born”?  General information, whether you’re talking about features, value propositions or experience are far less effective at making an impact than bringing to life a few specific, unique and memorable details, so choose wisely, but do choose.
4. Assume the audience likes you:
   I love Meryl Streep but her self-deprecating “I bet half of America is saying ‘why her again’” seemed to undermine the confidence she has more than earned in my book. While a far cry from Sally Fields, “You like me, you really like me!” in 1985, displays of insecurity make your client or your audience uncomfortable and may even drive them to question your competence.  So own the stage.  Consider the audience a friendly group of peers, not a dark force to be won over at all costs.
5. Use what you get:
   This rule of improv works as well in life as on stage.  Being in the moment allows you to use opportunities that arise and further connect with your audience.  The best example of the evening has to be the winners for the Best Adapted Screenplay, The Descendants, who, after accepting their award from presenter, Angelina Jolie, adopted her oddly threatening “look at my leg” stance.  I’d never heard of them before and hadn’t seen the movie yet I instantly liked them for their ability to lighten up an awkward shared experience with the audience – especially during a highly charged moment of their own.  In business we are often presented with opportunities to “go off script” yet we may resist that urge in an effort to remain “professional.”  Next time use those opportunities to humanize your presentations or pitches and strengthen the connection with your audience.

Treat every moment in front of a client or prospect as your turn on stage and see if you aren’t soon winning business and awards.  And if all else fails, I suggest bringing in Billy Crystal or Cirque du Soliel.

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photo credit: Beacon Radio via photopin cc

Photo courtesy of Peter Jones.  All rights reserved.

If I had my way, if I was lucky enough, if I could be on the brink my entire life – that great sense of expectation and excitement without the disappointment – that would be the perfect state.
Cate Blanchett

We never know what is going to happen next in life, but we almost always have expectations about it. Everything we do and say is based on our expectations. We turn the key in the ignition and expect the car to start. We wake up the baby and expect to hear a cry. We call our mother and expect to hear how we never call our mother. Are we sometimes surprised? Sure! Sometimes the car doesn’t start, the baby doesn’t cry, or our mother doesn’t make us feel guilty. But our expectations, right or wrong, almost always affect our actions. Your negative expectations may be keeping you from achieving sales success.

How? Lets look at an everyday scenario, like starting your car:

1. In the first scenario, your car’s been running just fine. When you slide behind the wheel you think about where to stop for coffee and make a mental note to pick up the dry cleaning. You put the key in the ignition, adjust the radio, and check your rearview mirror as you back out of your parking space.
2. In the second scenario you’ve had several problems with the starter. You sit at the wheel with a slight sense of dread, wondering if you’ll have to call AAA and just how late you will be for your meeting.  Your attention is focused on placing the key in the ignition “just right.” You turn it, listening for that telltale click and look to see if the engine light comes on. You breathe a sigh of relief as you make your way out of your parking garage, reminding yourself to get the starter checked before the warranty expires, and in the process…you completely forget about picking up the dry cleaning.

The car starts easily in both instances, but an entirely different set of behaviors and results come from your expectations.  Since you really don’t know what is coming, why not have your expectations work for you instead of against you?  Ask yourself the following six questions:

1. What do you expect to happen on your next cold call, appointment, or presentation?
2. Is your expectation negative or positive?  Are you making a phone call or walking into a business with the expectation that they’re happy with their current vendor?  Or do you anticipate that they have a possible need for your product or service?
3. What are you using to reinforce your expectation?  It’s human nature to jump on the first sign that validates our expectation: a curt secretary, an unresponsive prospect, or even a busy signal can be used to support our negative outlook.
4. How do you react?  Do you turn apologetic and rush through your call when a prospect sounds busy?  Or do you maintain course?
5. Are you taking it personally?  Are you too quick to assume that the other person’s state has something to do with you—even when you’ve just met the person?!
6. What is the best-case scenario?  As Colleen Stanley states in her insightful and practical new book, Emotional Intelligence for Sales Success, if your expectations aren’t working for you, “Change your story!”  Consider that your prospect has a need and may be anxious to find out about the solution.  If that is your expectation, even if the person sounds hurried, you might assume she is dealing with a heavy workload.  Or just hung up with her attorney and you are a welcome break!

EXPECTATIONS FOR SALES SUCCESS:

The point isn’t whether you’re right or wrong about your expectations but that they are either working for you or against you.  Notice the difference in your tone, your attitude, and your behavior when you are talking to people who you believe are happy to hear from you and that you know you can help.  Start taking control of your expectations and you’ll have more control over your sales success.