Electronic Presentations Power Up Your Sales

A winning presentation can help you close a sale. A poor presentation, on the other hand, will reflect negatively on you, your company, and its products or services. It can also send your prospect directly to the competition.

With the advent of new, inexpensive e presentation software packages and laptops, you can organize your own presentations and create your own visuals Learn how to use this new technology effectively. It will take some time initially, but you'll see the payoff in the long run with increased sales.

You don't have to be Shakespeare or Michelangelo to create laptop presentations that sell. "To be most effective with a prospect, you need to focus your company pitch on the prospect's needs then present motivating visuals," says Claudyne Wilder, president of Wilder Management Services (Boston, MA), a presentations consulting firm.

Wilder suggests following these eight steps to ensure that your presentation is a winner:

1. Hit your target. "Customize the presentation to the audience," says Wilder. "Know what they are used to, what they want." Some prospects will prefer a conservative, formal approach. Some want a lot of technical information. Still others will respond well to humor and a casual atmosphere. Ask how much time you will be given for your presentation, and then make it shorter than the allotted time. Most salespeople talk too much. If possible, find out which of your competitor's presentations impressed the prospect, and why.

2. Identify your objective. "Know what message you want to leave your audience with," says Wilder. "If you don't know what your objective is, then you are probably going to miss the point." Organize your presentation into three key points you want to make before you begin preparing your visuals. When your visuals are done, you can then go back and make sure that you have covered each point. Remove any material that is not relevant to those points.

3. Tackle the technology. Creating a laptop presentation can be nerve-racking if you don't fully understand how to use the hardware and software and if you're not prepared for technical problems. "Imagine this scenario: Two hundred people are in an audience waiting for your laptop presentation. You can't get anything to come up on the screen. You never get it to work," says Wilder. Save yourself from this nightmare by bringing your presentation on a backup disk in case you have to use another computer. You also should bring a version on overheads or paper and allow enough time at the facility for a rehearsal. Don't forget to carry an extension cored, powerstrip, surge protector, regular mouse, and a pointer. Turn off the screen saver and power saver before you begin.

4. Get in a groove. "Your presentation should be organized on a basis of your objectives," says Wilder. Audiences will respond more favorably if you feel comfortable giving the presentation, so make sure that the format is natural for you. Follow the steps below to help you organize your information in a way that will grab and hold the prospect's attention:

• Begin with an agenda. Audiences want to know where they are going before they are taken somewhere.
• Start the presentation with at least three screens that list the prospect's current situation and future needs.
• Focus on how your product or service affects the prospect.
• Tell prospects only a few things about your company.
• Frequently list the benefits of the product.
• Show a chart comparing your product with the competition's product.
• Recap the major points of your presentation.
• Suggest the next steps for the customer to take.
• Prepare a short version of the presentation to leave behind.

5. Create simple, high-impact screens. "Once you've picked your software program, you'll have a choice of colors, clip art, and movement features. You may be tempted to use them all, but don't," warns Wilder. "It will be distracting and take the focus from your main point." To create simple and effective screens:

• Present only essential information.
• Use only short phrases, not full sentences.
• Choose goals that fit the prospect's environment.
• Don't limit yourself to using only bulleted phrases on all screens.
• Make your screens attractive, clear, relevant, and interesting.
• Use easy-to-follow comparison charts.

6. Stay center stage. "Establish a rapport with the audience. It is you they have come to see and hear, not your fancy computer presentation," Wilder says. "Always begin and end your talk with the lights on you." The biggest mistake you can make when creating a laptop presentation is to let the technology take the focus away from you and your message.

7. Present with style so that people listen. "Identify your personal presentation style and generate some passion for your subject," says Wilder. "Personal style lets you present with confidence." Customers pay more attention to speakers who exude self-confidence and enthusiasm for their products.

8. Talk the talk. "Practice your presentation out loud so that you know how much information you have and how long it's going to take," says Wilder. "Get someone to review it who can be objective about its contents."

From Professional Selling, a Bureau of Business Practice Newsletter