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Here are 7 strategies that will help you deliver a killer sales presentation, every time. 1. Start with a brief summary of the other persons situation. Forget the details about your company, the awards you have won, the companies you have worked with; you can discuss them later. When you open a sales presentation with an executive summary that outlines your understanding of your prospects key issues, you will immediately capture their attention and separate yourself from your competition. It sounds easy; however, most of the sales presentations I have witnessed begin with an overview of the sellers company which may be important to the seller but it is seldom very interesting to the buyer. 2. Keep it brief. If you have been allotted 60 minutes set a goal of finishing in less than forty-five. No prospect is EVER going to complain that you didnt use up your allotted time. 3. Focus on must-have information. The vast majority of sales presentations include far too much detail, usually about aspects of the product/service that are irrelevant to the buyer. Improve your sales presentation by discussing ONLY the most important elements of your offering. Be prepared to talk about the nice to have aspects but only if requested and if time permits. Contrary to popular believe most prospects dont want to know everything about your solution; they only want to know whats relevant to their situation.

4. Use stories, cases studies and examples. Weave stories into your presentations that demonstrate how people have benefited from your offering. Use case studies and example that are relevant to each prospects business. 5. Create a two-way dialogue. The average sales presentation is a one-way flow of information with the seller doing all the talking. Make your presentation stand out by engaging people in a conversation. Instead of spending your allotted time talking, ask your prospect questions, opinions and perspectives. This actively engages them in the presentation, keeps their attention, and helps you differentiate yourself. 6. Conclude with a specific call to action. Dont make the fatal mistake of ending with something weak like, If you have questions, feel free to give me a call. Summon up the courage to tell the decision maker exactly what you want them to do. 7. Practice. Perhaps the most vital element of delivering a killer sales presentation and yet often the most overlooked or neglected. The more important the sales opportunity, the more critical it is that you make the time to verbally rehearse your presentation. The goal is not to memorize it but to help you remember key points, anticipate potential objections and your responses, and to ensure the presentation flows properly. Delivering a killer sales presentation will not only make you stand out from your competition, it will help you increase your sales, propel your business and feel more confident. Now, go and modify the next sales presentation you have scheduled and start making more sales!

What is the difference between marketing and sales? Let's think about this question for a moment. Without marketing you would not have prospects or leads to follow up with, but yet without a good sales technique and strategy your closing rate may depress you. Marketing is everything that you do to reach and persuade prospects. The sales process is everything that you do to close the sale and get a signed agreement or contract. Both are necessities to the success of a business. You cannot do without either process. By strategically combining both efforts you will experience a successful amount of business growth. However, by the same token if the efforts are unbalanced it candetour your growth. Your marketing will consists of the measures you use to reach and persuade your prospects that you are the company for them. It's the message that prepares the prospect for the sales. It consists of advertising, public relations, brand marketing, viral marketing, and direct mail. The sales process consists of interpersonal interaction. It is often done by a one -on-one meeting, cold calls, and networking. It's anything that engages you with the prospect or customer on a personal level rather than at a distance. Your marketing efforts begin the process of the eight contacts that studies show it takes to move a prospect or potential client to the close of the sale. If marketing is done effectively you can begin to move that prospect from a cold to a warm lead. When the prospect hitsthe"warm" level it's much easier for the sales professional to close the sale. Do you see the cycle? As you see in my explanation above it takes multiple contacts using both sales and marketing to move the prospect from one level to the next. That is why it is import that you develop a process that combines both sales and marketing. This will enable you to reach prospects at all three levels; cold, warm, and hot. It's all about balance. Are you unsure of how to integrate your marketi ng and sales? Try this. Take a few moments and divide your prospect lists and database into categories of cold, warm, and hot leads. Then sit down and identify a strategy on how to proceed with each individual group. For example you could try the following methods of contact: Cold Lead Strategy - Send out a direct mailing or offer them a special promotion Warm Lead Strategy - Try a follow-up call, send out a sales letter, or schedule a special seminar or training session to get all of your warm leads together.

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Once you've moved your prospect to the "warm" level it's time to proceed in closing the sale. This will be easier to do if you somehow engage the prospect. You can do this by conducting a one -onone call, make a presentation, or present a proposal, estimate, or contract. What if you are uncomfortable with the sales or marketing process?

An alternative that often proves successful is to partner with someone that possess the talents that you feel you lack in. You can do this by creating a partnership, s ubcontracting, or hiring in that talent.

How to Become a Successful Salesman?

Every business in the world has some certain unique features, which has to be learnt and practiced a lot in order to be successful in an enterprise. For example, a swimmer has to do practice regularly for hours in order to keep them fit for competitions. Even though the swimmer has succeeded in number of competition he has to work out regularly, everyday in order to defend his position at the highest level.

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During his training he should focus on the mistakes he had made in the past competitions, he should train and prepare himself in such a way that he shouldnt repeat the same mistakes in future. There is an analogy between the competitive sports and salesmanship. As like in sports salesperson has to master the art of selling the products of the enterprise to the customers. The sales person himself should learn the fundamentals of selling and master them in order to get best results. The nature of sales personality depends on certain extent on heredity and environment. An intelligent salesman would combine the study and actual practice of the fundamentals by analysis. A good successful salesman should posses some certain qualities in order to achieve success. 1. Sales personality Sales personality is all about the sales man itself. Personality can be produced and improved by developing the qualities in the positive traits. A person may not have all essential qualities of a sales person but he has to strive in order to compensate the lacking. The positive qualities to be developed, in order to increase and improve the salesmans personality such as kindness, courage, confidence, honesty, loyalty, good health, and cheerfulness. All the sales person would not have all the positive qualities they might have some negative qualities such as fear, gloominess, cowardice etc. These qualities should be neglected from the sales person. Habits once formed are always difficult to change. A person who has the capability to work hard will always work without any difficulties. So it is necessary for the salesperson to develop the positive traits which may be difficult at the beginning, and there by building a positive personality. Some of the important aspects to be developed by the sales person to achieve success are: (a) Physical traits It includes health, breadth, posture, speech, and appearance. Without good health the sales person would not have the endurance to sell the product or achieve his targets. He may also be required to move about different places, which would be difficult for him, and as well as stand during the greater part of the day. Offensive breadth must be avoided because it may repel the customers. It can be easily detected and controlled by the salesperson himself. It may be caused to defective teeth or physical disorders or, from stomach. Good posture considerably enhances the appearance and personality of the sale persons. Good posture doesnt mean a straight and rigid posture. It means unnecessary tension of muscles should be avoided. Voice should be very expressive, pleasant and it

should attract the customers a lot. The voice should not be high pitched, hoarse or monotonous. Neat and pleasing appearance is essential for a salesperson in any walk of life. A good appearance of a sales person will give him confidence in presenting his arguments in a convincing manner without being distracted by fear of his own appearance. Appropriate way of dressing also plays a key role in appearance; it should be clean and fit well. The salesperson should know how to smile; a good natural smile would enhance his appearance. (b) Mental Traits Mental traits include accuracy, alertness, imagination, initiative, observation, and self-confidence etc. The salesman should be alert, ready to find out ways and means of serving the customers. Alertness is a part in which the sales person should inspire confidence of the customers. Customers normally would not like hurried salespersons as well a slow one. It is one of the most important mental attributes, which should be developed by the salesperson. If a salesman with imagination will have the capability to visualize the articles required by the customer, such a customer would be relieved and so grateful for suggestions and ideas given by the salesperson. The salesperson should be able to think and decide for himself instead of having to be told everything, he should be self-reliant. The important quality in a good salesperson is the ego drive, which makes him want to make the sale. He must remain enthusiastic of the job. The salesperson should have the capability to take decisions for himself and assist the wavering customers into making his decisions by gentle means of questions and suggestions. The salesperson should have the attribute of keen observation. A person who is a keen observer will immediately sort out the problems and find a solution as soon as possible. The salesman must be interested in his work and strive to learn all the duties of the different phases. He must pay a close attention to, the customers, the product he sells, and the enterprise he works for. Self-confidence springs from the knowledge. Therefore he should acquire thorough knowledge of the go ods he sells, likely type of customers. The salesperson should have confidence in himself and products he sells to the customers. (c) Social traits The ability to make friends and to get along with the people in one of the most valuable assets. Social traits includes, ability to meet the public, the most important quality of a salesperson to meet the public and speak about the product he wants to sell them. He is also required to overcome considerable resistance, deal with the strangers in his selling activity and open up new territories. The salesman should always be polite and generous to his work and to the customers. It deals, not to be late for appointments, addressing customers in a friendly way. Never losing temper, saying thank you and good-bye while leaving. All the workers should be cooperative help one another to make pleasant working conditions. (d) Character traits There are some important attributes in a persons character. No one can expect to be successful unless he follows some modal characteristics. It includes honesty and reliability, enthusiasm, industry and persistence. 2. Knowledge of goods The salesperson should have the knowledge about the products he is selling. Sales person without technical knowledge about the product would be a danger to he customer. Naturally he cannot explain something prospective to the customers, which he himself doesnt understand .If the salesman has the knowledge about the product he would be able answer all the queries raised by the customers. Even if a single answer were not given clearly, the customer would doubt about the quality of the product. Besides by having the knowledge it will become easier to make the customer understand about the product.

The extent of the knowledge required of a salesman depends on whether he is in selling high cost products or low priced products. The salesperson should acquire information as to the policies behind the products as these are reflected in the products. Knowledge of the production methods can de used by the salesman to justify the cost of the product, he should also know about the law affecting the sales and selling, knowledge about the firm, knowledge about tariffs delivery conditions also. There are different methods to acquire knowledge about the products: Personal experience. Reading books, trade journals. Consulting with the seniors. Studying advertisement. Reading sales manual. Meetings and conferences. 3. Importance buying motives There are number of motives. The commonest motives are fear, profit, pride, comfort, fashion, health, and habit. A salesman selling life insurance may utilize the motive of love for the family, loyalty, therefore he should find out the fears involved in it. It may be death, fear of loss etc. Profit in this the salesman should make the two points clear to make money, save money. He should motivate the customers to buy the products he sell about the positive aspects and negative aspects which would provide a clear picture to the customer, whether this product would suite them or not. And by giving suggestions and ideas to the customers.

10 characteristics of a salesman
25 Jun
I am back from a discussion with (master) Dedalo Pfiffer, probably the best salesman Ive ever met. The discussion was on the characteristics (aka attributes) that a person should have to be a good salesman. It seems there are 10 of them and all 10 must be at a reasonably high level: having a bad score at only one of those will compromise the whole and will never allow that person to reach a higher level. What I also found very interesting in the discussion is that most of these characteristics are also necessary in many other fields and some are in general very interesting attributes that a person should have for a professional growth. Lets see them: 1. Determination the power to pursue objectives, with self-motivation and perseverance 2. Medium to high technical preparation as a very high technical level will make the focus shift from business and sales to technical issues, resulting in discussions about technical problems, critical aspects and in general negative elements instead that focusing on value for the customer, positive effects and return on investment. 3. Capacity to inspire Trust as a person, as a company, as product and services that I represent. All of those three. 4. Ability to quickly identify the Power Base that is the group of the most important, influent people for the sale. Doing the right thing at the right time with the wrong person will not work. And speed is essential. 5. Ability to quickly identify the Critical Issues for the customer, his main problems and where the products and services we have can give the maximum added value. 6. Capacity to ride (even create) a Compelling Event the urgent need that will make the customer close the deal and not procrastinate forever. This capacity is especially important in tough times like the crise were in.

7. Have the courage to ask Customer Committment at some point of the sales process: have the customer promise a contract with a certain amount at a set date. 8. Ability to negotiate the Closure of the deal never losing control, never getting nervous, never giving up. 9. Capacity to build, day by day, a human capital a network of relations that will lead to other relations and sales. This is primarily what the salesman will leverage to call high and grow. 10. Passion and enthusiasm. Passion and the ability to inspire passion in the people. My favourite one. Achieving only average levels in all ten of those is for some people very hard. I am one of those: very strong in a few points above but too weak in some others; Ill probably never be a salesman, but I enjoy understanding how it works and when looking for a salesman for my company Ill be careful evaluating the candidates over these 10 characteristics. Last but not least other recently discussed (very broad) topics I love:Exit the confort zone and Think big, start small. These two have never been more important for me than now.

QUALITIES OF GOOD SALESMAN 78

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A successful salesman should possess following main three types of qualities. 1. Professional qualities. 2. Specific qualities. 3. General qualities. Some of the most important points in professional, special and general traits of goods salesman have been explained below: Training and experience A good salesman should be expert in his respective field. He should have knowledge about the technique of production and art of salesmanship. He must be trained in speaking regional and other languages. It is advisable for the successful result of the operation that a salesman must undergo on practical training before coming to the actual job. Latest information A salesman must have up-to-date information in regarded to quality, nature, description, prices and importance of the dealing products. He should also have the knowledge of potential market, organization of his firm and taste of his consumers. Psychological approach A salesman should be in a position to follow the psychology of human nature. He must have ability of understand his customer's choice. So he should talk in terms of the customer's interest and he must create pleasant atmosphere to achieve favorable attention and interest on the part of the prospect buyer. Convincing style A good salesman should adopt convincing style in order to win prospect's confidence. He must persuade his prospect that the specific product being sold will best fill that need. Sound appearance

A salesman should have the personality of good health and sound physique. He must be stalwart young man with pleasing manners and nice habits. He must possess the abilities of influencing and attracting other persons. Honesty It is a prominent quality of a good salesman. .In order to establish the goodwill of firm he must be honest and sincere in performing his duty. There is no place for dishonest salesman in any business. Steady work It is the most important trait of successful salesman that he should be industrious. He must show enthusiasm for his profession and constantly work hard to achieve more success in his field. Courtesy A salesman must be very polite. Courtesy in to business what oil is to machinery. It costs nothing but wins a reputation. So polite language should be used for the object of winning buyer's confidence. This will also help him to make regular and permanent customers. In addition to the foregoing qualities, a salesman should be sincere, self reliant, sociable, and tactful and diplomatic. Sociability A good salesman must keep in touch with the people of different nature in the world and not keep himself to himself. He should move about with a view to widen his range of acquaintances. Salesman should therefore, possess a quality of mixing freely with unknown person within a short time. He should be sociable and popular in order to win new friends. Self Reliance and persistence Another notable quality of the goods salesman is ability to convince the prospective customers with persistent efforts. In order to adequately satisfy customers demand he must be a man of self reliance. He should have perseverance and determination. Dependability The successful salesman should have the capacity of dependability. It keeps him much to win the heart of both customer and employer. A dependable salesman will remain loyal to firm. Thus he will be sincere in his approach to customer with a view to increase the volume of sales and enhances the firms reputation.

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Tolerate by Nature Organized Flexible

Enthusiasm

Good Salesman and Great Salesman

Printer friendly By Roger Reynolds What is the difference between a good salesman and a great salesman? Answer: Integrity.... When I first read Zig Ziglar's answer to that question in a magazine interview, at first I was a little surprised. After reading the interviewer's question my first thoughts went in the direction of "A good closer" or "A good prospector". But after giving Zig's answer a little time it started to make a lot of sense to me.... And over the years I have become a true believer in his answer. My first thoughts turned toward the presidency of Richard Nixon... During Nixon's term as president he had a lot of accomplishments... Ended the Vietnam War, began our modern d ay relationship with China and took some of the first steps to clean up the environment. But, his lack of integrity is why he is most remembered. What is integrity? The dictionary defines the integrity I am referring to as: Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. Our actions and those of the businesses we work for reflect our integrity. It's more than just not lying or cheating.... It can be in the way our product is priced.... Let me give you two examples: I made a quick stop at one of those national grocery chains that had just introduced a "Preferred Buyers Card". On my way up the aisle I grabbed a box of aspirin from a display with a big $1.99 price sign. (Of course I didn't read the fine print on the sign, I was in a hurry.) When I got to the register not having a "Preferred Buyers Card" the aspirin rang up for $6.99. At that moment the store lost its integrity with me... If the true retail value was $6.99 they couldn't afford to sell the aspirin for $1.99! When I first started my business I responded to an ad for a postage meter -- $19.99 per month and you got a scale to go with it. The cost was automatically charged to my credit card every month... No where did I see anything about that being a special price for a specific period of time (again maybe it was there, but, who has time to read the small print?), but after a year I noticed that the charge on my card was $48.99. When I gave the company a call they told me the $19.99 was just for the first year.... (Of course after they heard what I thought about their integrity they reduced the price back to $19.99). That company lost my respect with their pricing policy... If it is an introductory offer, make it clear! And don't make the introductory offer more than 50% less than your regular price for a year!... INTEGRITY!

Not following through on commitments equals loss of integrity equals loss of confidence equals loss of client.... Let me give you an example.... One of the national delivery services guarantees overnight delivery. But what happens if a package gets miss sorted or delayed? They reschedule for the next day... and if it's still delayed they reschedule for the next day.... They make no special effort to keep their promises. Will they refund your shipping fee? Sure if you take the tme to call and i request a refund, otherwise you get billed as if the package was delivered on time. I see this as a lack of integrity which has led to my lack of confidence and will lead to the loss of my business. Would it cost them more to keep their promise? Sure.... But, not spending an extra $60 or so to get the package on the next flight to the destination city is going to cost them $30,000 in annual billing. A number of years ago Tom Peters wrote a book, In Search of Excellence, which picked out some of the excellent companies and told what they did to achieve that excellence. One of the characteristics was doing whatever it took regardless of cost to meet the commitments made to their customers. Your promises must mean something to you and everybody in your organization.... Being ethical is not always what we tell a prospect, but many times is what we don't tell the prospect. (After all they call it "ERRORS and OMMISSIONS" insurance don't they). Don't hide the bad news until you're delivering the policy and the new client has little choice but to accept the bad news. A client is not going to continue to buy from you if you lose his confidence and if he questions your integrity you've lost it!. Remember: No sale is worth jeopardizing your integrity.

Roger Reynolds is President/CEO of ABCO Payroll Services Inc., Roger has obtained an MBA from Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio

Advertising, Sales and Marketing

Creating a Powerful Sales Presentation

by Kelley Robertson The quality of your sales presentation will often determine whether a prospect buys from you or one of your competitors. However, experience has taught me that most presentations lack pizzazz and are seldom compelling enough to motivate the other person to make a buying decision. Here are seven strategies that will help you create a presentation that will differentiate you from your competition.

1. Make the presentation relevant to your prospect. One of the most common mistakes people make when discussing their product or service is to use a generic presentation. They say the same thing in every presentation and hope that something in their presentation will appeal to the prospective customer. I have been victim to this approach more times than I care to remember having been subjected to many canned PowerPoint presentations. The discussion of your product or service must be adapted to each person; modify it to include specific points that are unique to that particular customer. If you use PowerPoint, place the companys logo on your slides and describe how the key slides relate to their situation. Show exactly how your product or service solves their specific problem. This means that it is critical to ask your prospect probing questions before you start talking about your company. 2. Create a connection between your product/service and the prospect. In a presentation to a prospective client, I prepared a sample of the product they would eventually use in their program. After a preliminary discussion, I handed my prospect the item his team would be using on a daily basis instead of telling him about the item I placed it in his hands. He could then see exactly what the finished product would look like and was able to examine it in detail. He was able to ask questions and see how his team would use it in their environment.

Also, remember to discuss the benefits of your products, not the features. Tell your customer what they will get by using your product versus your competitors. 3. Get to the point. Todays business people are far too busy to listen to long-winded discussions. Know what your key points are and learn how to make them quickly. I remember talking to a sales person who rambled at great length about his product. After viewing his product and learning how much it would cost I was prepared to move ahead with my purchase. Unfortunately, he continued talking and he almost talked himself out of the sale. Make sure you know what key points you want to discuss and practice verbalizing them before you meet with your prospect. 4. Be animated. The majority of sales presentations I have heard have been boring and unimaginative. If you really want to stand out from the crowd make sure you demonstrate enthusiasm and energy. Use voice more effectively and vary your modulation. A common mistake made when people talk about a product with which they are very familiar is to speak in a monotone voice. This causes the other person to quickly lose interest in your presentation. I recommend using a voice recorder to tape your presentation. This will allow you to hear exactly what you sound like as you discuss your product. I must profess to being completely humiliated when I first used this tactic. As a professional speaker, I thought all my presentations were interesting and dynamic I soon learned that my stand-up delivery skills were much better than my telephone presentation skills. 5. Use showmanship. In the book, The Sales Advantage, an example is given how a vending sales person lays a heavy sheet of paper on the floor and asks his prospect, If I could show you how that space could make you some money, would you be interested? Consider the impact of this approach compared to the typical approach of saying something like, We can help you make more money. What can you do to incorporate some form of showmanship into your presentation? 6. Use a physical demonstration. A friend of mine sells sales training and he often uses the whiteboard or flipchart in the prospects boardroom during his presentation. Instead of telling his client what he will do, he stands up and delivers a short presentation. He writes down facts and figures, draws pictures, and records certain comments and statements from the discussion. This approach never fails to help his prospect make a decision. 7. Lastly, believe in your product/service. Without doubt, this is the most critical component of any presentation. When you discuss solutions, do you become more animated and energetic? Does your voice display excitement? Does your body language exhibit your enthusiasm? If not, you need to change your approach. After all, if you cant get excited about your product, how can you expect your customer to become motivated enough to buy? Copyright 2004, Kelley Robertson

Sample Sales Presentation Summary Sheet

Contestant Name: Sam Salesman Statement of Situation: You are the owner of a diversified livestock and grain farm, and are in the process of improving your cattle herd through the use of Artificial Insemination technology. Your goals are to breed and sell purebred breeding stock with s uperior genetics and outstanding carcass merit. You intend to promote your cattle through livestock shows and sales on the local and state level. You are wanting to find a genetics supplier that you can partner with for a long term relationship. Representing Company: Red Wagon Genetics Product to be sold: Purebred Genetics (Semen) on a solid bull lineup. Features of Product: 1. Widest variety of choices in the genetics marketplace. 2. Top herd sires available with outstanding carcass traits. 3. Prices that are competitive within the industry. 4. Quality Guarantee 5. Genetic Analysis and consulting available to all customers to evaluate needs and recommend sires to meet those needs. Product Structure: Genetics are marketed by the straw with guaranteed 10 live sperm per straw. Volume discount price breaks at 20, 50, and 100 units per order Semen Tank service available at a discount price for customers Warranty: If semen is found to be defective in any way, a replacement with the bull of your choice will be made. Storage and Use Guidelines must be followed in order for this warranty to be in place. Red Wagon Genetics must be the company servicing your tank to guarantee correct storage has taken place. Service Available: Red Wagon Genetics markets genetics any where in the world. We service semen tanks anywhere within a 200 mile radius of Springfield, IL. Demonstration of Function: Red Wagon Genetics has marketed genetic products in 25 states and Canada. Competitors and Pertinent information: Red Wagon Genetics competes with Select Sires, Accelerated Genetics, American Breeders Service, and other seedstock suppliers throughout the US. Price: Prices range from $15/straw to $100/straw. 75% of our genetic lineup is priced between $15 and $40 per straw.

Closing Statement: Red Wagon Genetics is a proven player in the genetics market. Our dedication to the success of our customers makes us a true partner in your business. If you dont succeed, we dont succeed. Our business is focused on the retention of customers throu gh outstanding support, advice and service after the sale.