Improving Your Presentations: Do You Know Where to Start?

Skip Anderson

From Skip Anderson's Selling to Consumers Blog:

If we were to focus just on your presentation skills for a moment, and I asked you what you need to improve, would you know what to tell me?


Would it be the speed of your speech delivery? Or the volume? Do you have any funny quirks in your speech? (One of mine is that I say "great" all the time). How about funny quirks in your body when you present your product or service? Do you umm and ahh? Is your speech clear and understandable? How is your eye contact when you're talking to a prospect? Do you ever finish your prospects' sentences for them? Do you respond appropriately to prospect's questions and objections? What does your body language say about you?

That's normal, but it's also not a very good prescription for improving your presentation skills. You probably need to do something that will help you focus on your presentation so you can accurately identify your presentation strengths and weaknesses.


I suggest audio recording, or better yet video recording, several of your presentations (in front of real prospects, if possible). If you've never done this, you may be surprised about what you hear and see. An individual has to be looking for areas for self-improvement to see opportunities for self-improvement.


This video illustrates the importance of the importance of actively looking for something.

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MitchM

Self improvement takes on many forms from micro managing personal quirks, learning skills, and creating a vision to keeping physically fit and balanced in every way. Any success I've enjoyed in life and in my sales/network building career is all of the above with lots of determination, willingness to pick up and start again after failures, and some good luck.

When you sit down with high probability prospects who have understood mutual commitments provided conditions of satisfaction are met, 9/10 the presentation HAS BEEN COMPLETED in that agreement. The other 2/10 is covering the basics, listening and being clear and well defined about every variable in the agreement. Even if that requires multiple meetings and uncovering what's important - obviously all distinctly important - setting up the presentation/appointment right with the right people counts most.

That is a fact!

MitchM

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Skip Anderson

Mitch, it's great to see how you so masterfully have analyzed the full 11/10ths of what makes an effective presentation.

So that's why I find so many of your posts ridiculously repetitive and not grounded in sound sales methodology! It's great to know there are actually ELEVEN tenths, not just TEN tenths.

But seriously, does anybody want to discuss or comment on the original post in this thread? That would be great. (We'll leave the mathematical analysis to MitchM in a new thread that he can start.)

MitchM

11/10 is the story of my life, Skip. I think it's that extra 1/10 embedded in my genes - in my DNA/RNA and the very fiber of my being God provides only for a select chosen few that I am really the success I am.

My posts are a reflection of solid sales methodology you disagree with, Skip, nevertheless an opinion makes not a fact less a fact. Since you don't get it you disregard the other 9/10 of what I posted which has to do with the kind of sales methodology you profess - the difference is the starting point - the gate, so to speak.

Continue seeking that extra 1/10 within, Skip. You may have it too!

MitchM

MrCharisma

The first thing that comes to mind is Professional Persistence. Maybe it's me, maybe it's the nature of my job but I'll fight for my customers to a certain degree but once they grab a booklet, I mentally submit and leave them with a final comment which hopefully gets them back. I'd say 50% actually do return.

I develop rapport like a professional, my product knowledge is second to none within my company and I read people great which allows me to discover and recommend exactly to the individuals needs... but once it gets to "can I take this, I need to speak to _____" I know it's become a game of chance for the return business. I guess it's the nature of being based in a retail environment...

D.M055

Bump.

Relative FNG to sales, here. While I'm familiar with the 11/10ths philosophy, I find it more appropriate to how I drive my rally car than selling. There is something to be said about the notion of striving to be more than "just one." It's like synergy on a personal level.

More to the original question, I have often caught myself talking WAY too fast on the phone. It seemed as if I could never get the speed and inflection right. If I intentionally tried to slow things down, I felt as if I was almost insulting someone on some level; as if they couldn't understand it because they were a simpleton.

Granted, given the nature of my product line, I get to speak with a number of simpletons on a daily basis, but in less than a week on this forum, I've noticed mention of using the prospect's rate of speech as a guide for my own and it seems to be working. I still catch myself trying to hurry things along when I know I am unable to help a caller, but being able to spot one's issues like this makes it a bit easier to correct them.

Gold Calling

Concentrating solely on the prospect, this is what works best for me. There is some degree of meeting their volume level, speed of speech, etc ... call it mirroring or whatever you like but only some ...

Most important to me is uncovering what is important to them. By completely and totally focusing on the prospect, as you would on a date perhaps, you can find out through verbal and non verbal communications what they need/want/desire and show them then how they can get it from what you offer. Little of this has to do with how loud you are or whether you say GREAT a little too frequently, except when doing either interferes with learning what the prospect's hot buttons are!

Selling isn't telling or TELLING ISN'T SELLING.

All the improvements I have ever seen are in this area, not in closing. Since I began as a prospector I am even more schooled in that area ... but have seen the greatest improvement in uncovering needs/pain that my product/service addressed.

It is interesting to discover that you have to work at this consistently. You will find yourself very sharp for a time and as soon as you think you have it you will begin ever so slightly to loose it. There is no status quo in our performing art. Anyone who pretends they are ALL THAT ALL THE TIME is simply fooling themselves.