Entertain me with your sales presentation

Want to teach your staff to create sales presentations more appealing than mother’s Christmas dinner table? Start by sitting down each staff member and asking them to show you the entire presentation they just showed a prospective client. More than likely it was a one-sheet they show all prospects. Or maybe it’s the Power Point template they just happened to “customize” with the prospect’s company logo. Before you have this meeting with your employees, invest the time and money to have dinner at a local teriyaki style Japanese cooking restaurant. If you’re in Las Vegas I suggest Benihana. In Boise my favorite is Teppanyaki. The key is not so much the food but the presentation. The chef prepares and cooks the food at a grill right in front of you. With a maestro’s upswing he adds oil to the grill and commences a rapid, fiery, high-flying show that results in a masterful mix of seafood, chicken, steak, rice and vegetables. Add the spinning egg trick and the shrimp tossed into your dining partner’s mouth—and the presentation exhilarates and satisfies every time! The question I have for you: do your presentations have the flair of a Japanese steak house or a drive-thru fast food chain?
One of my clients writes commercial jingles for a living. He has a long list of clients including Glade air fresheners, McDonald’s and Heinz ketchup. I noticed during his presentations to attract new clients he would put in a CD, turn up a jingle created for these previous clients and hope the prospect would be dazzled enough to buy. He’s had good success, but I asked him to consider playing the guitar and singing the jingle live and in person. His success rate has increased. So far every presentation, 100%, has resulted in a sale. Think if your business needed a marketing jingle and my music man were to visit, break out the guitar and sing your new custom song. Now that’s a presentation that will make the sale. I once brought a marching band to a presentation. It certainly grabbed the owner’s attention. And perhaps more importantly it rallied the sales team into ‘buy in’ to the proposal as well.
Ask yourself before each presentation you make, “How will my competition make this same pitch? How can I make this pitch different and, more importantly, memorable? In this day and age with audio and video tools at your fingertips, you should be--at the very least-- playing video or audio testimonials. Or how about using video to improve your performance during presentations? Golfer Tiger Woods watches video of every round of golf to scrutinize both the strong and weak parts of his game. Your staff should be doing the same.
If you are in the realty business, how about hiring someone to set up a lemonade stand, a trampoline and some kids at your next open house? During your presentation ask the prospective homebuyer, “What do you want to see out your kitchen window?” Car dealers—sales trainer Joe Verde says that 99% of the people who walk on your lot want to test drive a car. However, fewer than 6 out of 10 actually get a test drive or presentation demonstration. What if you actually drive the new car to that person’s home and leave it at their house for the weekend?
Think BIG and make it a presentation to remember. Christmas dinner only comes around once a year. But I can remember everything special my mom makes because of the presentation. Does your prospect remember you because of your presentation or is it just another trip to the drive thru?

Are you sold on your product or where you work?

I found a coffee shop in Ontario Oregon, that is giving this card away for patrons to have a free "work pass" to drink coffee at this shop. Our your workers given the green light to dream up ideas like this for you. Better yet do they believe enought in your company to take such a bold step. Read more to learn more about selling you're workers on your product and company.

The headline of the newspaper read: "Dave Ruined My Olympic
Moment." The Dave was me--the Olympic moment was Nancy Kerrigan vs. Tonya
Harding for the ice skating gold medal in 1992. Similar to this year's
winter games, the competitions in Norway were completed well before the
events aired on U.S. prime time television. If you weren't careful you'd
know the outcome before you were able to watch the competition. I didn't
mean to spill the beans about the Kerrigan/Harding showdown, but a
recorded news brief ran just before the women's singles ice skating. I was
the talk of the town on the receiving end of plenty of hate mail for
spoiling the outcome.
My wife, Claudia, recently reminded me of that moment saying a checker
had ruined her "customer service moment". More retail employees are
getting a script or recommendations on how to 'personalize' a customer's
experience. However if the employee doesn't believe in the product or
company, the script does no good. The moment falls flat.
Claudia went looking for costume items for our daughter's sock-hop at
school. When presented with the glittery black felt, the fabric shop
employee asked Claudia, "Wow, what will you be making with this?" Claudia
shared her idea then commented on how nice it was that the cashier took an
interest. He quickly replied that he DIDN'T actually care; he was just
told he had to ask every customer the question. Nothing says "come back
again" like being told "I'm just doing what I have to in order to keep my
job."
Another spoiled customer service moment came when I wanted to buy a
"flip" style video camera. The electronics guy steered me away from the
store's sale item toward a big name brand instead. Then he asked if I'd
sign-up for a store credit card so I could get an additional discount. I
declined which prompted him to reply, "Good thing it’s a bad idea... but I
have to ask all the customers that."
Managers and owners---what are your employees saying to customers? Do
they not understand that truly satisfied customers equate to job security?
Make sure your sales people believe in what you are asking them to tell
customers.
* Believe in themselves
*Believe in the product
*Believe in the company

If they don't--you need to find other employees who will enhance the
customer service moment.

When in Doubt Throw a Party!

Or at the least hang a car from a crane or put a bail of hay in the back of a new car, to get attention for your company. I posted two such people using this method.
It's a start, however, if you read the rest of this blog you'll find a way to finish your marketing plan with a great party.


When in Doubt, Throw a Party!
As a marketing and sales expert (I would rather be referred to as a lead generator), the most common question I get is: “What’s the best form of advertising?” My simple reply is: “The one that works!” It sounds simple, but most business owners looking for advertising aren’t really sure what or how to use the medium they select. An over-zealous sales person may be pushing something on you and not explaining how it works. Or, you may have heard the web is the way to go. Without the proper strategy and tactics, the mission of generating new leads for your business will surely fail.

Here are my Favorite Five Tips when it comes to marketing your business or product:

• Tell a great story! We all love to hear how people got where they are and how they decided to start the business.
• Find a need. All the marketing in the world won’t help you sell a widget that people don’t want. My advice is to ask customers what they want to buy from you.
• Focus, focus and focus. Who is it you want to tell your story to and what do you want them to know about your product.
• You’re brand is a promise to a customer. Make sure you keep your promise every time.
• Price, quality and convenience. Not necessarily in that order, but good notes to remember in your marketing message. You have to prove your value when they come through the door.

Here’s my million-dollar, top-secret marketing weapon. When in doubt, throw a party. It sounds simple, but people forget to do it and do it often enough to make a difference. Invite prospects in to try your product and make it fun for them to use and, of course, purchase. The price of admittance for your party: bring a friend along.

So, now it’s your turn to tell a great story when someone asks you what the best form of advertising is.