Don’t Forget About the Value of Sales Presentations

Annie Pilon

Monday, October 5th, 2015

When it comes to sales, so much emphasis has been put on new media methods in recent years.

You need to know how to reach customers on social media.

You need to have a website that makes buying easy for your customers. And you need to have a comprehensive online communication strategy.

And while all of those factors are certainly important, they have somewhat taken away from the emphasis on a more traditional form of selling — making in-person presentations.

When done correctly, a presentation can make potential clients feel connected with your business, enough to buy from you today and create a long-lasting relationship with you for the future.

That’s why it’s so important for sales people to still place emphasis on presentations. Elisabeth Osmeloski, VP of audience development for SearchMarketingExpo.com and MarTechConf.com, recently spoke to Forbes on the subject. She said:

“Lack of preparation is the biggest cause of failure across the board. Not having a clear message and actionable takeaways will leave the audience feeling like their time has been wasted.”

And that’s probably the most important part of creating a presentation — considering the audience’s time. Instead of just coming in with a list of things you want to say, think about what a person might need or would want to hear in order to be interested in what you’re selling.

That doesn’t just mean thinking about the information itself. You also need to consider how the audience might respond to different tones or communication methods.

The bottom line is to actually spend time creating a presentation with your specific audience in mind. But that sort of communication can be beneficial in basically any selling method — in-person, online, social media, etc.

So, if you’ve mastered the strategy when it comes to new media selling methods, just translate it into your in-person presentations and you should be well on your way to increasing sales.

Courtesy: Small Biz Trends

About Annie Pilon

Annie Pilon is a freelance writer specializing inmarketing, social media, and creative topics. When she’s not writing for her various freelance projects or her personal blog Wattlebird, she can be found exploring all that her home state of Michigan has to offer.