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Tag: Business Presentation

  • 10 Tips on How to Improve Your Sales Presentation and Close More Deals

    You are through the process of email marketing and targeted calls to finally set up a presentation to rope in more business. You might be a good salesperson with a good product but closing the deal requires a little more. Preparing for your sales presentation is the key, whether in person or digitally. A good presentation will help you get the required funding or the action (sale) for your product, service, or offer.

    In this article, we have put together a few tricks that help you put your best foot forward and close deals with your important clients.

    10 Tips/Tricks to Better Your Sales Presentation and Close More Deals

    Set Up the Base with A Positive Tone

    Psychology says how we initiate a meeting sets the tone for the entire duration. Setting up a positive light environment will also help you connect better with your audience. You can set up a positive environment by asking your audience quick questions about them, like sharing any interesting fact or story they learned, something everyone looks forward to in the recent future, etc. Asking questions and interacting like this will be an icebreaker (if not too much prior communication) and create a comfortable, quick communication base to build your further interaction.

    Focus on the Beginning and End

    Research says that the beginning and end of a presentation are crucial. The attention span is most when you start the meeting, and the end of the presentation is where you close the deal. So, be mindful of strategically using these two time frames of your presentation and place your essential facts here. Build your presentation with the most crucial points addressed in the opening. Move on to the 2nd important next and let your presentation flow from there (a technique called solution mapping).

    Go for a Story

    Storytelling works wonders in catching someone’s attention and is the reason why people rely on it so much during presentations. Weave a story around some fictional character, i.e., how using your product or service improved things for them. You can also add personal, relatable stories to help your audience connect more.

    Communicate/Interact with Your Prospective Client

    You must have done your bit of interaction with the client to have resulted in this presentation. However, interaction or communication doesn’t stop anytime in this process. Learn about their concerns or pain points. Confirm if anything has changed since the past discussion. It will let them know that you are personally invested there and care about your prospects. Learning well about your prospects and sharing unique insights (offering perspective regarding their situation) will give you an upper hand and better equip you to lead in the presentation. You can move on to your product’s strength smoothly; post that.

    Tailor Your Presentation According to The Needs

    Tailor your discussions and presentations according to the concerns of your prospects. Whatever gets uncovered during your discussions with the client (even during the meeting), make sure to address that to let them know you are concerned. Addressing their needs in real-time will help build a strong personal bond with them and show them you care enough. Handling objections is one of the most crucial parameters when closing a deal. FAB (Features Advantages Benefits) sales technique can come in handy at this time as you can keep going back to the most significant points while addressing the issues, as and when raised.

    Communicate the Objectives of Your Presentation

    Discussing objectives beforehand or during the presentation will help you structure your presentation well. You can let your audience know of the agenda by either sharing it over email, via presentation invitation, or during the presentation with a separate slide. It will let your audience know the flow of the meeting and what they should expect from it. A quick discussion on this will also acquaint you if your prospect wishes to close the deal after the presentation or intends to make a decision later. Discussing objectives will highlight what everyone hopes to accomplish with the presentation.

    Share Materials/Agenda in Advance

    Making presentation materials available to your audience (in advance) will prove highly beneficial to you later. It will save you time during the presentation, and you can share comprehensive information, long videos, or other material that’s too long to use in the presentation. It will also give your prospects a chance to discuss all the information with other decision-makers. Sharing the presentation materials folder will help them follow the presentation better and come prepared with concerns. You can include materials like white papers, press releases, data and price sheets, product/service description sheets, CDs (videos), business cards, etc., in your folder.

    Share Your Knowledge Regarding Competitors and the Industry

    Address your competitors in the presentation too. Include their well-known strengths, and let your audience know how your product or service is better suited to serve their needs. It will give them an idea about how well-versed you are with the trends and the industry and will help them gain confidence in your offer. Acknowledging your competitors and running trends in the industry will show them your preparedness and add to your credibility. It will also let your prospects know how concerned you are regarding their needs and how well you understand their requirements.

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    Keep Your Presentation Short

    Research says that the starting and ending 10 minutes are crucial in a presentation as your prospects will be more attentive. You will have everyone’s full attention in the beginning, and the last minutes generally lead to closing the deals. However, be mindful of the duration as people’s attention generally wanes due to information-heavy presentation slides. So, remember to keep your presentation to an optimal length (preferably short) and do not include too much information in the slides. You can take the help of presentation material to relay heavy data and material.

    Rely on Feedback

    Utilize the power of the feedback loop in your presentation. Try not to make it a one-way communication; involve your clients by asking for feedback and interacting with them. It will add more value to your presentation and help you close the deal as you can tailor the presentation accordingly (knowing what you should lean on more and what you should omit). It will help you learn how your clients feel about your pitch, whether they resonate with what you are saying, and let you know the direction you should take.

    You can ask questions like, have I addressed your key concerns? Do you resonate with what I am saying? Does it make sense to you?

    In a Nutshell

    These tips will help you prepare better for your sales presentation and rope in more business. However, the key is to prepare and practice. Communicate well with your prospects, understand their key concerns, address that in your presentation structure, tell them why you are well suited for their needs, and you are good to go. Do remember to follow up after you have closed the deal.

    You can use pre-designed PowerPoint presentation templates if you don’t have much time to create your sales deck from scratch. These templates will let you edit every element to make them well-suited to your presentation’s theme and tone.

  • How to Engage Your Audience with Presentations Layouts?

    “Every new thing creates two new questions and two new opportunities” – Jeff Bezos.

    The same analogy applies when giving professional presentations.

    Imagine presenting a text-heavy 50 slides to a group of uninterested people. Half of them are yawning while the other half is waiting desperately for you to leave.

    Heart-breaking, isn’t it?

    After burning the midnight oil, your efforts land in a trash can.

    While this is not surprising, retaining your audience’s attention is considered a daunting task. According to a study, humans listen at an efficiency rate of 25% or less. We remember only 10% of what we hear after 72-hours. This makes life complicated for people giving business presentations.

    If your presentations are text-heavy, lack visual, uninteresting, and non-interactive, your audience will lose their interest sooner or later.

    That’s why you need presentation layouts to engage your audience.

    From getting new business to engaging your audience, a professional layout answers all your presentation misery, and will help boost your business plan.

    Easy Ways to Engage Your Audience with Presentations Layouts!

    With attention span reduced to eight seconds from 12 seconds in 2000, engaging your audience is an uphill battle. Using presentation templates and layouts, you can create stellar slides to keep the audience interested.

    Follow the rule of three

    What does 9-1-1, ‘start-middle-end of storytelling, and presentations have in common?

    Presenting ideas and stories in threes creates the most memorable experience, and it’s a concept widely used since the time of Aristotle. People remember only three things from your presentation. Why do you want to throw 25 or 30 odd things at them? The longer your key points’  list, the more complex and confusing it is for your listeners.  

    Even Steve Jobs used the rule of three in his presentation to describe iPad2. He described iPad2 using three adjectives’ thinner, lighter, and faster’. These three words successfully conveyed the meaning.

    When it comes to presentation, divide it into three sections. Use a three-part presentation layout to organize and deliver content.

    Tip: Use the list of three to sell your ideas to investors and engage your audience. In the figure below, notice how a presentation slide sends across a message without making the slide text-heavy.

    Follow the 10-20-30 rule

    If you don’t want to fall into the bucket of presenting terrible pitches, follow the 10-20-30 rule while creating a presentation. When Guy Kawasaki first coined the term, little did he know that it would be impactful after so many years? According to the rule, a presentation should:

    • Have only ten slides
    • Take 20 minutes to present
    • Use thirty points for the font

    Does this sound overwhelming? When you present using this rule, you understand the genius behind the system.

    Why only ten slides?

    According to Kawasaki, listeners cannot understand and retain more than ten concepts at a time. The ten pointers you select depend on the pitch for your business, but ideally, it should identify a problem, give a solution, and describe ways of achieving it.

    What’s it about the 20 minutes marathon?

    Studies have found that adults pay attention for 15-20 minutes at a time during a lecture. Secondly, during a 50-minute lecture, most adults cannot retain or recollect information shared with them recently. As a result, Kawasaki concluded that the ideal length of presentation should be 20 minutes or lesser.

    What’s so special about the 30 point font?

    As a listener, how often do you pay attention to slides using 11 or 12-point text?

    Such slides are often overlooked due to their small font size. It also fails to stir visual stimuli. So, it makes sense to use a 30 point font. Apart from visually attracting your audience, it lets you find the most salient features for your presentation.

    Tip: Never torture your audience with persuasive presentations; instead, give them something they’ll enjoy reading and listening to. The 10/20/30 rule could become a bible for presentations.

    Use images with faces

    We, humans, are trained to be amazingly good at seeing faces. According to a study, a human face instills trust, and customers like brands using faces in their brand visuals. But, why does your audience resonate with images having faces?

    • The pattern recognition machinery in our brain efficiently extracts a face from a clutter.
    • It helps to form a human connection with your audience.
    • People remember a face more than names.

    This is why a presentation layout with faces will get your desired attention.

    Tip: Faces help frame the text, especially if the face is looking in the right direction. Our eyes tend to drift in the direction of where the human figure is looking.

    For example, use the picture below and enter your text on the right side. The human face drifts attention to where the eyes and finger are pointing. Any text or message you enter in that area is likely to garner attention.

    Use a lot of white space

    “The music is not in the notes, but the silence between them” – Claude Debussy.
    This line rings true even for presentations. Like music, a presentation requires a lot of empty (white) space to absorb any content. One of the most significant mistakes while delivering presentations is cramming your slides with too much text.

    This is why top brands use an image with a single line of text in their ad campaigns. If you’re looking to master your next presentation, include a lot of white spaces because:

    • It makes a slide easier to read
    • It helps draw the attention of your audience
    • Funnels critical messages to your target audience
    • Helps prioritize information

    For example, to showcase their finest product range, Tinker uses an image purposely covering an entire page and uses many white spaces with a little text. Due to the white spaces, the message stands out. You can replicate the same web design and layout concept in your presentation.

    A cluttered presentation is similar to a cluttered desk. You can never locate what you want on time. Therefore, it’s imperative to use white spaces in your presentation to simplify the design and send across a message to your audience.

    Tip: White space is the de-facto design standard in presentation, and by overlooking it, you’re missing a plethora of opportunities.

    Conclusion

    From TEDx talks to Steve Jobs, you cannot ignore the power of presentation. It’s one of the leading ways to connect with your audience, change their perception and sell products.

    A winning presentation is neither difficult nor expensive. It’s just clear, concise, and delivers your message.

    So, the next time anyone asks you to create a presentation, pop your soda can, uncork it, and tell them you’re ready with a presentation. A presentation layout is an effective and inexpensive method of creating stellar presentations.

    To engage your audience, create functional yet attractive slides, minimize content usage, pick pictures with many whitespaces, use human faces, and ensure there’s always a contrast between the text and background. A yellow color text doesn’t look appealing on a white background. But, a brown color indeed does.  

    Furthermore, when laying out presentation elements, focus on the rule of third and the 10-20-30 rule.

    Congratulations! You’re ready to create a top-of-the-class presentation!