Sales Effectiveness Articles

Prove It! Make Your Sales Arguments More Compelling & Believable

“I believe we can help you” isn’t a good sales line.

My belief that I can help you isn’t persuasive; you would expect me to believe that whatever I’m selling works (I hope). If the most common sales mistake is not articulating the reasons to buy, next is assuming that because you have identified ways to drive value for your client, so have they.

Prove it! Continue reading →

Begin with the End

Lewis Carole had it wrong: “begin at the beginning” said the King to Alice.

Writing 3000 sales presentations and critiquing the same number has taught me a lot, but if there is one thing that I know for certain it’s that most people start off wrong.

Don’t write the first slide of your presentation first.

Regardless of what the presentation is about, it’s best to start with the end.  In a sales pitch, that needs some careful thinking. Most sales people think the desired outcome is simple, (TO WIN!) – but in my experience that’s usually unrealistic. While it might be a good outcome from the whole sales process, it may not be a SMART goal from the presentation  (SMART being Specific, Measurable, Action orientated, Realistic and Timed.)

Some of the questions it prompts me to ask are:

• Who is the decision maker?
• Are they in the room?
• Can they make a decision in the meeting?
• Do they need to see anything else before they can make their decision?

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Research Shows…and Other Attempts at Credibility

Have you ever attended a course or read literature that uses the phrase “research shows?” I’m getting skeptical in my old age. “Research shows that…” is used more often than the referral to a higher authority, and usually is an indication of fiction.

“I believe that the most popular colour of lingerie is nude.” This may be true, but nothing in this statement says that it is true – belief is entirely dependant on the reader’s assessment of my integrity (dangerous at best).

“Research shows that the most popular colour of lingerie is nude.” This reads like it isn’t my opinion and because the word research is mentioned, it must be true. However, there is still no validation of the truth.
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Be Careful What You Ask For

A question can tell you more about the questioner than they realise: be careful what you ask!

I’m helping a bid team prepare for a major RFP and eventual presentation. It’s for outsourced global business services to one of the largest companies in the world, and the team has an opportunity to ask clarification questions tomorrow. Today our conversation focused on what information is needed to improve the RFP response–a good thought process only one side of the equation. Continue reading →

Imagination, Technology and a Captive Audience

Here’s an interesting article on the developments in meeting and conference presentation technology, and some tips for enhancing speeches. Gary Bowerman, a KL-based writer, asked for some insight for this feature article in MIX magazine, Asia Pacific’s leading corporate meetings, conferences and events magazine – please read on for some more details on our experiences in the marketplace and some of the new products/services m62 has developed.

Download AV Management Captive Audience Article