Sales Presentations Training

Conversational presentations happen every day at my favorite Starbucks. I’ll see a group of five to six individuals clustered around a table with a serious business agenda taking place. Our society is a lot more relaxed today and you may find yourself giving a very important sales presentation in a relaxed environment. Here are some presentation tips to bring to your table:

1. Have a specific agenda you are going to cover and share that with your group

2. The atmosphere is relaxed but make certain about the four or five main points you are going to cover. You may have these written down on a 3×5 card, DayTimer or on your computer.

3. Acknowledge the noise and energy around you in this public setting and draw from it.

4. By the very nature of this setting it is meant to be conversational so do ask a lot of open ended questions of the other members.

5. Take short notes when the other members give you feedback-it is nearly impossible for you to remember all the key points that will come out.

6. Gain a consensus on what the next step will be-a formal presentation, you provide more information etc…

7. At the end of the meeting if you don’t have a handout of the information you have covered offer to send all the participants an email with an overview of the key points discussed and what if any resolution was achieved.

Conversational presentations are a fact of live today and we all have to be able to adapt quickly. Use these tips as a starting point for your more relaxed sales presentations and please offer any suggestions that are absolutely golden for you!

Steve Mertz

Relaxed Presentations Can be Powerful!

Technorati Tags: Conversational Presentations, Sales Presentations, Public Speaking

David Hornick, one of my favorite venture capitalist writers, has a great post on his blog Venture Blog. Hornick was at a conference discussing vertical search. Someone asked if there was anything left in the search engine arena and Hornick replied that he had spent the week searching for information on the best barbecue for Dad’s Day but had come up with little useful information. 

Next week an entrepreneur was in front of Hornick to pitch his product. He told Hornick “I understand you are looking for the perfect bar-b-q–We’ll I’ve got it right here.” The brochures were a joke but immediately he had captured Hornick’s attention.

The entrepreneur had done several things right:
1. He had done his homework.
2. He had caught Hornick’s attention
3. He displayed a sense of humor
4. He was able to relate his search product to one of Hornick’s problems

A perfect example of what all good public speakers should include in their sales presentation. It doesn’t matter if we are pitching an venture capitalist or convincing our financial representatives on the benefits of becoming a wealth manager.
Read Hornick’s post here.

Steve Mertz
Barbecues and Search Engines!

Technorati Tags:
Public Speaking, Venture Capitalists, Sales Presentations, David Hornick, Venture Blog

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The question is: Will the publicity be good or bad for your public speaking career? A few weeks ago I commented that Guy Kawasaki had an excellent presentation but I was distracted by his use of offensive language. Last week, Garr Reynolds over at Presentation Zen was surprised to hear Tony Robbins-yes that Tony, call Al Gore a son-of-a-bitch in a public presentation. Garr opined that maybe he had been living in Japan too long.

Here’s my take away on why good presenters, usually male, swear in public. It’s a guys way of saying I’ve made it and I really don’t need this speaking engagement. I don’t really care what the meeting planner or audience thinks-I’ve earned it, and frankly, I’m pretty darned important in my mind! Just my opinion but feel free to share yours.

Presentation Zen has some excellent clips you may want to review-including the one from bad boy, Tony Robbins. The presenters were given 15 to 20 minutes to present and TED (Technology, Education & Design) was kind enough to make these videos available from their February 2006 sold out event in Montreal. Here is the link: If Your Idea is Worth Spreading, Then Presentation Matters.

Steve Mertz
Should Presenters Cuss in Public?