Five Mistakes Ineffective Sales Presentations Make By Ted Janusz

Why do some sales presentations get their desired effects, and others don’t?

As a master of ceremonies for CEO summits, I viewed dozens of sales presentations delivered by vendors to a gathering of these C-level executives. Vendors paid tens of thousands of dollars each to get in front of this elite group of potential clientele.

Here are five key mistakes the ineffective presenters made (and what they could easily have done to correct them):

Mistake #1: Start the presentation talking about the company

The amateurs begin by delivering information like:

• When the company was founded
• Where it is located
• What products are services are offered
• What awards they have won and certifications they have earned
• How many customers they have

Yes, this seems like a logical place to start, since most sales presentations do.

But why doesn’t this work? Because the presenter has not first given the prospect a reason to even care!  Although the potential customer may be smiling or nodding, he or she is probably thinking, “Yet another sales presentation! When will this dog and pony show be over?”

Instead . . .

Have a real-life customer start your presentation. The prospect is more likely to bond with someone who seems a whole lot more like themselves rather than listen to someone whom they perceive to be yet another salesperson.

Mistake #2: Talk about all of the products and services that you offer.  

In other words, you are expecting the customer to diagnose their problems and pick their own solution. Certainly something among the cornucopia of offerings you are describing should fit their bill! Just choose one, so I can make my commission!

Instead . . .

If you can’t have an actual customer begin your presentation, deliver a case study on their behalf.  Say something like, “You know, customer X came to us because they had a challenge, something that may also likely be facing you. When we started talking with them here is what we found . . .”

Mistake #3: Death by PowerPoint

Many presenters use PowerPoint simply as a substitute for note cards. They have slide after slide flash up on the screen with bullet points that remind them what to say next. Or they load slides with complete paragraphs, as though Microsoft had charged them by the slide.

This would be similar to going to a movie, and rather than seeing action on the screen to engage us, the producer has simply elected to put the actors’ scripts up on the screen.

Instead . . .

Take a lesson from Hollywood. After all, Americans spend billions of dollars to go to the movies each year. Yet no one has ever spent even a dime to see a PowerPoint presentation.

Use PowerPoint to provide images that reinforce your use of stories.  Tell a story about your customer.  Make the customer (not you or your company) the hero of that story. Your potential customer will identify with the customer and see how, if they choose you, they too can become the hero in their own story.

Potential clients may not remember your charts, graphs and statistics, but they will remember stories, especially emotional ones.

Mistake #4: Educate the potential customer about your products and services.

The prospect may have already done this after completing a Google search. In fact, they may already be armed with too much information.

Instead . . .

Discuss industry trends. Show them that you are knowledgeable about your marketplace. Your customers don’t need more data, they need epiphanies – someone to make sense of it all for them. Educate them on how to conduct a comparison between your offerings and those of your competitors without bad-mouthing the competition.

Mistake #5:  Tell the prospect why you have the best products and services.

Marketing guru Dan Kennedy said that the number one marketing mistake he sees his customers make is a lack of collecting and using testimonials.

Of course, the prospect expects you to say you’re great. But who else says so? Is it someone they know or trust? Is it someone whose opinion the prospect values? That will always be worth more than your own marketing puffery.

Instead . . .

Show the prospect what your products or services did for the customer in your case study. If possible, quantify those results. Then have the customer tell in their own words what their relationship with you did for them. Discuss how their interactions with you solved their problems.

Why avoid these five critical presentation mistakes?

You will find that rather than your prospect drifting off during your delivery, because you are actually making them the protagonist of your story and talking about them, they will become more engaged with you. Once they become engaged, your presentation will become more of a conversation and less of a monologue or lecture, putting you more at ease. But more importantly, once the prospect finds that you have put the focus on them and their needs, and not on you, you will be more likely to get the sale!

 Ted Janusz is a Certified Speaking Professional and a Certified Virtual Presenter. Through his on-site and virtual workshops and interactive keynote addresses, Ted has presented over 6,500 hours on relevant business topics in 49 of the 50 United States, across Canada from Halifax to Vancouver, and in Australia, Mexico and Puerto Rico. ted@januspresentations.com