In a previous post, we reviewed the importance of knowing your audience before designing and delivering your sales presentation.
Here's another quick tip on preparing and delivering your sales presentation.
As with any performance you undertake in your career, you must be ready. It doesn't matter if you are delivering a motivational speech to a group of managers, delivering a sales presentation to a potential client, or if you are waiting to return the ball after the initial kickoff! You need to put in your preparation time.
Preparation breeds confidence. And when you are confident in your skills, you can perform to the best of your abilities.
So, rehearse your speech. Stand in front of a mirror and deliver it to see you you look. Another method to use would be to record your presentation on your laptop. Then play it back for review. Listen for vocal inflection. Listen for volume and intensity. And listen for places where you can place emphasis to drive your points home.
Also, take parts of your presentation "on the road" and review them with co-workers to gauge potential audience responses. Review parts of it with professional speaking coaches and trainers (like the coaching team at Tyson Group). Or join a Toastmasters group and schedule time to present parts of your presentation to practice your delivery.
How much preparation you need depends on your individual circumstances and skill level. However, here's a rule of thumb most professional speakers use and recommend:
For every minute you are speaking, have 45 minutes of preparation under your belt.
You’ll find other ideas for creating your sales presentation in our playbook, Persuasive Sales Presentations. You can download your copy of the playbook here.
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