The Power Point Trap

While Power Point is a widely used tool for presentations, not using it can be even more effective than you may know. Company after company trots into the conference room and sets up the viewer to walk management through a canned set of reasons they should do business with them. After literally dozens of hours have been spent in the creation of the presentation, you start to realize that your listeners aren’t nearly as impressed as you thought they would be. Why? Probably because this is the third one they have sat through this week and as good as you think yours is; they’ve seen it. At least they have seen one just like it. Now, all of those hours seem like a waste and you have no way to shift your presentation to capture their attention. Instead, you muddle through all of the slides knowing full well you have lost them. What a horrible feeling! If you have been in sales long enough, you have experienced it. You may want to consider changing things up a bit and avoid this pitfall. Here’s why and how:

1. Versatility – Walking clients through a set of predetermined reasons to do business with you assumes that your clients are like sheep. Most decision makers have a feeling of expertise when it comes to their own industry. Therefore, the opportunity to interject and shift the conversation allows them to be part of the discovery process as it relates to your company. Also, as you develop a presentation, you do so with a set of details that you think will matter to your prospect. What if you are wrong?

2. Objections -The ability for prospects to offer objections is a fundamental part of the sales process. A “canned pitch” will often remove this dynamic and make it difficult for prospects to offer objections. It is only by knowing their objections that we can learn how to close them. If you or your sales staff are under the impression that objections are a bad thing, you need a new staff.

3. Boring – As dynamic as you think your presentation is, it isn’t. There are two fundamental things you should know before every presentation; 1. You are not germane to the discussion and 2. Your prospects only care about their business. With that in mind, why would you think that you could know exactly what matters to your prospect before you give a presentation? Further more, why would you put together a pitch that talks about how great your company is? You shouldn’t because you can’t and they don’t care!

Don’t worry. There is a solution that will make you more successful. It only requires that actually know what you are talking about and can think on you’re feet. It’s a novel idea I know, but how about………. Create a presentation that requires their participation? Sure, you can still walk them through a few slides if it makes you feel better. But next time you get in front of a group to present your ideas, ask questions in the middle of it. By asking questions you engage your audience and keeping them in the discussion keeps them discussing you! After you leave, they will talk about the discussion and points that were made; theirs and yours. The best way to keep people moving forward is to help them move forward. Let them put their fingerprint on your ideas and they will own them too. Sales psychologists all say that the path of least resistance is the one you let your prospects lead you down. In the sales process, this is much more of a factor than in the implementation phase. Remember, getting hired is the hard part, doing what you do is easy. Once you are hired they will defer to the “expert” anyway. Here some great ways to keep your presentations alive:

1. The lost art of the dry erase board- Remember when we used to walk prospects, step by step, through the process? The advantage here is you can shift to what they bring up as concerns. Also, nothing is better than this style at bringing objections to the forefront. Just a side note: For those of you dealing with “C” level executives, the age demos suggest that this may be a preferred format anyway.

2. Do you see what I am saying? – A conversational format allows you to get confirmation that your prospects understand and agree with key points. Walking through a canned pitch eliminates the ability to do this.

3. The rhythm of sales – How you make your points can be as important as the point themselves. Using a conversational style pitch allows you to dictate the rhythm of the conversation and drive key areas of contention. If your sales staff does not understand the concept of conversational rhythm, you need a new sales staff.

4. Persuasion is power – While a power point presentation will explain, conversation allows you to persuade. By overcoming objections and then offering a clear and concise counter argument, you begin to persuade your prospect that you are right.

There is no “one size fits all” solution to perfect presentations but what we do know is that convincing anyone of anything requires direct communication. Surprise your next prospect by turning the lights back on after a very short pp presentation. Walk over to the dry erase board and say, “Here is what we are thinking”. You will be amazed at the level of involvement they will have. Of course, there are always to sides in any discussion and I would love to hear from you. Agree? Disagree? Let me know! Post a comment below!