Episode #80: Sales Presenting Skills

Being influential and persuasive are professional skills. Salespeople need both but often are not trained in either. Let’s look at some new habits which will make all the difference.

Being persuasive is a must when convincing buyers to give up their security (money) in exchange for the promise of higher value. Surprisingly, very few salespeople have ever had any presentation training whatsoever.

The basics of presenting to an audience or a buyer are the same. It could be one to one or one to many, but there are common skills that are needed. Let’s start with the Six Impact Points of Persuasive Presentations.

1. Eyes

If we are talking to a buyer group, a board or a few representatives from a department within the client company, we need to engage each of them with eye contact. Holding someone’s gaze for around 6 seconds allows us to make our point with becoming too intrusive. Japanese buyers in particular can feel oppressed by prolonged strong eye contact. You should still make eye contact with them, but do it more sparingly.

2. Face

Our face, when animated, lends powerful support to our message. When something is great for the client, smile and show pleasure. When something is bad for the client (like taking no action and not buying) show some downheartedness at the thought of the client not getting the wonderful benefits of your solution.

3. Voice

Monotone sounds put us to sleep. Our voice tonal modulation is a fantastic instrument. Classical music is full of lulls in the storm and crashing crescendos. Their opposite natures makes the contrast so much more powerful.

Slowing words down for emphasis works in any language. Speeding them up also works well to set what we are saying apart from all the other words surrounding that phrase. Injecting power when we say something or taking the power down to almost a whisper, is also a clever variation in tonal delivery.

4. Gestures

Gestures come more easily when we are standing rather than seated. Most business meetings I ever attend are seated. However, if you ever have to present something, then stand up and do it. This could be using a whiteboard, flip chart or a slide deck on a screen.

Even if you have no visual aids to support you when presenting, if it is a formal presentation like a pitch, still stand up and give your report. When standing, we can make more use of our body language, can make full use of our hands for gestures, we are more visible to all members of the audience no matter where they are seated and we are more relaxed.

When we are doing our gestures, we can also do them from a seated position and we should do so. Don’t allow the seating arrangements to constrict you. Use your hands to emphasis a point in coordination with you voice and facial expression. This troika is a powerful weapon in the persuasion war.

Standing or seated, only ever maintain the one gesture for a maximum of 15 seconds. When teaching presentation skills, I notice some people never use any gestures but others use the same one right throughout. If we hold that position for longer than 15 seconds, the power of that gesture dies and then just becomes annoying to the audience.

5. Pause

We want the client to do most of the talking, guided by our well designed questions. We need to introduce conversation gaps through pauses, because the client must absorb what we have said. This means they shouldn’t have to listen to anything we are saying now in competition with what we have just said. Pause, remain quiet and let your key points sink in before continuing. Embrace the beauty of the pause.

6. Posture

If seated, sit tall. We are here to convey reliability, trust, consistency and attention to detail. A slob collapsed in the chair opposite, isn’t likely to succeed on that front.

Japanese culture dictates that you sit ramrod straight and off the backrest of the chair. If standing, then stand tall. When standing, that means both legs are kept straight and perpendicular to the floor. Spreading your weight across your legs 60/40 or 70/30, looks far too casual and relaxed for a business meeting, especially when you are the supplicant salesperson.