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In today’s podcast, we look at the last four stages of the sales process. Managing your sales presentation can make a tremendous difference in your ability to meet customer expectations, build credibility, and consistently meet your sales objectives.
The Sales Presentation Process Part 2
In the last podcast, we looked at the first four stages of our presentation sales process. Stages 1 – 4. If you missed it, go to www.SalesStrategyWorkshop.com/006. Now you are ready to move on to stages 5 – 8 of the process:
- 5. Presentation/Demonstration.
- 6. The Pre-Close and Proposal Delivery.
- 7. Close The Sale.
- 8. The Post Close.
Stage 5 Presentation/Demonstration
The Sales Presentation
In the presentation demonstration stage of the sales process, you prove to the prospect that you have the goods. You represent the right company, you as an individual can be an added resource, you have the right solution, and you can show the prospect that you have what they need.
The demonstration is where you prove the solution. You want your presentation to answer four questions:
- Why they should work with you.
- Why they should work with your company.
- Why your solution is best.
- Why they should do it now.
The Demonstration
In your demonstration stage, you want them to get excited about your solution and what it would be like to own it. Don’t do a generic demonstration when you demonstrate your products or services. Your demonstration must be specific to their needs.
Illustrate a feature and benefits you feel are of value to your prospect and use a tie down to get agreement on each feature and benefit you present to ensure it’s what they are looking for.
Key points:
- Make sure you tailor the demonstration to what the prospect wants to see, not just what you want to show them.
- Look for the wow moments that make the prospect perk up and reinforce them.
- When you have a feature or benefit that fits the client’s needs, build a story around it so they can visualize it helping them.
- Practice your demonstration. This is very important when dealing with technology. Make sure everything works.
Stage 6 The pre-Close and Proposal delivery
One quick tip on closing. Never be premature with the close. Don’t attempt to close on anything until the prospect is ready. This means making sure that you have met their expectations. You can accomplish this with a couple of easy questions:
“Mr prospect, do you feel our solution will meet your needs?”
“Is there anything you want to accomplish that this solution won’t help you with?”Your questions could and should be tailored more to your situation, but I hope you understand. You want to start uncovering any critical items on the prospect’s mind or anything you may have missed and address them before you get into the close.
Stage 7 Close The Sale
Now you’re ready for stage 7, the close. If you follow your process, the messiest stuff should be out of the way. This only happens If you ask the right questions and address their concerns. When you do, the close should be simple, right?
Well, that depends. I what to give you one word of advice I give in all my training sessions, be prepared to close more than once. Even the most amenable prospect is likely to say no on the first pass if you ask, “Is There any reason other than price why we can’t move forward with this today?” They could say no to the price. You should have five ways to ask for the order in your tool bag.
Stage 8 The Post Close
Things have reached an emotional high during the sales process, particularly in steps 5, 6, and 7. In the post close, your job is to bring them back down to earth.
In the post close, before you leave their home or office, you want them in the same mental place they occupied when you first arrived. To do this stick around and talk to them, much like you did in the warm-up stage. This helps with buyer remorse.
I think you will find the podcast helpful, and I look forward to your comments.
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