Five Phrases to Avoid during Your Next Sales PresentationWritten by Charlotte Purvis
The success of your next sale may be riding on more than product or service you’re offering. Your presentation will play a major role in sale -- words, your style, and tone of your delivery. Here are five phrases to avoid during your next presentation. By avoiding these common phrases you will have a better chance at making a favorable impression.Hey “y’all,” “you guys” or “yous.” As endearing as these words are, they are best left out of your presentation. These and other informal words can drain professionalism out of your presentation and may send message you want to win them over with your charm. Instead, work to draw attention to your product, customer service after sale, and professionalism of your organization. Remember to use formal words delivered with a friendly tone. “The competitor’s product is not as good as ours.” Instead of saying, “Theirs is very low-performing,” say “Ours meets all industry standards and recently won awards for best performance in all three major categories.” It is acceptable to make objective comparisons to help audience in decision-making process (“Ours has three xyz’s and theirs has one”). Remember that decision-makers in audience may have purchased product you’re disparaging! What happens when that competitor you mentioned merges with your company and you have to come back and meet with this same group? Or if you take a job with that competitor? Instead of drawing attention to competitor, keep them focused on your product or service. “I don’t know.” OK then, who does? It’s a natural response to say, “I don’t know,” but that doesn’t help your audience. What they want to hear is that you are pleased they asked that question up and that you will be on telephone to get an answer within minutes of close of meeting. They don’t want to hear you say, “I’ll get back with you,” they want to know when and how you will get their answer.
| | Don't Count Your Chickens Before Your Eggs HatchWritten by Shelly Rich Friedling
Honestly, this IS advice for those in business, and not just colorful local lingo!People have a tendency to do two things when closing that first big sale, or watching hit counter fly due to newest supermonster-nothingbeatsit-trafficgeneratorX: A)sit back, start filing your nails, and say "wow, I did it, smooth sailing from here on in"...or b)jump around, pat your self on back and celebrate-go fishing, buy a car, start writing acceptance speeces for business of year ... but both hold a highly dangerous common thread: neglecting immediate future. It's ok-even appropriate and deserved-when you finally start seeing those results you've been working toward, to take a deep breath and relax. It's super to think in grandiose terms; without dreams, life would seem small indeed. BUT, come back to earth quickly; supermonster might crash, your big customer can also go bust, and your silver lining might tarnish fast. Go ahead and start reeling in next "big one." This IS actually best time to either prospect or close other sales; when you're on a sales high (yes, you athletes, it happens!), you're feeling your best, and that energy will be reflected! Hopefully your business plan includes daily income producing activities (IPAs). These can be small; send a new ad to a different type of ezine, add a new product or try a new type of service (eg ppc search engine or lead generation program). They are also activities that bring you up in unexpected setbacks, because just at point something falls through, those seeds sown start springing up. If you put all your eggs in one basket, what happens if you drop it?
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