Is Your Sales Presentation Dangerous to Your Health?

Most sales presentations backfire, says Tim Riesterer, coauthor of Conversations that Win the Complex Sale. That's because most salespeople are:

Blabbermouths. They over-pack presentations, believing customers want to know everything. "In reality, the more information you insist on giving your prospects, the worse you can make it for yourself," Riesterer says.

Self-absorbed. Customers want to know what you've learned from other customers. But sales presentations always begin elsewhere. "You will tell them all about you and your company and why your products are best," Riesterer says. "You will also include the obligatory map of the world with your locations; the entire range of the products and services you provide; and the logo slide showing all of your clients."

Bland. Most salespeople fail to contrast their offerings with competitors'. As a result, customers zero in on price. If you don't offer a unique viewpoint, Riesterer says, "you've fallen into a bake-off where everyone is presumed to be exactly the same."

To avoid these pitfalls, Riesterer recommends:

Focusing your presentation on issues and trends. Couch your presentation in terms of the things that worry customers and threaten the status quo.

Differentiating your products and services from competitors'. "Prospects want to hear your distinct point of view on the potential challenges, threats, obligations, or opportunities that put their objectives at risk," Riesterer says. "And, to reach a decision, they want to clearly see a difference between what you offer and the competitive alternatives."

Marketing Spend Increases

Marketers are spending more, according to research firm Warc.

The company's Global Marketing Index, which tracks monthly trends in spending, staffing and trading, has climbed for three consecutive months, and stands at its highest point since last April.

The climb is due to ever-greater spending on mobile and digital marketing.

Spending on TV and radio is shrinking.

Marketers in the Americas exhibited the greatest confidence, followed by Asia Pacific and Europe.

Warc's Global Marketing Index is based on a survey of 1,225 marketing executives.

Rule #1: Think before You Link

With 200 million subscribers and climbing, in mercenary hands LinkedIn can be a weapon of self-destruction.

We’ve all connected with people whose self-serving discharge leaves us hoping LinkedIn will introduce a “hate” button.

But one comment arrived in my inbox last week that should earn for its author the LinkedIn Lummox of the Year Award.

She attached her tone-deaf comment to a 100-day old post by the manager of an interest group I follow.

The manager’s post asked readers to remember a beloved colleague and group member who’d died, suddenly and prematurely, two weeks earlier.

The self-promoter's comment read:

Sorry for your loss. I help companies with their tradeshows and events. Give me your marketing list and I will turn it into $$. Call 800-523-4635.

Clearly she hasn’t learned LinkedIn Rule #1.

It's All in the Name

Your product's name is arguably the most important aspect of its brand.

That's because names connote.

Apple once considered naming the iPhone the Mobi, according to adman Ken Segall.

My parents once considered naming me Adolph (after my mom's dad).

Be careful about the name you choose.

Brand Strategy Insider suggests there are ten possibilities for product names:

People’s names. Names that are both real and fictional. Examples include Bing and Peter Pan.

Real words. Words that have been re-purposed. Examples include Amazon and Vox.

Tweaked words. Names derived from words that have been altered. Examples include eBay and iTunes.

Affixed words. Unique names derived by adding a prefix or suffix to a real word. Examples include Friendster and Omnidrive.

Made-up words. Fabrications. Examples include Bebo and Plaxo.

Compounds. Names comprising two words. Examples include Facebook and LightScribe.

Blends. Names comprising real and partial or made-up words. Examples include Farmville and Wikipedia.

Phrases. Compounds that are phrase-like. Examples include GoToMeeting and StumbleUpon. 

Puns. Word-twists that suggest a double meaning. Examples include Farecast and Writely.

Acronyms. Names derived from the official name. Examples include AOL and M&Ms.

Always Be Opening

Drive author Daniel Pink's new book draws on a decade of social-science research to topple worn-out beliefs about sales.

The books is a must-read for every marketer.
To Sell is Human makes the case for moving beyond used-car "hoodwinkery" to embrace a kinder, gentler form of persuasion.

Pink argues that we should replace the A-B-C made famous by Glengarry Glen Ross, "Always be closing," with an up-to-the-minute mantra he calls "Attunement-Bouyancy-Clarity." While I can't imagine Alec Baldwin barking this to the troops, the formula works.

By Attunement, Pink means ceding power to prospects, to a degree that would make Baldwin-esque closers quiver.

By Bouyancy, he means remaining upbeat despite rejection, not with Tony Robbins CDs, but through "interrogative self-talk."

 

By Clarity, Pink means identifying problems instead of "selling solutions."

 

Pink expertly supports his ideas with experimental results and salespeople's anecdotes, offering throughout the book tons of tips for putting them into action.

 

The third and last part of To Sell is Human rocks.

 

In it, Pink explains how to pitch, both in person and in writing. His instructions for pitching are clever, simple and exceedingly original.

PS: Don't miss Dan Pink's guest post on writing effective emails.