Alright, let’s gather ’round and talk about making sales presentations in this week’s sales meeting. Every seller has their favorite part of the sales process and for me, it is the fourth step, where I get to present solutions to the clients’ problems.
To review, we have identified a solid prospect by doing our pre-search in the first step and then we did the hardest part by getting the meeting with the decision maker. In that meeting, we asked a lot of great questions and then we listened for all of the answers.
Once that information was gathered, it was time to put the pitch together and get ready for the sales presentation.
The very first thing I would suggest doing when you are back on your computer is to write out what the problems or challenges are that you uncovered from the business on the left side of a document. Now, I am ready to work on the solutions I have for each of those challenges, and I am going to write my suggestions right next to the very problem it addresses.
Additionally, if I haven’t figured it out already, I am going to match that client up with specific talent who are open in that category for endorsements and are a good fit from a personality standpoint. I want to bring whoever that is into a meeting and brainstorm potential ideas and work on copy for a live endorsement demo, possibly one tied in with a feature where the client can really own a piece of real estate on the station and within the station’s digital properties.
When writing the copy for the demo or spec ad, this is where you can really impress your client. First off, it obviously needs to be a strong demo, well produced and a bit longer than normal. The secret sauce to this part is to have the host use words the client used.
For example, if you are working with the local hardware store in town that is trying to compete with Home Depot and Lowe’s, they might say things such as, “Our staff has worked here for a combined 75 years, they have part-timers who don’t know the community.” When you put the demo together, have the host basically say the same thing. This shows the client that you listened, but it will also resonate strongly with the client as they might not even remember saying that, but because you know they think it, they’ll want it in the copy.
My goal throughout the entire process is to focus on exactly what was said in the client needs analysis meeting. I jokingly once said to a client before a CNA meeting started, “Anything you say in the CNA can and will be used against you in the presentation.” It’s kind of true, however.
That really comes into play when you go over the problems you uncovered, which will be the second time you have run through the list, because you at least did it once when you recapped your previous conversation with the client when that first meeting was ending. Repeating the main problems again shows the client you cared enough to listen and that you are focused on what they are focused on.
The minute you flip the switch and make it about you, your station, the talent or anything other than what that business owner is concerned about, is the minute you start to lose momentum. Keep repeating the problems and the solutions.
One tip a longtime manager gave me many years ago was to ‘pause for the cause’. What he meant was, you want the client talking. If you go on and on and on about the problem, the solution, how the solution works and explain everything all at once, you might lose the client. Pause at some point and make sure they are with you. Ask a question such as, “Do you see how this would be a good solution for that problem?” Keep them engaged. When they speak, listen and pivot as needed.
While we will talk more about closing the sale next week, it is something you should actually do several times throughout the presentation. Don’t talk for 20-30 minutes and then ask if they are ready to sign at the end. Remember, we want them nodding their head up and down or saying the word ‘Yes’ whenever we can, so have those affirmation questions ready to go.
Once you have all of the information presented and have addressed the problems with the solutions you recommend, recap it all and then, once again, confirm that you hit on the issues that business owner wanted to address.
Now, it is time to present the pricing information. I am never a big fan of walking in and handing someone a twenty-page deck with the pricing information in the back. You already know what is going to happen at that point. The client is going to focus on the pricing and not hear the context of what you are talking about and what you want the client to really hear.
Get them excited about what you have presented, get them thinking they are about to hire their own in-house marketing expert, and all of these solutions presented are going to help start to get that business more on track to where they want it to be. Then talk about what it cost.
If you have done your job well enough, the price won’t matter as much as you think. It will certainly be easier for the client to swallow after hearing about these great ideas and solutions to their challenges. Now, if they want to negotiate price, you are more prepared because you just saw how excited the client was about different parts of the proposal.
So, if the client needs the price to come down, the first thing that would have to come out is whatever it was they were most excited about – or one of the things they were most excited about. See how selling it first can make a difference? Had you tried to sell it and the client saw the price first, it may have been a different reaction.
The bottom line on making the presentation is something I wrote about last week during the client needs analysis. I said I wasn’t sure how you were taught, but when I’m talking to someone about buying something, I want it to be their idea. People are more likely to react positively to something they helped come up with.
Using the CNA to direct directly to the sales presentation makes the next step so much easier.
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Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
