Whilst we don’t like to focus on the negative at Sales Engine, we do find ourselves having a very familiar conversation with our partners and customers. This conversation tends to revolve around how best to overcome some of the common stumbling blocks that a number of their sales people face.

The last time we had this conversation it produced a real light bulb moment (at least in our head it did…) – we should share them with our blog audience…

So we have.

Over this blog and it’s cunningly titled sequel, Part 2, we’ll look at the 6 biggest hurdles to sales people succeeding. Into the 6 now (in no particular order):

No. 1 – Going your own way

Most people aren’t good at asking for help. For some reason human nature means we prefer to bumble along and try and muddle through the best we can. Salespeople, good and bad, do it all the time…

Truth is the best salespeople understand what they are good at, but more importantly what they are not good at. By doing so they know when to call the experts in and this only goes to strengthen how people see them.

Put simply, the sales person that fails to see when they need help will flounder.

No. 2 – Confidence turns to arrogance

Many a top sales person gets carried away with their success and starts to believe their own hype.

Never forget that there will always be hungry, keen and good people along the way and simply believing in your own importance will not keep you at the top of tree. The person who is humble in their own quality tends to maintain a high standard.

No. 3 – Opening everything…but never closing

Many salespeople spend so much time polishing everything or getting as much information lined up as they can that they actually forget to sell.

Yes – of course preparation is key but some people confuse being prepared with getting every bit of info possible for every eventuality.

It’s a difficult balancing act but those that work it well will get the right amount of information to their potential clients (give or take a bit) but will still be able to close out deals and move on to the next ones.

So that’s your first 3 for starters. Any sound familiar? Tune in next week for the second half.

If you’re about to embark on writing a sales presentation, take the time to consider what it took to get you to this stage.

• Look at the product or service you’re selling and the staff and money involved making sure that it’s market leading.
• Look at your marketing team and the money spent on your website, PR, advertising, direct marketing and collateral.
• Look at the people involved and the money spent on salaries, recruitment, equipment, bonuses and training.

Think about the amount of time, money and effort that has gone into getting this far – added up, it’s a huge investment!

Now think about how much you normally spend on your presentation.

More often than not the difference is staggering  – in a recent survey by our chums at Eyeful Presentations, 72% of respondents had no formal process for updating their presentations.   

Let’s just take a moment to ponder that - 72% were effectively spending little or nothing on the key final stage in the sales process.

Our recommendation is both simple and common sense:

Step 1 
 
Quite simply, know what you want. Before you put pen to paper or finger to keyboard you need to understand what your goal at the end of the presentation really is.  This goal must drive your actions…and you must always keep it in mind.

Step 2
 
Coming back to our original point, you must invest in your presentations to get the most out of them. Understand there are two fundamental things key to every sales presentation:

1. A quality presenter
2. A quality presentation

To get the most out of a sales presentation, you need to invest in both!

As with all investments you must look forward to realise their value.

If you find yourself a week away from a big presentation its probably too late to make the investment and derive the real benefits. By creating a 12 month plan for both your presentations and your presenters you can invest well and see the benefits when it really counts.

Now you understand your key objective and have invested well, you are ready to start developing the presentation in earnest.  Oh, and don’t be a stranger – give us a buzz if you’d like to chat through your presentation…we’re here to help…