Redefine Your Career!

In the B2B world, chances are you're going to find yourself needing to make sales presentations on a regular basis. Here are four keys to making a great presentation, and helping your business stand out.

1.Practice. When you are making a salespresentation, you will want to have every aspect of it down cold, including facts, figures, and exactly when you will be referring to your presentation materials. A great way to do this is the old tried and true method of practicing in front of a mirror. Even better is if you can corral a trusted friend or colleague (your dog doesn't count) to listen to your presentation and give you some honest - hopefully constructive - criticism. Things to keep in mind are to keep the pace pretty quick in general, but it also helps to vary the tone of your voice and the speed at which you are speaking just a little bit. You don't want to be up there droning on.

2.Research Your Audience. Chances are, you will be giving your sales presentation to a lot of different potential clients. Don't get in the habit of giving the exact same spiel to each and every one. Do a little bit of research beforehand to learn what you can about the business you are presenting to. Know their mission statement, and subtly tailor your presentation to showing how your proposals will fit into it. Read their press releases. Have some familiarity with their vernacular. Anything that you can do to show that you understand them, and that your products and/or services fit into whatever it is they are trying to accomplish will help your presentation immensely.

3.Don't BS (for lack of a better term.) No matter how well you prepare, no matter how well you know your subject, no matter how good you are at expecting the unexpected, someone is going to hit you with a question that you simply do not know the answer to. The key here is to not make something up on the spot. It's okay to say something like: "Wow, that is a great question. I'm going to have to get back to you on that," as long as you - guess what?-- get back to them as soon as you can with a quality answer. The key is to compliment the questioner, show a little humor if possible, and don't spend too much time on it. Go right back to your strengths.

4.Make Sure Your Materials Stand Out. There are many methods of putting together and presenting your sales materials, price lists, and catalogs. A great idea is to go to your copy and print shop, or take a good look around online, and truly take into consideration all the different document-binding options and what they might be conveying about your business. Plastic comb document binding is probably the least expensive option, but it is also the most common. If you want to stand out, consider packaging your documents in a style that will make your audience want to hold on to the book. Some more elegant and permanent solutions are Wire-o binding, or thermal binding. Search these online to see what a difference they can make