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Nothing is more nerve-wracking
than to show up for a presentation
thinking one thing and being faced
with another. Even when you ask
questions in advance, this can
happen but it’s better to ask up
front tominimize surprises.
Preparation
Being completely organized in
what you are going to say, and
when, will help relax you because
youmore confident. Knowing your
competition and knowing your
clients thoroughly is imperative.
This means research and digging
down where others won’t, by
developing a plan, developing
your presentation, honing that
presentation and then rehearsing it.
Practice
Rehearse your presentation over
and over again until you know
thematerials flawlessly. Have you
uncovered every FAQ that you can
think of? Do you have the answers?
Is your presentation perfect? You
want to be like an athlete who
practices relentlessly to get it right.
Consider for amoment that an
Olympic diver will practice eight
hours a day, seven days a week
making on average of 75 dives a
day for four years—that’s 109,500
practice dives—tomake one
gold-medal dive that will take less
than three seconds. Now that’s
practice. Additionally, visualize
yourself delivering the best sales
presentation ever. Be prepared
to take questions, and when
questioned listen intently and
repeat back your understanding of
the question before you respond.
If you don’t know the answer, own
it and say you will get the answer
and get back to themat a specific
time. You’ll never go wrong with an
honest approach.
Tips For
‘A’ Game
Presentations
The best presentation advice
I have ever heard was to
make
it about them
. This point was
recently repeated to me at a
National Speakers Association
(NSA) meeting where the
speaker, Gary Rifkin, CSP, spoke
on Passion for the Platform.
While his presentation was
about public speaking, the
tenets of his talk can certainly
apply in our sales and marketing
presentations. When you get in
front of a client or clients, that is
indeed
your
platform.
Rifkin suggested keeping these
four questions in mind when
developing your presentations:
• What does my audience
(client/prospect) already
know about my topic
(industry/company)?
• What does my client
need
to know about my company
or offerings?
• What does my client
want
to know about my company
or offerings?
• What do I want to tell
them about my company
or offerings?
If you can make it about your
clients first, then you’re off to a
great start.
Performance
When you come to perform you
must be totally in the zone. Are
you focused? In the moment? Are
you leaving it all on the table?
When I speak at events, I am
totally spent when it’s over—like
an athlete, when the game is over
I experience total exhaustion and
ultimately have to rest. When
you’ve given it your all you just
know it. It feels right, it feels
good; win or lose, you know that
you’ve given your all.
Review
Even with a win, the “A”-gamers
review what they can do to
improve and lift their game. They
take criticism. They understand
that to be at their very best they
must listen to others and be
open to the possibilities that
those suggestions may make for
a better performance next time.
So be open to review, and accept
any criticism with an open mind.
Accountability
Be accepting when you fail
at a presentation. When you
are not quite on your game,
point the finger inward and
be introspective. I’ve always
admired Michael Jordan, even
more so after I heard him as
being quoted as saying, “I fail
every day of my life and that’s
what makes me great.” He
accepts that he fails and fails
often, but he learns from each
of those mistakes and builds on
those failures for the betterment
of his game.
Repeat
After doing all of these things,
and perhaps falling down,
missing a point or not getting a
deal, you get up, look back, dig
down and intensify that desire.
You prepare, practice, hone your
performance, review, be open
and accountable and then do it
over again.
Finding Improvement
I really enjoy practicing my face-
to-face presentation skills. You
may want to consider recording
If you can
visualize yourself
aswinning and
being on top,
then youhave
the beginnings
of bringing
your “A” game.
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JUNE 2017
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