Developing Your Sales Pipeline: Selecting the Software

Last Tuesday Tech Tip we reviewed the Sales Process from Wikipedia listed as:

1. Prospecting / initial contact
2. Preapproach - planning the sale
3. Approach
4. Need assessment
5. Presentation
6. Meeting objections
7. Gaining commitment
8. Follow-up

Last week we developed a need assessment and successfully figured out how to pull information from our potential client.  Now we have the opportunity to look at the requirements of the industry, the person we interviewed and, of the business’ processes we just collected in our needs assessment.  Internally, we want to look at the solutions we can provide and the items we must develop to meet their challenges.  As we define a solution, several different people contribute information, each with their own role and input.  We are essentially defining a project team that will help the client solve their current complications.

The solution and the quote become the presentation.  The presentation is the first real work your company performs for your potential client.  Inc.com gives 5 tips to giving a good sales presentation:

1. Make certain it’s the right time – avoid being an interruption and wait for the time that you can have a natural conversation
2. Don’t lecture – Remember you are providing proper persuasion for the correct decision, and this can only happen if you are listening to the client and you are giving their input proper thought
3. Use a Simple Structure – Introduce, Communicate with Evidence, Summarize, Ask for the Next Step
4. Create the argument for buying – People purchase a solution based on a gut feeling, but they look to the salesperson to help them structure a rational explanation for their feeling
5. Answer three essential questions – Always be prepared to answer these points whether they are asked or not:

• Why should we work with you (the salesperson)?
• Why should we work with your company?
• Why should we buy now rather than later?

Remember that your presentation is the first step to building the “working relationship” with your client.  Take your time to listen, assess, and then provide a solution that you feel comfortable talking about as extensively as your client wishes.  This is your chance to help someone, to help a company.  Remember the words of Lily Walters, “The success of your presentation will be judged not by the knowledge you send but by what the listener receives.”

Some great presentation tools are out there!  Don’t get caught up in PowerPoint and its look-a-likes, get creative!

• Prezi
• Haiku Deck
• Projeqt
• TimeGlider
• Animoto