SALES & MARKETING: Tell Them, Tell Them, Tell Them

In sales, we make countless presentations – some better than others. So I wanted to share with you some tips I’ve learned from speaking that will make your sales presentations better.

Organize your presentations around the Three Ts: (1) Tell them what you’re going to tell them, (2) tell them, and (3) tell them what you told them.

First of all, tell them what you intend to say. Open your presentation by giving a very brief overview of what you’re going to go over. For example, if you are making a presentation to a facility manager at a local office complex, you might say, “Thanks for your time; in less than five minutes, I’m going to tell you succinctly why Holland Landscaping is the best choice for maintaining your grounds.”  Most people are very busy, especially those you are calling on in the commercial sector. When you let them know you are going to be brief, they tend to focus on your message.

Secondly, tell them. In as few words as possible, you need to clearly convince the prospect how and why you are the best choice for the job. Here are some things you might say to that commercial client. “Since 1984, Holland Landscaping has been caring for some of the area’s most prestigious office complexes. Our clients use us year after year and refer us to others because not only do we offer fair prices, we are extremely talented and reliable at maintaining commercial properties like yours. Let’s go through our proposal to improve your property.” Then go over the proposal, highlighting the important parts. Keep in mind - the prospect might not want to read all the fine print. Touch on the best, most important points and move on. Talk about price at the end and don’t dwell on it. Ask them if they have any questions about the proposal and then tell them the reasons why they should do business with your firm.

Remember, rarely does someone only get one price. Your job is to differentiate you and your company from all other options. Some ways to do that are with some “leave behinds.” For example, you might take photos of some of your best work, get a testimonial letter from these clients and put it on the back of the photo. I would present the photos like this: “Here are photos of three of the properties in your area that we care for. A testimonial letter from each client is on the back of each photo. Please, call them and ask them about our work. Also, here’s a list of 10 other references that have properties similar in size and/or scope to yours. I hope you’ll call them as well.”  You’ve done a lot. It’s time to wind down and answer any questions your prospect might have and ask for the sale.  Then, it’s time for the close.

The last thing you do in any good presentation is tell them what you told them. In this case, you should review the best reasons upon which your prospect should base their decision and remind them of your desire to work with them. Enthusiasm sells and while proposals help sell work, it’s people who do most of the work. I always close my presentations by thanking my prospect for their time and leaving them with some great parting words, “Mr. Jones, thanks for your time. I’m sure this is a big decision for you and one you won’t take lightly. I have met with countless professionals like yourself who were faced with the same, tough decision you are facing right now. And when most of them see all the value and expertise we bring to the table, we get the job. So I wanted to stress to you, that when you do business with Holland Landscaping, you get me. And if there is someone more passionate about landscaping and taking care of their clients, I’d like to meet him. Give me a chance; I will not disappoint you.”