June is my designated ‘Trainer Appreciation Month’. So, I’m featuring blogs about training to help you sharpen your skills and enjoy the classroom and your sales meetings much more.
Are your sales meetings knocking their socks off–or boring them to tears? You want to keep their interest! Help is here. Organize your presentation with the three steps here, and watch your agent count go way up for your sales meetings and training presentations.
Who Is a Presenter?
Wea��re all presenters: Any time wea��re in front of two or two thousand, our goal is to persuade the audience to our point of view. We’re presenters as agents when we do listing and buyer presentations. We’re presenters when we’re title insurance or mortgage reps, getting in front of people in sales meetings to persuade them to use our services.
Unfortunately, most of the time, we just get in front of people and say whatever we think of first. That lack of attention to presentation organization leads to some big presentation mistakes, and costs us a�?salesa��. Instead of stumbling through a presentation, why not organize it to grab their attention, persuade them to your way of thinking, and motivate them to action?
Grab Their Attention in the Opening
Have you thought about your opening?A� Are you hiding in your office because you dread doing that sales meeting? Are you going to a listing presentation, and have no idea how to proceed? When we havena��t organized our presentation, we come up with some really boring, off-putting openings, like:
I wona��t take much of your time, but
We have a lot to cover today
We wona��t get through the outline
I know you dona��t want to listen, but
Ia��m not really prepared
You just open your presentation book, point to the pretty pages, and say, a�?herea��s a keyboxa�?A� (Ia��m not kidding. Ia��ve seen ita��.)
Great openings, yes? Yet, wea��ve heard them dozens of times. You dona��t have to settle for whatever comes a�?naturallya��. Instead, make your openings
Provocative
Interesting
Different
Engaging
A Middle that Educates your a�?Audiencea�� to your Point of View
In the middle of your presentation, add those stories, statistics, and visuals that support your point of view.A� By the way, as you create that presentation, jot down your point of view.A� What do you want to persuade your agents to do?
Why use Visuals?
There are two reasons to use visuals in your presentation:
We believe what we see
We retain the information much longer
As you organize your presentation, ask yourself:
What are the main, and frequently, unspoken objections my a�?audiencea�� will have? How do I educate them to show them the reasoning behind my point of view?
The Ending: Back to the Beginning
Have you thought about your wrap-up? Or, like many presenters, does your ending sound like this?
Well, thata��s all. What do you think?
Wea��re out of time. Thank you. I hope youa��ll list with me
I dona��t have time to close.
I couldna��t get to much of the material, but you can read it
In fact, even the most professional presenters frequently have trouble with their endings. One of the main reasons is that they run out of time. Another is that they havena��t thought the ending through.
How to Do a Stunning Ending
Crafting an effecting ending is the second most important part of your presentation. (The first is the opening). To craft a great ending,
Go back to your beginning opening theme
Summarize the benefits of going ahead with you/take action
Motivate your a�?audiencea�� to take action
A Great Presentation is Crafted like a Pop Song
As a musician, I know that all pop tunes are constructed with this format:
themea��variationa��theme
This is known in the music business as the ABA format. Think of your favorite pop tune: Hum the beginning. Think of the end. Theya��re alike, right? Ita��s the middlea��known as the a�?bridgea��a��that is the humdinger. It wanders all around. Your persuasive presentation should be crafted like that pop tune:
AA�A�A�A�A�A�A�A� A compelling start (think Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, etc.)
BA�A�A�A�A�A�A�A� An interesting, developed middle, with stories, statistics
AA�A�A�A�A�A�A�A� Back to that theme, with a motivating ending
Now, youa��re all set to craft a great listing or buyer presentation, great recruiting meeting or sales meeting, or awesome product/service presentation to any audience.
P. S. Practice!
Many more tips on presentations and presentation skills are in my new resource, Knock Their Socks Off: Tips to Make your Best Presentation Ever.
And, since this is my Trainer Appreciation Month, I’m offering special pricing on my trainer resources. Check it out!
