How to Prepare for an Online Sales Presentation

Under­stan­ding the importance of proper prepa­ra­tion for your sales presen­ta­tion can make the diffe­rence in whether you close more deals or not. Modern pros­pects want more from your sales presen­ta­tion than just a few slides with graphs and bullet points. In order to successfully close sales, you need to give your audi­ence an expe­ri­ence that exceeds their expectations.

But mind-blowing presen­ta­tions don’t happen auto­ma­ti­cally. Our team at Mikogo deli­vers web presen­ta­tions on a daily basis, and also educates other busi­nesses on how to prepare their own online sales presen­ta­tions. We leaned on their expe­ri­ence to find out what is key for their presen­ta­tion prepa­ra­tion. They require meti­cu­lous plan­ning, based on three elements, namely:

1. Extensive Research to Ensure Your Plan Meets Your Prospect’s Needs

Old-school sales presen­ta­tions were… very salesy. Sale­s­people would rattle off a list of product bene­fits, much like trying to nail jello to a wall, hoping that some of it might stick. In mentio­ning every last benefit of their product, they hoped that one or two might fit their prospect’s needs.

However, by deli­ve­ring a generic presen­ta­tion, many sales were lost, simply because pros­pects only cared about the bene­fits that offered solu­tions to their unique challenges.

Successful sale­s­people know that by rese­ar­ching their pros­pect thoroughly, they will be able to ascer­tain what solu­tions they can offer and how they can tailor the infor­ma­tion into a highly personal and dynamic presentation.

How do you research your prospect?

A Mikogo Account Manager offers the follo­wing insights into how he rese­ar­ches his prospects.

1. Social media networks and busi­ness websites offer a fanta­stic (and free!) way to find out whatever you need to know about your pros­pect. Look at their customer websites, LinkedIn and Google+ accounts, as well as other industry-related profiles across the web.
2. Before sche­du­ling the presen­ta­tion, ask ques­tions to find out what their unique chal­lenges are, and consider how you might provide solu­tions to their use cases.
3. Look at compe­titor solu­tions, parti­cu­larly if you’re aware that they are looking at specific compa­nies’ products or services.
4. Review previous corre­spon­dence between any other members of your team and the pros­pect (check your CRM solu­tion, such as Sales­force). Knowing what they’ve inquired about in the past will likely give helpful insights. It helps greatly when you see in the CRM system that one of your colle­agues recently had a call with the customer and what they spoke about.

“Plan your presen­ta­tion so that your client can see that your solu­tion best fits their requi­re­ments. The demo should be based on what you now know about your product, your pros­pect and the competition.”

“Before sche­du­ling the presen­ta­tion, ask ques­tions to find out what their unique chal­lenges are, and consider how you might provide solu­tions to their use cases.”

MIKOGO ACCOUNT MANAGER

While rese­arch is key to prepa­ra­tion be sure to remain flexible on what you’re presen­ting. It’s possible that you start out with your online sales presen­ta­tion and then realise that their requi­re­ments are diffe­rent from what you anti­ci­pated, or that they already know quite a bit about your product and need more detailed infor­ma­tion. Don’t be afraid to abandon your original plan. You should know enough about the product you’re selling to adjust your talk to your lead’s requirements.

2. Send Out a Reminder Email

Life can get busy at times, for ever­yone. Some­times, even though your client is inte­rested in your solu­tion, they may forget to show up on time for your sales presen­ta­tion. Mean­while, you have to be prepared for the meeting.

“Send a reminder email to your pros­pect on the day of your meeting (or a day before) to verify they will be available for the demo. If neces­sary, resche­dule the meeting.”

Further­more, he recom­mends that you always sche­dule an addi­tional 15–20 minutes beyond your actual demo time­frame, as the pros­pect may have ques­tions after­wards, or may want to bring in a colle­ague to have a second look. Mikogo Account Manager, Annika Bohrdt, always books extra time into her presen­ta­tions in order to allow for pros­pect inter­rup­tions, and to check that they are paying attention:

“Ask ques­tions throug­hout, and give them space to ask their own ques­tions at multiple points during your presen­ta­tion. You really don’t want to be talking for 15 minutes only to realise that you misjudged the use case, or that they didn’t under­stand a word you were saying after five minutes. So every time you move on to a new point, for example, pause for a second, ask them if they have any ques­tions, and then move on.”

And therein lies one of the biggest secrets to successful sales repre­sen­ta­tions, accor­ding to Marc Wayshak, author of Game Plan Selling and Brea­king All Barriers. By getting feed­back from your pros­pect throug­hout your demo, “… you are promp­ting the pros­pect to either give his appr­oval or explain why it doesn’t make sense. When you get the prospect’s appr­oval, he is begin­ning to slowly close the sale for you. On the other hand, when he tells you that it doesn’t make sense, you create an oppor­tu­nity to adjust your offe­ring to increase the likeli­hood of closing the sale.”

“Ask ques­tions throug­hout, and give them space to ask their own ques­tions. You really don’t want to be talking for 15 minutes only to realise that you misjudged the use case.”

ANNIKA BOHRDT, MIKOGO ACCOUNT MANAGER

By booking twenty minutes extra, you won’t be rushed, thin­king that you are running late for your next meeting. Instead, you will know that that extra time is the most produc­tive stage of the meeting.

“The demo should be based on what you now know about your product, your pros­pect and the competition.”

MIKOGO ACCOUNT MANAGER

3. Setting the Scene: How to Prepare Your Office (and Yourself!) for Your Sales Presentation

Prepa­ring your computer and office at least 15 minutes before the meeting is crucial. The last thing you want is to be late for your online sales presen­ta­tion as it reflects badly on you as a presenter, and on the company. Start early to open up and orga­nize your presen­ta­tion mate­rials. Just before the meeting starts, remove any distrac­tions such as your email or messenger. Turn your mobile phone off comple­tely, not just on silent and vibrate, as that would still be a distraction.

In addi­tion, take care of the following:

Declutter Your Computer Desktop: Annika says that your computer screen should leave a good first impres­sion. “They don’t see your neat desk and your freshly vacu­umed carpet and your well-watered plant. They see a desktop full of icons and files named “Untitled Docu­ment (24)” and they’ll get the impres­sion of a disor­ga­nised, even care­less person.”

She recom­mends that you clear your desktop, moving all those unnamed files into a single folder, and adds “Ideally, get a second monitor which you can keep clear for your presen­ta­tion, while you use your primary monitor to store any notes or addi­tional files you may need during the presentation.”

Take Notes Using Pen & Paper: “Have a notepad and pen ready to take notes, as nobody likes hearing keyboard noise during a call”.

Unless you’re using a second monitor to screen share during a sales presen­ta­tion, your pros­pect might see your notes. “Regard­less of the poten­tial misun­derstan­dings this might cause, it’s also just plain distrac­ting. So even if you have a whisper-silent keyboard, rather use a pen.”

“Ideally, get a second monitor which you can keep clear for your presen­ta­tion, while you use your primary monitor to store any notes or addi­tional files.”

ANNIKA BOHRDT, MIKOGO ACCOUNT MANAGER

Be Mentally & Physi­cally Prepared: Don’t sell your own role in the presen­ta­tion short. You can use all the right tech­ni­ques, the best graphics and still fail by being lethargic or by lacking focus during your presen­ta­tion. Some presen­ters swear by doing jumping jacks or push-ups before a sales presen­ta­tion, but he recom­mends a strong cup of coffee while you prepare your desktop. “Drink some coffee to get ener­gized, but not so much that you’re talking at light speed. Also, don’t forget to breathe.”

At the end of the day, most of your pros­pects have already rese­ar­ched your products and services on your company website by the time they request an online sales demo – that’s what the modern consumer does. They already know that you are able to provide a solu­tion to their use case, and the purpose of the presen­ta­tion is really more about filling in a few final gaps in terms of ques­tions they may have about your company or products. Be prepared, but follow their lead and remain flexible to their needs.

By focu­sing on the three steps above, you can take the oppor­tu­nity to tell your story in a way that moves your audi­ence from pros­pect to buyer quicker, and close more deals.