Make Your Presentations Understandable
Which one of us is clueless?
That’s probably a dangerous way to start my newsletter, but I’ll risk it. I know how my kids would answer that question! I walked into the kitchen today and my wife was on the phone with a friend talking about a new restaurant in town. The restaurant had inserted a flier in the newspaper and it was full of special deals for the grand opening.
Here’s where the clueless part comes in…
My wife and her friend were trying to figure out what kind of crablegs and wings this place had. You see, in the ad it said “AUCE Crablegs” and “AYCE Wings”. I guessed that the AUCE must mean Australian but I had no idea what the AYCE stood for.
We did catch on.
All of a sudden we all got it. It meant “All You Can Eat” and “All U Can Eat”! We all felt foolish for not figuring it out sooner. Shouldn’t it have been obvious?
Yes! It should have been obvious and it should not have required that much time to decode. I’m sure the restaurant assumed that we all know their code, but they were wrong. So wrong that they almost lost the entire value of the ad on one cute abbreviation.
We all do the same thing.
Every industry has its inside talk. Unfortunately, it slowly creeps into our regular talk. When it does, we risk having others completely miss out points. We know from studies of clients that they will seldom ask you to clarify a term they don’t understand. Instead, they will sit there quietly and nod their head in agreement until you leave. Then they will buy from someone they understand. What’s worse, we often present to a group of people, some of whom get it and some don’t. Which group should we play to?
K.I.S.S.
You remember the old adage, Keep It Simple Stupid. That’s more than an old saying, it’s sage advice. Here’s a test for you. Pull up the slides for your favorite sales presentation and look through it for ‘insider talk’. Is it possible for smart people to miss your point if they don’t thoroughly know your business? Would it make sense to clarify that point in your next presentation? Could you explain it on the slide?
Don’t weaken the impact of your offering by burying it in code. Spell it out and make sure everyone clearly understands the real value of your offering.
Wishing You Selling Success,
Steve Waterhouse
Does your group need presentations skills training? Our Power Presentations training could be just the solution. Contact me at mailto:steve@waterhousegroup.com?subject=presentations-blog or 1-800-57-LEARN (575-3276).
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Columbo was a great salesman
Don’t get too smart…
My wife and I had dinner last night with two friends who are also in the consulting and training business. We spent most of the night sharing war stories and catching up on recent business events. One of my friends has had great success in selling to the military. Her program for military recruiters is one of the most successful ever and has helped the recruiters show many young people a great path to a wonderful future.
During the conversation, I mentioned that I have trouble when I work with the military because I can’t keep all the ranks straight. A Captain in the Army and a Captain in the Navy, for example, are at very different levels. My friend admitted having the same issue, and then said something very profound. She said, “I don’t really want to get to know them that well”. She went on to explain that her job was to bring them an outside perspective and not to become one of them.
That’s a lesson for all of us!
Our job is to understand our client well enough to bring them solutions, but not to get so deeply involved that we become one of them. I’ve heard sales people who have worked with a particular client for so long that they know exactly what will and won’t work. They are paralyzed by their knowledge. Amazingly, when we change sales people on the account, opportunities pop up everywhere.
The new sales person was dumber!
That’s right, dumber can work better than smarter if it means that you are still open to charging into situations that might mean new business or asking questions that others think they already know the answers to.
Are you too smart?
Do you already know what can’t work and what the client absolutely won’t do? Listen to yourself. Listen to the conversations you have with your manager about the account. Are you justifying the lack of business with your knowledge of the situation? What if you are wrong? What if the situation has changed? What if you read it wrong in the first place?
It’s time for Columbo.
Remember the Peter Falk character of Lieutenant Columbo? His genius was in his ability to not know the answers and to ‘play dumb’. Only then did he find the real solution to the crime.
What do you know that might not be true? What situation have you prevented yourself from pursuing? Today is your day to make a change and open up the doors that you yourself have closed. The opportunities may be right in front of you.
Be a little dumber today and let me know what opportunities you find!
Wishing you great Selling Success,
Steve Waterhouse
Here is another blog you might like:
Customer Service and More: The Shep Hyken Blog
My wife and I had dinner last night with two friends who are also in the consulting and training business. We spent most of the night sharing war stories and catching up on recent business events. One of my friends has had great success in selling to the military. Her program for military recruiters is one of the most successful ever and has helped the recruiters show many young people a great path to a wonderful future.
During the conversation, I mentioned that I have trouble when I work with the military because I can’t keep all the ranks straight. A Captain in the Army and a Captain in the Navy, for example, are at very different levels. My friend admitted having the same issue, and then said something very profound. She said, “I don’t really want to get to know them that well”. She went on to explain that her job was to bring them an outside perspective and not to become one of them.
That’s a lesson for all of us!
Our job is to understand our client well enough to bring them solutions, but not to get so deeply involved that we become one of them. I’ve heard sales people who have worked with a particular client for so long that they know exactly what will and won’t work. They are paralyzed by their knowledge. Amazingly, when we change sales people on the account, opportunities pop up everywhere.
The new sales person was dumber!
That’s right, dumber can work better than smarter if it means that you are still open to charging into situations that might mean new business or asking questions that others think they already know the answers to.
Are you too smart?
Do you already know what can’t work and what the client absolutely won’t do? Listen to yourself. Listen to the conversations you have with your manager about the account. Are you justifying the lack of business with your knowledge of the situation? What if you are wrong? What if the situation has changed? What if you read it wrong in the first place?
It’s time for Columbo.
Remember the Peter Falk character of Lieutenant Columbo? His genius was in his ability to not know the answers and to ‘play dumb’. Only then did he find the real solution to the crime.
What do you know that might not be true? What situation have you prevented yourself from pursuing? Today is your day to make a change and open up the doors that you yourself have closed. The opportunities may be right in front of you.
Be a little dumber today and let me know what opportunities you find!
Wishing you great Selling Success,
Steve Waterhouse
Here is another blog you might like:
Customer Service and More: The Shep Hyken Blog
A Great Recovery is Better Than No Mistakes
We screwed up…
Sometimes that’s the only answer. Last night I chaired a teleconference with an association committee that I head. Our association just made a big decision and, while the details were understandable, the timing was very poor. Members were questioning why the board was either stupid or insensitive to the needs of the members.
To help answer the questions, I had the president of the association join me on the call. When I opened it up to questions, the first person laid it on the line and asked why the board had done what they had done. The president defused the situation with his first sentence. He said, “Frankly, we screwed up.” He took full responsibility for not having seen the problems and for not correcting them sooner. He promised he would talk with future presidents to make sure a similar oversight never happened again.
That did it.
I had budgeted a full hour for the discussion, but we only needed twenty minutes. The lesson for sales people is simple. When you or your company makes a mistake, the client wants two things. First, they want an apology. They want to know you are truly sorry for the inconvenience you caused them. This is a courtesy we owe each other in such situations. Second, they want to know that it will not happen again. You need to show the steps you have taken or will take to prevent a repeat of the same error.
Recoveries build rapport.
Many sales people have told me stories of how they have built better relationships with clients as a result of how they handled a bad situation. One person last week said the best thing that ever happened to him was being given a territory where the pervious sales person was a disaster. Everyone was willing to talk with him, if only to complain. His job was simply to turn the complaints around and become a hero. He said it was the easiest time he has ever had in a new territory.
What can you fix today?
What mistakes have you made that need correcting? What old clients need an apology to get the relationship started again? There may be no easier way to build your business. There is certainly no better way to improve your sleep tonight! Go get it done and send me a note with your successes. I love hearing from you.
Wishing you selling success,
Steve Waterhouse
Here is another blog you might like:
Grow Your Key Talent
Rebecca Morgan’s Insights & Information For Developing Your Star Staff
Sometimes that’s the only answer. Last night I chaired a teleconference with an association committee that I head. Our association just made a big decision and, while the details were understandable, the timing was very poor. Members were questioning why the board was either stupid or insensitive to the needs of the members.
To help answer the questions, I had the president of the association join me on the call. When I opened it up to questions, the first person laid it on the line and asked why the board had done what they had done. The president defused the situation with his first sentence. He said, “Frankly, we screwed up.” He took full responsibility for not having seen the problems and for not correcting them sooner. He promised he would talk with future presidents to make sure a similar oversight never happened again.
That did it.
I had budgeted a full hour for the discussion, but we only needed twenty minutes. The lesson for sales people is simple. When you or your company makes a mistake, the client wants two things. First, they want an apology. They want to know you are truly sorry for the inconvenience you caused them. This is a courtesy we owe each other in such situations. Second, they want to know that it will not happen again. You need to show the steps you have taken or will take to prevent a repeat of the same error.
Recoveries build rapport.
Many sales people have told me stories of how they have built better relationships with clients as a result of how they handled a bad situation. One person last week said the best thing that ever happened to him was being given a territory where the pervious sales person was a disaster. Everyone was willing to talk with him, if only to complain. His job was simply to turn the complaints around and become a hero. He said it was the easiest time he has ever had in a new territory.
What can you fix today?
What mistakes have you made that need correcting? What old clients need an apology to get the relationship started again? There may be no easier way to build your business. There is certainly no better way to improve your sleep tonight! Go get it done and send me a note with your successes. I love hearing from you.
Wishing you selling success,
Steve Waterhouse
Here is another blog you might like:
Grow Your Key Talent
Rebecca Morgan’s Insights & Information For Developing Your Star Staff
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