Many salespeople find themselves giving sales presentations to quite large groups of people, especially in complex B2B sales. You might have to present to multiple decision makers, end users, lawyers, purchasing agents, department heads, etc. all at the same time. Speaking to a large group of people is very different from speaking to just one or two – and it's often unnerving for the speaker.
First, if you know you'll be speaking to a group, it's even more important to prepare a script well in advance. With just one listener you can turn your presentation into more of a conversation and might be able to wing it. You won't have that option speaking to several people at once. And since you'll likely be more nervous in front of a large audience, the odds of your mind going blank at the wrong moment are high. Save yourself a painful experience by preparing your full presentation beforehand.
Your script doesn't have to be just words. You can include stage directions to remind you when to pause, when to make eye contact, and so on. Keep the tone conversational – you don't want to sound like the audio version of a sales brochure. The best way to test how your script sounds is to give a test presentation either to another salesperson or to a tape recorder, so you can play it back.
Keep the pace of your presentation slow. If you think you're speaking at the right speed you're probably going too fast for the audience, especially if you're nervous. If it feels like you're speaking a little too slowly, it's probably just right. Pay attention as well to your pronunciation – when you speak to a large audience, they're not likely to interrupt you if they can't understand as a single listener might. Stick to short and simple words as much as possible, as they're easier to hear and are often more effective for selling anyway.
If you can, position yourself so that you can easily see a clock without being obvious about it. You don't want to lose track of time and run on and on. If you see that you have only a few minutes left and you have more ground to cover, you can either cut to the end of your presentation or you can ask your audience if they are willing to give you some extra time. Don't simply assume that they are fine staying for an extra half hour; be respectful of their time.
Every few minutes, break up the flow of your presentation by asking a question of the audience. This can either be a question related to the presentation (e.g. “Have you experienced this issue in the last year?”) or a status question (e.g. “Does that make sense?”). Throwing in some interaction helps to keep your audience alert and interested. If you see lots of glazed eyes or people sneaking looks at their watches, make an unscheduled interaction to hopefully bring their attention back to you.
When using visual aids such as PowerPoint, keep them simple. Slides should enhance your words, not distract the audience from what you're saying. Don't read the text on each slide unless it's too small for the audience to see clearly (in which case you will probably want to re-do that slide). People can read faster than you can speak, so reciting from something they can see perfectly well for themselves will just annoy them.
Finally, always arrive early to big presentations so that you have plenty of time to check out the setup and confirm that you have everything you need. The more complex your presentation is, the more important this pre-presentation checkup will be – if you need a projector, a whiteboard, a heavy table for your demo model, and some pens and slips of paper to pass out, you'd better get there very early so that you can make new arrangements if any of those components are not available.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
First, if you know you'll be speaking to a group, it's even more important to prepare a script well in advance. With just one listener you can turn your presentation into more of a conversation and might be able to wing it. You won't have that option speaking to several people at once. And since you'll likely be more nervous in front of a large audience, the odds of your mind going blank at the wrong moment are high. Save yourself a painful experience by preparing your full presentation beforehand.
Your script doesn't have to be just words. You can include stage directions to remind you when to pause, when to make eye contact, and so on. Keep the tone conversational – you don't want to sound like the audio version of a sales brochure. The best way to test how your script sounds is to give a test presentation either to another salesperson or to a tape recorder, so you can play it back.
Keep the pace of your presentation slow. If you think you're speaking at the right speed you're probably going too fast for the audience, especially if you're nervous. If it feels like you're speaking a little too slowly, it's probably just right. Pay attention as well to your pronunciation – when you speak to a large audience, they're not likely to interrupt you if they can't understand as a single listener might. Stick to short and simple words as much as possible, as they're easier to hear and are often more effective for selling anyway.
If you can, position yourself so that you can easily see a clock without being obvious about it. You don't want to lose track of time and run on and on. If you see that you have only a few minutes left and you have more ground to cover, you can either cut to the end of your presentation or you can ask your audience if they are willing to give you some extra time. Don't simply assume that they are fine staying for an extra half hour; be respectful of their time.
Every few minutes, break up the flow of your presentation by asking a question of the audience. This can either be a question related to the presentation (e.g. “Have you experienced this issue in the last year?”) or a status question (e.g. “Does that make sense?”). Throwing in some interaction helps to keep your audience alert and interested. If you see lots of glazed eyes or people sneaking looks at their watches, make an unscheduled interaction to hopefully bring their attention back to you.
When using visual aids such as PowerPoint, keep them simple. Slides should enhance your words, not distract the audience from what you're saying. Don't read the text on each slide unless it's too small for the audience to see clearly (in which case you will probably want to re-do that slide). People can read faster than you can speak, so reciting from something they can see perfectly well for themselves will just annoy them.
Finally, always arrive early to big presentations so that you have plenty of time to check out the setup and confirm that you have everything you need. The more complex your presentation is, the more important this pre-presentation checkup will be – if you need a projector, a whiteboard, a heavy table for your demo model, and some pens and slips of paper to pass out, you'd better get there very early so that you can make new arrangements if any of those components are not available.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
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