16.06 – Creating Sales Presentations with ESP Power
What makes a sales presentation effective? It’s anything that prompts customers to say yes quickly or encourages internal approval for a purchase. Achieving these outcomes is more likely when you build your presentations on emotional values, your Emotional Selling Proposition (ESP), functional promises, and industry stats that trigger authority, social proof, and trust.
Inform, Involve, Inspire
The goal of any sales presentation is to convince the prospect to become a customer. Presentations built upon the following three I’s can help you engage decision-makers effectively:
Inform
Provide information that enables purchasers to make wise, informed decisions. This positions you as a partner, not just a supplier. Include current industry data and findings to demonstrate your market knowledge and help your audience discover something new.
Involve
Involve clients in the discussion about solutions rather than just presenting your solutions. Expand on what prospects are doing right, acknowledge and praise successes, and show how you can build on their current foundation to help them achieve even greater outcomes.
Inspire
Inspiration comes from validating what prospects have already accomplished and encouraging them to elevate their successes. It doesn’t come from simply handing over a contract. Inspire prospects by:
- Showing new ways to improve, not criticising their current methods.
- Providing new tools and insights to build on their successes.
- Demonstrating how others have succeeded by making similar choices or working with your company.
- Offering free trials and generous return policies to reduce the fear and risk of commitment.
Free trials often result in revenue, as many people do not cancel free accounts when they expire. This method makes the initial purchase easier and less risky.
Your presentation should inform, make the prospect comfortable, and excite them about the possibilities. Present yourself with confidence and do your homework on your prospect, much like preparing for a job interview.
Tell Your Brand Story
A sales presentation should include your brand story and highlight the value you offer prospective clients. A compelling brand story helps others positively and enthusiastically see themselves with your product or service.
Tips for Creating Stories That Inspire Buyers
Build Your Main Points
Clearly define your main points and present them engagingly. Create a bullet list of three to five main selling points that support your ESP, validate your functional promises, confirm your market position, and differentiate you from competitors.
Back Up Your Claims
Support your claims, promises, and successes with stats, facts, or third-party testimonials. Offer a discounted trial to let prospects see for themselves the value of your product or service.
Show and Tell
Use videos to promote products and close sales, as they engage more senses and enhance message recall. Customer testimonial videos can capture the emotions you want prospects to feel, speeding up their decision-making process.
Even with great visual aids, face-to-face conversations are the most powerful way to convert leads. Make your strategic points in person and base them on your prospect’s needs. Use videos to back up claims or demonstrate product functionality.
Respond to Problems
To avoid issues when onboarding new products or services, treat all customers like prospects, regardless of how long you’ve managed their account. Ensure every detail of their account is set up correctly and they receive proper service from everyone in your organisation.
The most loyal customers are often those whose problems you’ve managed to solve fairly and generously. Research supports this. Inevitably, issues will arise, causing customer dissatisfaction. This is why your account management process must include service recovery, which involves resolving problems satisfactorily for unhappy customers.
Make sure customers know whom to contact when problems occur, and train your entire team to correct issues immediately. Your service recovery steps should include protocols and preparation for common issues.
Empower your sales and service teams to do whatever it takes to satisfy frustrated clients. Customer loyalty strengthens when clients trust you to fix problems and take care of their needs.
Service recovery is effective only when you’re willing to make sacrifices to keep customers happy. Define how you will do that, how much you’re willing to spend to retain customers based on their value, and what level of empowerment you plan to give employees to solve problems without involving a manager. Your protocols should cover both anticipated and known issues to ensure your teams can act quickly and efficiently.
