I don’t know about you, but if I see something once I will remember it far longer than I would if I just heard it several times. There are statistics that show seeing something is almost 60% more effective then hearing the same information.
OK, so then why is it most sales people try and talk themselves through a sale? If everything points in one direction, and you believe that what you see is correct, shouldn’t you accept it and take advantage of it as much as you can? YES!
How many of you have a “Pitch Book” for a lack of a better term? This is a book or binder that has visual aids that you can use to help with the sale? Some companies make them mandatory, others make them for their reps and train the reps how to use them affectively.
Before I go any further, I want everyone to know I am NOT a fan of a canned speech where you go page by page and ask robotic questions along the way. I am however a big fan of having supporting material that reinforces what you are saying with visuals that are easy to understand and remember.
In today’s sales world there are so many new ways to present material in a very professional and relaxed way. The days of the 3 ring binder flip chart are past, today we have Power Point and laptop computers, we have iPhones and iPads, web pages and digital images, I carry my entire presentation, catalog, order forms, and support material on a jump drive that is half the size of a pack of gum. All I need to do is plug it into a customer’s computer and there is everything I need to support my sales presentation.
It used to cost a fortune to have a good looking piece of literature printed and you had to make thousands to make the price affordable. Today a $100 color laser printer can make a professional looking piece of literature customized for each and every customer you have.
A few weeks ago my daughter had a home inspection done on the townhome she was looking at. The young man came into the house and I was astonished, he didn’t have a pad and pen with him, he had a personal recorder and a digital camera. As we talked he told me he had voice recognition software and that he would have the complete report, including pictures to me in no more than 48 hours. What he sent to my daughter was amazing, 47 pages, pictures descriptions and he even added web site addresses where we could go to see what the average cost of the repair would be so we didn’t get ripped off by a repairman. I bought the house I live in 21 years ago and I had a home inspector come in then too, he gave me 5 hand written pages and it took him a week to get it to me.
Technology has given us the ability to make better presentations, we can do more today in less time and we can do it for less money as well. Visual aids can sometimes be more meaningful than the facts they represent. I know that sounds stupid, but it is the truth. A customer will usually remember the look and feel of the presentation longer than the information presented.
So what should you do if your company doesn’t provide you with visual aids? GET OFF YOUR LAZY REAR END AND MAKE SOME YOURSELF! Don’t wait until the company gives them to you, that may never happen. Sit down and think about what would help you make your point when delivering a presentation. Write it out in detail, and then make a rough sketch of what you would like for it to look like. Once you have the picture in your mind, get on your computer and start searching for the right graphics, look for the right pictures, hunt for the best backgrounds, and select the font that fits the story. Put all these together to make a literature piece and laminate it so you can mark it up and then wipe it off for the next customer. Your investment will be time, your return on investment, REAL DOLLARS!
Lorin
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