Mastering the World of Selling: The Ultimate Training Resource from the Biggest Names in Sales

Chapter 74. What Are the Biggest Sales Presentation Mistakes That Professionals Make and How Can You Avoid Them?

Terri L. Sjodin

Sjodin Communications

In today's competitive marketplace, whether selling a product, a service, a philosophy, an idea, or most importantly, yourself, everybody sells something. An individual's success often depends upon his or her ability to deliver a polished and persuasive presentation. Salespeople spend 80 percent of their time verbally communicating; many suffer from common shortcomings in their sales presentations that adversely affect their results. Consider all of the different types of presentations a business professional might deliver: promoting an idea at an office meeting, delivering a three-minute elevator speech at a networking event, giving a sales presentation to a prospect, or selling yourself in a job interview. All require the ability to deliver a solid professional performance!

The following are four of the nine Biggest Sales Presentation Mistakes professionals make. After reviewing this short list, you will be able to do a quick evaluation of your own performance, and then make changes where necessary. Learning to build and deliver more effective presentations can directly impact your long-term success.

Mistake #1: Winging It. When you "wing it," it's very common for your presentation to "hop and pop" around all over the place, lacking logical, progressive flow. It takes too long to deliver, and prospects may find it hard to follow. Frequently, ...