Form:
Imagine you want to buy a new car. There’s the sticker price; the “sales” price (especially offered during the Xmas holiday season”; the negotiable price you can get from the salesperson; the price listed in discount buying guides/websites. There’s the cash price, the leasing price and the bank-loan price. Each form addresses a different need of the buyer. You must understand the buyers/sellers’ needs and values before determining the most effective form in which to extend a pricing offer.

Context:
Decisions are rarely made in a vacuum; the context needs to be taken into account. People buy more than the features of the physical car; they want the image it projects (e.g., sporty, affluent, family focused); ease-of-use over time (e.g., what’s the warranty, customer service quality, repair convenience and quality, etc.) Salesman’s flexibility and incentives to sell change over time (e.g., end of month and seasonal sales quotas). And, both buyers and sellers compare all these things for comparative products, time periods, etc.

Guiding Decision-making
With so many things affecting “price”, how do you make an effective presentation? As we’ve discussed in this column, the answers are complex, but doable:

• Understand the needs of the audience
• Tailor the message the meet those needs
• Be succinct and use powerful words/graphics
• Organize the material to guide the decision-making process of the other person. Acknowledge the logic and emotional issues of importance; structure the presentation to match the process by which the person is going to make the decision.
• Exude your “leader-presence”, because people want to follow trustworthy leaders. Do so by demonstrating, integrity, authenticity, humility, confidence, passion for serving the customer.

The Job of a Presentation is to Communicate Value
Buyers allegedly want the lowest possible price; yet the reality is that virtually no-one actually buys clothing, homes, food, etc. that cost the absolute lowest dollar cost. Instead we want value, and our decision to buy and sell is determined by that conclusion. Whether you’re selling or buying, it’s not just the dollar-value of the price but also the form and context of the presentation that communicates value determines the outcome. So, before you assume the price is to high or low for the other person to act, determine who you can change the presentation to communicate the values that the other person really wants. When it resonates with his/her immediate and long-term needs and wants, you’ll close the deal.

If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem. With government effectively frozen for the next 12 months until the 2012 election, he recently announced the “Create Jobs for America” program; he’s leveraging the power of Starbucks to reach 60 million people and enable them to contribute money ($5.00 or more) to be used to help create jobs by donating it to the Opportunity Financial Network which lends money to small businesses. His goal is to engage other businesses in this worthy enterprise.

But the real goal has to be larger. It’s time for business leaders throughout America to step in and create new solutions when government fails. These leaders constantly confront challenges that affect stakeholder’s lives – employees, community residents, investors, etc. They look for tried-and-true approaches as well as creative new ones, and then apply them to resolve the situation. When they succeed, everyone benefits.
Mr. Shultz re-assumed the helm of Starbucks after the company stopped growing due to
overexpansion, the economic recession and other causes. He challenged the status quo,
adopted new approaches and turned the company around. And now with the company
back on track for growth, he’s taking this no-nonsense problem-solving approach and
applying it to societal problems.

We need more leaders to do this. As Chairman of a local CEO group for Vistage International (www.vistagenewyork.com), I have the opportunity to watch these business leaders confront challenges with creative approaches and produce impressive results. Imagine unleashing the potential problem solving skills not just of the 14,500 Vistage CEOs, but millions of other business leaders throughout the USA to take the initiative and develop creative solutions to the challenges people face, without being dragged into party politics. It’s what we need to do.

Enabling leaders to realize their ability to confront business challenges creatively is the first step toward engaging them to step outside the business realm and address societal challenges. That’s one of the two driving forces behind the newest venture that I’ve co-founded, LeaderSolutions.TV. It provides a forum through which business leaders can share how they confronted challenges creatively, and allow others to learn from their experiences. Listening to the many varied stories will undoubtedly inspire one another.

As leaders increasingly recognize their abilities to creatively attack their company problems, I hope they increasingly will step outside their businesses, and apply their drive, insights and energy to address societal challenges – just as Howard Schultz has done. I chose to gain psychological, legal and management skills many years ago to work within the government sector to make this world a better place. Yet, after a few years, I felt I could better use my creative skills to create new solutions within the private sector and inspiring young people by teaching in universities to do the same.
However, today, with government frozen, and time to solve our economic, energy and other challenges slipping away very quickly, I believe business leaders need to take the initiative in developing solutions to the societal problems and gaining consensus to implement them. While government is the problem, business leaders need to drive the solutions.

• ADAP: Adopt the Audience-Driven, Authentic Presentation philosophy. The audience is a senior executive who has three main concerns: Promoting the excellence of his brand, protecting his staff and pleasing customers. Therefore, the presentation must address these concerns, in that order! Second, to help him resolve the conflict between customer and staff needs, we need to bring both the logical and emotional issues to bear.
• Create a Bond: People buy from people they like, people with whom they identify. You do that by demonstrating that you share similar values, background or history. In this case, I began the conversation by demonstrating my personal interest in his area of specialization and commonalities about our backgrounds.
• Create Trust: Knowing that he has to make a tough decision, I shared with the buyer my understanding of the conflicting values he must weigh, and made sure to focus on the super ordinate goal – that in order to promote the excellence of his brand, pleasing the customer was more important than ruffling the feathers of some staff members. Building a bond and trust, enables you to create irresistible influence – the emotional element in decision-making.
• Compelling Case: Since we like to make decisions based on logic, the key is to present a persuasive fact-pattern. As a leader, his #1 responsibility is to promote it, authentically. Choosing to protect his staff rather than the brand’s values would undermine the brand. In this case, excellence in education means creating an atmosphere in which we encourage people to invest time, creativity and energy learning the subject; ultimately, the goal is to inspire people to want to learn more. Anything less diminishes brand value. The leader needed to remember these were his authentic values and that only one course of action would promote them.
• Feel like a Hero: We all want to feel we make good decisions, which is why we should end with a positive conclusion that eliminates the possibility of “buyer’s remorse”. Knowing that the client might experience some negative feedback from staff, we concluded by addressing his emotional need that he made a good decision. With this decision, he would promote his brand value to customers and reinforce his self-image as an authentic leader who does the right thing.

In sum, we combined the power of Irresistible Influence and Compelling Case to succeed:

• Feel like a Hero: We all want to feel we make good decisions, which is why we should end with a positive conclusion that eliminates the possibility of “buyer’s remorse”. Knowing that the client might experience some negative feedback from staff, we concluded by addressing his emotional need that he made a good decision. With this decision, he would promote his brand value to customers and reinforce his self-image as an authentic leader who does the right thing.
• Irresistible Influence: Creation of a bond and trust for the emotional framework for the buying decision we wanted, and
• Compelling Case – A logical argument to take one course of action really promotes brand value in this case.

In your future presentations and negotiations, use the both of them to succeed!

1. Provide Social Proof. Sharing how your clients are using your product provides confidence. Sharing with a prospect reference clients they recognize offers a kind of endorsement that facilitates decision making.
2. Risk Aversion Beats Gaining Benefits. Sales 101 teaches us not to focus on the features, but the benefits. But sales 201 builds on the psychological finding that people are more likely to avoid risk than seek gains. Therefore, it’s more persuasive to show a prospect what he will lose if he doesn’t follow through on your action than what he will gain. (E.g., if your competitor buys our product first, he will have the competitive edge!)
3. Provide benchmarks for success. We all look for feedback. Having a way to measure some level of success encourages us to believe that the situation is working – reducing risk and providing gain.
4. Alignment for Sales Proposition. Demonstrate that the benefits of the product/service are aligned with the buyer’s goals, both personally and professionally.
5. Let the prospect experience your product/service. If there is a way to give the prospect something in advance – such as free trial – it engages the person who can then internalize the positive feelings toward the product and your generosity, rather than be a passive observer.

Follow my career and you’ll see that my passion is helping good people unleash their potential. I’ve studied human psychology, strategy and organizational systems in order to facilitate efforts by good people to be consistent winners.

Vistage is for leaders who want more for themselves and their companies. They agree with Jim Collins’ insight that Good is the Enemy of Excellent. They understand that one of the best ways to encourage leadership development by their team is by openly developing themselves.

Marshall Goldsmith commented about this, after hearing General Mills’ CEO Steve Sanger talk about his development to 90 of his colleagues. Dr. Goldsmith noted that twenty years ago, few CEOs received feedback from their colleagues. Today, many of the world’s most respected chief executives are setting a positive example by opening up, striving continually to develop themselves as leaders. In fact, organizations that do the best job of cranking out leaders tend to have CEOs like Steve Sanger who are directly and actively involved in leadership development.

Michael Dell is a perfect example. As one of the most successful leaders in business history, he could easily have an attitude that says, “I am Michael Dell and you aren’t! I don’t really need to work on developing myself.” But he, has taken the opposite approach: sincerely discussing his personal challenges with other leaders.

Vistage New York isn’t for everyone. It’s for leaders at all levels who are committed to improvement by being open to new ideas and perspectives, willing to make public commitments to peer advisors and being held accountable by them and an expert coach. The CEO Game Changers, as our CEOs call themselves, proudly announce that they want to be the best they can be and will change when appropriate.

If you haven’t yet applied to be part of Vistage New York, think about how you and your team and your family spend their days, and ask: “Is that all there is? Could it be better? Am I prepared to find out?” If you want more, let’s meet and see if you qualify for one of our groups.”

Jerry.Cahn@vistagenewyork.com

646-290-7664

A sales strategy typically calls for identifying prospects’ needs, and demonstrating how the company’s solution meets them. But to connect with the audience, an effective presentation should take into account the client’s receptivity needs: the ability to absorb the information and make a decision. Studies have shown that people’s sales attention spans generally last about 20-25 minutes. So don’t overload the presentation if you want the desired impact.

For this reason, sales presentations often consist of several coordinated pre-planned, two-way conversations in which you identify the client’s product and buying needs, including:

• what benefit does the product/service provide?
• how does it fit into the clients’ bigger business picture
• what cost, value, and risk taking issues will affect whether they will buy an appropriate solution from you?

The first presentation, therefore, focuses on building confidence. You need to demonstrate:

• your product/service will meet the client’s needs
• your company has the capabilities to meet and exceed these needs by adding additional value and reducing related risks
• you, as the sales representative, will also add value and reduce risks to make sure the client gets what he/she needs

Given that the goal of the decision is whether or not to proceed to a second presentation, the first will need to be succinct and powerful.

Subsequent presentations, which may include new parties with more detailed concerns, build upon prior presentations, but shouldn’t duplicate them. We had a client who, knowing this rule, was about to board a plane for an important sales meeting, and felt something was wrong with his presentation. He asked us to review it while in the air and give him our analysis when he landed. When he called us we reminded him that this was his third presentation to the group (and the first designed to close), yet the initial set of slides were the same ones from both prior presentations!

Another example. Imagine you’re selling an investment opportunity. In the first presentation you’re focused on the nature of the investment product, the track record of the sponsor, and (most importantly) “the secret sauce” – how management uniquely uses proprietary decision-tools to achieve excellent results. The second presentation should focus on demonstrating in-depth how the managers have made excellent decisions in the past (e.g., picking and managing prior portfolio companies) and how they will do the same in the future. But spending time going through all 25 portfolio companies in the initial presentation would be distracting.

If you have only one meeting at which to present your entire story, consider breaking the story into two parts. Have the initial sales presentation focus on demonstrating your Unique Sales Proposition. Then, offer a second presentation booklet, that the prospect can read later, to reference the details.

In sum, today more than ever, it’s not what you say, but how you say it that counts. You must structure the presentation process to connect to the audience’s decision-making process, which includes a readiness to accept different types of information over time, and the ability to conclude that they want to work with you to get your solution.

Why is speaking in small groups easier?

1. We’re used to speaking one-on-one and in small groups, at home, in the office, at community functions, etc. We harness our normal conversational “comfort zone” when making such presentations. And that is the way it should be: a presentation really is nothing more than a focused (and hopefully rehearsed) conversation in which you can use visuals to complement what you say.
2. All our lives, we’ve learned how to “read” other people and use their body language and verbal feedback to determine whether we’re “connecting”. Indeed, we often look for such feedback (eyes connecting, heads shaking, smiles approving, etc.) to encourage us through a presentation.

In large groups:

1. We lose the ability to harness the “conversational” comfort zone, because our brain thinks of this as something different a “scary presentation”
2. We’re insecure about the quality of the presentation: do I really know the content?; is the message succinct or longwinded? is it compelling or just another boring presentation? will my presentation make me proud or embarrass me?
3. We’re not able to get feedback, especially if the audience of 50-1000 is in a darkened room

Tips for overcoming the fears:

1. Do your homework and be competent about your presentation topic, structure and design.
2. Identify a few people in the audience before the event to speak to and put them in the first few rows. Alternatively, at the beginning of the presentation, use eye contact to connect to a few people scattered through the front rows until a few subconsciously give you feedback (e.g., shake their head, smile, etc.).
3. Tap into your “conversational comfort zone” by talking to these people and use their feedback to reinforce you. Since they are scattered throughout the audience, everyone near them will think you are talking to them – and many will start giving you feedback, further making you feel more comfortable presenting.
4. Remember, a presentation is simply a focused conversation.

How do you deal with your public speaking fears? Reply in the comments!

• Do your homework: Know why prospects should buy from you. Before the sales call, identify what information you need about the buyer’s current situation to determine the need for your product/service. How is the current solution inadequate? What pain does the prospect experience which a better solution could alleviate? What benefits would the prospect like to get from a new solution? Which gains would motivate the user to take the risk and start using your product?

Ideally, you know all this before the sales call, so you can use the initial client-focused Needs Assessment stage to validate assumptions. Remember, people buy for both rational reasons (it’s a better product) and emotional reasons (I feel this vendor is really going to support me as our needs change). While validating the assumptions, you need to help the prospect feel the current product’s pains and appreciate the gains that an alternative product (yours) offers.

Since it’s rare to have all this information available before the initial sales call, your real homework is to be prepared to collect it quickly at your initial meeting. This means you need to analyze your other customers’ experiences and develop an educated guess as to which pain and gain points are most applicable to the prospect. Write out a list of the issues you want to explore in advance of the meeting, so you know which ones to ask. There’s nothing wrong with having the Needs Assessment Form in front of you to guide you; in fact, in fact it sends a message of professionalism and thoroughness to the prospect!

The order of the questions is important – because they form the basis for building a persuasive presentation. As you comment on the prospects’ answers, noting how your product avoids pain points and offers the desired gains, you’re building your case. The goal is to make the case cumulative and overwhelming – that you have a solution which will eliminate many nasty pains and/or offer sought after gains.

• Organize your Competitive Advantages, so you can present them in an order which brings the client to the natural conclusion: if the vendor’s products can really do all these things, then we really should be using the product! This means you need to know your entire product’s Competitive Advantages, group them by those that go together, and present them succinctly and powerfully. Remember, a truly client-focused presentation means only presenting those which matter to the prospect. WINning means knowing What’s Important Now.

• Build trust and confidence as you tell your company’s story. Nothing speaks like success, and relating relevant case studies make your points most effectively. The key is to demonstrate not just what your company did, but how it did it, because what the prospect is buying is your ability to analyze problems and solve them in the future. So while having a great client list and testimonials is very useful, demonstrating how you went out of your way at 10PM to save the client thousands of dollars is what builds confidence that you’re the ideal vendor.

• Counterpunch your competition, without ever bad-mouthing them, so the prospect appreciates your Competitive Advantages. For instance, if responsiveness is an important feature and your company is the only 24/7 operation in the industry, you can counterpunch the competition. “Many companies say they’re available 24/7 to take your calls; that means they are taking your call and passing on your request for help to the morning shift. Our firm is open 24/7, which means our technicians are there to solve your problem, even at 3 AM.”

• The Demo is really a Proof-of-Concept. You should start the demo after you have a “conditional sale”, meaning if you can demonstrate that your solution actually does all the things you said, the prospect will buy. It’s your chance to reinforce the most important buying points you’ve already made! (Unfortunately, many sales people think that they are supposed to make their entire presentation during the demo; this makes the sales demo take too long, especially as there are natural interruptions and waters down presentation’s impact.)

• Don’t let your sales kit distract from your sales pitch. Have your sales kit available, but give it to the prospect when looking at it won’t distract him/her from listening to you (e.g., at the end of the sales call). Often a good strategy is to let the prospect see it and know you will give it at the end of the sales call.

• Ask for the sale. Know what next step you want to take. If you’re selling a product, which will require another meeting with people, be prepared to tentatively schedule the follow-up meeting immediately. If the next step is to do a test, set up a time to begin the test and an estimated time schedule for completing it. If the next step is to have the person sign on the dotted line, don’t forget to bring the contract and a pen!

Different cultural values, beliefs and norms

Every culture has its own set of shared values, beliefs and behavioral norms. For instance, while Americans generally value individualism/independence, focus on time to control the future, tend to be direct, open, honest and practical, other cultures are more concerned with the group’s welfare, respecting the past, people’s rank and status, indirectness and ritual. People’s value of time, deadline, accountability, etiquette when engaging others of differing ages and characteristics, all impact on direct and indirect communications, relationships, decision making, motivation, leadership and organizational structures. Most of us develop our personality and communication styles as we grow up within our culture. But when we interact with people from different cultures, conflicts can occur unless each party is sensitive to the cultural discrepancies and language differences, and adjusts to them. For instance, when doing business with people in India, it’s advisable to be properly attired (wearing non- leather products), avoid beckoning with the palm up, wagging a finger, whistling, winking or pointing one’s feet at a person, and know when and how to use words like “no” and “thank you”.

Each medium has its own communication dimensions

In face-to-face situations, what you say, how you say it, your physical appearance, body “language”, listening skills, and manner of response all play a role. In phone conversations, the importance of verbal and listening skills is magnified, because there is no visual feedback. In e-mails, the power of each word or phrase, the document’s organization and formality, response time, and how you use technology (e.g., instant messenger) all have meanings. Finally, how each party interprets the use of the medium is based on cultural values (e.g., urgency and importance), also determines the impact.

• I developed content to be valuable for the audience
• I created an organizational structure and style that would allow for interaction, even if there was a language barrier.
• I decided to have the slides translated into Spanish, so while people wait to hear my English translated, they could at least read the words in their language.
• Before I started, I “met my audience”. I knew Spanish was their first language and expected many to also speak some English, allowing them to get something from my speech, if I spoke more slowly, and get the rest from the translator.  I discovered that virtually no-one spoke English.
• Recognizing that if the audience and I had to wait for each and every sentence to be translated, that would significantly reduce the impact of the presentation. Since I had learned Spanish many years ago, I asked the audience if they would let me try to present in Spanish, with the translator filling in when I was stuck. Knowing that the technical words were in Spanish on the slides, I figured I could probably cover about half the presentation in a broken and often grammatically incorrect Spanish. The audience overwhelmingly told me “ Go for it”, and I did.
• Turns out I presented almost 90% of the presentation myself – and built a terrific rapport with the audience (and received compliments later).

May all your presentations be excellent!