On Sales : Create Time for Sales

 Managing your sales presentation lets you close faster, waste less time. 

BY BRIAN BARFIELD

Published in the January 2012 issue.

The ability to manage your sales presentation can make you more efficient and successful. There must be a balance of rhythm and timing that gives your customer an amazing experience without wasting precious time and energy. Too little or too much salesmanship can negatively impact the outcome of your sale. So managing your sales presentation becomes a key area to focus on.

The first step is to manage your time wisely. Cut out the fat in your presentation. Start by listening to what your customer is saying. Your customers will tell you everything they want if you just learn to listen.

Follow this up by answering only what is needed to satisfy the customer’s request. Do not go into product knowledge or sales techniques that do not apply to the sale. Too many sales associates want to prove how amazing they are, but they turn off the customer instead.

Next, don’t take the story bait. When a customer shares a story then you listen, acknowledge, and move on. Too many sales associates have to follow up with a story of their own. The sale becomes about them and not their customer. They took the story bait, and with it, the customer’s show.

It is the customer’s show not yours. You are there to make customers feel good about themselves and their experiences.

buying signals, and close the sale. You would be amazed how many ways a customer is telling you they want to buy, and yet you just keep selling and selling. 

One sign is when a customer asks to see a specific item. That means she likes it. Something about that item appeals to her. Do not pull out another piece until the customer lets you know otherwise.

Watch her body language. Is she smiling every time she looks at the item? Did she ask to try it on? Once a woman sets her heart on an item, you are wasting her time and yours if you don’t close immediately. Quit selling facts, figures and stories. Close the sale.

Apply just a few of these ideas to your sales presentation and watch how much time becomes available for you to be more successful.