Presentation is everything, so make your products look as attractive as possible. Whether you’re promoting the item via the web, a catalog or a brochure, invest in good photography. It encourages an emotional response. Also pay close attention to the copy. If something about a product is unique, make sure you describe how. And if you want repeat business, differentiate yourself from the competition by offering something your competitors don’t, be it personalized service or exclusive products. If your in outside sales then be presentable. Spend a few dollars and have a polo shirt embroidered with your company logo. Don’t go on sales call with your dirty work clothes. You reflect your company and customers will see quality if you and your material look the part.

Six steps to a quality presentation

1. Make the presentation relevant to your prospect. Have a guide for your presentation but make each presentation unique to the client you are working with. You need to make a personal connection with each prospect. If you use a generic presentation for all customers how do you expect to make a personal connection?

2. Create a connection between your product/service and the prospect. If possible make a sample that is specific to what the customer has indicated they are looking for. You can also buy an AutoCAD program that you can create customer sample layouts for landscaping, architecture and so on.

3. Get to the point. Don’t be like some of the franchises that send a sales rep out and spends an hour selling you on the company. At the end of the hour you haven’t heard anything about the product. Be direct and respect your customer’s time.

4. Be animated. You really want to stand out from the crowd, make sure you demonstrate enthusiasm and energy throughout your presentation.

5. Use a physical demonstration. Depending on your business bring samples, pictures, or take your prospective customer to completed job so they can see the quality first hand.

6. Lastly, believe in your product/service. Without a doubt, this is the most critical component of any presentation. When you discuss solutions, do you become more animated and energetic? After all, if you can’t get excited about your product, how can you expect your customer to become motivated enough to buy?

When I started in real estate, one of the first things I was taught was to create a listing package. Into this package went all of the bells and whistles I could find to persuade a seller to hire me.

My first listing presentations were a compendium of things I would do for the prospects…all the ways I was going to market their house and all the ways my company provided an edge. I had practiced my presentation in front of the mirror, in front of my broker, in front of my class at the office, so I was ready.

And my first listing presentation went exactly as I hoped it would. I was polished, professional, and profound.

And STILL the listing went to the other gal…the one with years of experience.

I had the temerity to ask Mr. and Mrs. Seller what the other agent had said or done differently than me, so I could learn to be better next time.

Sure, they said. She basically had the same things in her listing package as I had in mine. But she asked them if they’d rather have someone with many years of experience working on their transaction or someone new in the business.

Well, how do I compete with that? Well, now it’s been years and I’m the one with the experience. And here’s my advice to you if you’re working on your first listing appointments.

Listing Appointment Advice to Newer Agents

• First, fake it ’til you make it. There are a lot of home sellers out there who know a lot less than you about selling a house. They aren’t always going to be interviewing a bunch of high-powered agents. You have a chance. You never know. So be polished, professional, and profound.
• Second, ask a lot of consultative questions to find out what’s important to the sellers, before you ever start presenting anything to them. Don’t be afraid to talk about their past experience with real estate agents. Don’t be afraid to talk about their objections. Sellers will be more likely to hire you when they feel listened to and heard.
• Third, practice closing. You can’t get hired if you don’t ask them to hire you. This is not something you practice in front of a mirror alone. You can start there, but you have to practice this with a live person who challenges you with real emotions.

Presentation skills are an integral part of our daily lives. Every day, we end up speaking, or putting up some presentation for the people that we interact with. It is a misconception that such skills are needed only in the corporate world. Here are some other people who would require these skills, without even stepping into the corporate world.

Children in School

Children in school have to present something or the other in their school life. Be it in the classroom, or during some activity in the school. These presentations are very important in the broader scope of life, because these are one of the first times that the child interacts with an audience.

In some unfortunate cases, if the first few presentations and interactions do not go right, the child may have a stigma of not being able to present and have lesser social skills all their lives. Therefore, it is very important that the children have presentation skills or are trained in social interactions at an early age. The school is the best place and the child is at the perfect age to learn new things and understand new experiences.

Job Applicants

A job applicant is at a constant presentation, where he or she is presenting their skills so that they are hired by the company. Therefore, the job applicant would also require having some good presentation skills.

The world of looking for jobs is a vast world, and the employers have a lot of options for any one profile. Also, the interview takes place for a short time. Only the individuals who can show present their skills in the correct manner in this short time stand a chance of being hired by the company.

Therefore, a job applicant should have the basic skills to present himself or herself, which would allow them to present their professional skills, experience and ambitions within the limited timeframe.

Hobby Forums

We all have our hobbies. Hobbies haves support and interaction groups for people who pursue the same hobby. The hobby forums are normally headed by someone. This leader requires the basic presentation and speaking skills, so that he or she can make the hobby forum a success.

A hobby group can be anything from a small group of five to ten people or even something that has a global presence with thousands of people. Though everyone may be able to carry off heading a group of say five to ten people without any skills, one would require presentation skills if they have a lot of members and have several interactions now and then.

People in the Sales Business

A salesperson or a waiter/waitress requires such skills at every moment of their job. A salesperson requires these skills to pitch the product, while the waiter would require the skills at every point of their service to the customer, right from offering the menu to getting the dish.

These are just some of the individuals outside the corporate world who require such skills as a requisite in their everyday lives.