When you approach a potential customer, are you always clear of what you are proposing? A glowing presentation that ends without a clear direction can almost never be effective. At the beginning of any sales presentation, it is necessary to ask yourself two questions that, at first glance, may seem to have obvious answers: What are you selling? What do you want?

Regardless of how many times I ask these questions of sales professionals, the large majority blunder in their answers. They have one objective in mind "to sell a product/service" whether it is a quick $5 decision or a multi-part $500,000 purchase. In order to make each contact you have with your prospects effective, you should be sure you know the objectives of each meeting, by the way, that will not always be to sell something.

Take the example of Peter, a young entrepreneur who believes that his latest invention, an electronic business card, will bring him the fortune he has dreamed of for years. Peter talks to everyone he can about the new product that they simply must have, but never seems to be able to make a sale. His dialogue usually sounds like this...

"These cards are really amazing, they are like portable billboards. They have a small chip in them to hold memory, you can show a video, play your logo or just display revolving contact information. You will be really behind in the times if you don't get one of these soon."

What is Peter actually selling here, a hot new technology, a multimedia communications device, or the early-adopter image? And what does he want the prospect to do, buy his product, think about buying his product, think about the changing face of business in the future? I am not sure because he is not sure. Peter has not thought more past his overall objective of selling something to make some money.

I recently attended a free seminar targeted towards success-seekers after which the speaker offered his company's mentoring services. His objectives were clear from the start. He began by expressing the importance of mentoring and demonstrating how we employed the use of mentoring in other parts of our lives.

He went on to discuss ultra successful entrepreneurs and made links between their success and the mentors who they claimed helped them achieve it. Towards the end, he rounded off his presentation with an effective set of slides that showed well known celebrities who had all gone through his mentoring program, all of which had glowing reviews. It was only then that he mentioned his program, giving us the feeling that we could not leave the room without it.

His proposition was that the audience sign up for his mentoring services, his presentation showed why we needed those mentoring services. With great focus and clarity, this speaker ensured that his whole presentation supported his proposition. You can create sales presentations that are just as effective by answering the two questions mentioned earlier: What are you selling? What do you want?

Action step: before every sales situation, take a moment to write down your answers to these two questions.

Let's look at Peter's dilemma again. What is he selling? While the digital business card's most fascinating feature may be the way it works, most people will not care? Peter needs to pick an element that his customer's customers will appreciate in order to gain more interest? If he is talking to someone in the tech industry, how about leading with the fact that the card can make the owner seem more successful, more avant-garde, more tech savvy? If he is talking to someone who gives out a lot of information, he should focus on the cards ability to deliver more than one message.

If Peter asked himself what he wants to achieve from each conversation, he would be able to make his presentations even more effective. Understand that the answer to this question is not always to sell something. If he is on a cold call for example, his objective may be to get a meeting. The approach should be different. For now, let's say that he is in the door, and actually wants to make the sale; he needs to improve his script in order to heighten his chances, for example:

"Before the meeting, I went to your website and found that you have many different things to communicate to new customers. I uploaded a few of those messages to your card; here, look at how your demo tape appears."

You will be able to help your prospects to say "yes" to your proposition when you have approached them with a clear and focused proposal.

About the Author

Alvin Day is a Sales Training and Personal Empowerment coach who has helped many sales professionals reach and exceed their goals. For more on Alvin Day's Sales Training tools and resources visit www.theultimatesalesmanual.com.