Killer Sales Presentations

The session, Selling Your Products, Services & Ideas: How to Give Killer Presentations, was presented by Michael Angelo Caruso. He addressed the issues that most salespeople encounter when giving a sales presentation such as overcoming nervousness and objections and sending out a “call to action.”

“Never tell people that you’re nervous,” he advised. “Let them figure it out.” To minimize the signs of nervousness, Caruso said to remember to smile more than usual, practice the greeting repeatedly ahead of time, and control nervous movement such as hand wringing or pacing. Don’t state the obvious or tell the audience there was little time for preparation, he added, it damages credibility.

“The best way to deal with nervousness is to distract yourself immediately before the presentation by personally greeting everyone,” Caruso told MortgageDaily.com, “and showing interest in your audience.”

Regarding objections, Caruso said to challenge the objection once it is found to be legit. For example, if the prospect said he needed time to think about it respond by saying things like “It’s interesting that you say that, please tell me why you need more time,” or “I’m surprised that you’re not interested,” Caruso suggested. Thus, engaging the prospect by acting as if not doing business together was the most unusual response ever heard.

If it is a budget concern, Caruso said, give value concessions — don’t compromise credibility by lowering the price. “In a worst case scenario, price objections can be handled by trading value,” he said.

An example for a loan originator might be if the prospect wanted a lower rate. Explain that buying down points up front could lower the rate for them and in turn their monthly payment. Or if they want to bring less money to closing, suggest then that they could increase the loan amount.

And getting the prospect to return a call or make a decision could be a matter of specifying a time frame, Caruso pointed out. Letting the prospect know they are important but that action is necessary within a certain time frame gives the impression that the product or service as well as the salesperson’s time is in high demand.

“When you leave a message, always give a time frame in which to call you back,” he said. “It’s a call to action, and most people follow it. If they ask why they had to call back by 2 o’clock tell them that you were to be busy later that afternoon but wanted to make sure you received their call because they are important to you.”

Caruso is the author of the 5 Cool Ideas book series. His latest edition, 5 Cool Ideas for Selling, is due out in January and can be found at www.EdisonHouse.com.