Most Sales People rush to deliver their Sales Presentations but in certain circumstances this could not only lose the sale, it may lose you future business.

1. 5 Reasons Sales Presentations are Bad for
Sales
Iain Swanston – June 10 2014, www.klozers.com
Sales Presentations or demonstrations where we present our solution,
product or service, is the stage of the sales process that most sales people
want to get to as quickly as possible. Most of us are passionate about what
we sell, so it makes sense that we would want to and enjoy providing some
form of show and tell to prospects. Sales Presentations also make sense
because prospects will never buy unless they have received a Presentation –
or will they? Most Sales Presentations are a complete waste of time and
money for both the sales person and the prospect and here is why:
1) The majority of prospects are not qualified to receive a Sales Presentation.
Prospects have no right to a presentation or demonstration – they earn the right by sharing
certain information with the sales person. There is no law that says a prospect must be given
a presentation and if you refuse the ‘Presentation Police’ are not going to swoop down in the
night and arrest you. Not every prospect is qualified to be a customer.
2) The majority of sales people have not earned the right to give a Sales Presentation.
According to the CSO Insights survey of more than 1200 organizations, 9 out of 10 sales people
were not proficient at understanding the buying process. Presenting any form of solution
before fully understanding the buying process is like entering a competition without knowing
the rules.
3) Presentations are Leverage.
Once a prospect has received a Presentation the sales person has lost any leverage they
had. This leverage, for example, could be used to learn more about the buying process, but
instead after the Presentation prospects often “disappear” or hide behind voicemail as they
no longer have any need for the sales person.

2. 4) Presentations don’t sell.
Presentations tell, Questions sell. Most sales are won long before the presentation by asking
lots of great questions. These questions make the prospect stop and think “Why didn’t I think
of that?”, “That’s a great question”, “This person has done this before”, “This person is clearly
an expert in this field”.
5) Presentations may help your competition.
Many of us have had sight of or have been given inside knowledge of a competitors’
presentation or offer, to help us shape our own final offer. We would then be naïve to think
this was not happening sometimes to ourselves.
The mere suggestion of trying to sell without giving a Sales Presentation is heresy, yet every
one of us regularly buys without a presentation. The next time you leave your Doctor or
Medical Practice, chances are the Doctor never gave you a presentation on the Features &
Benefits of Penicillin. You buy and continue to buy because of the quality of the Diagnosis. So
next time you’re in front of a prospect, rather than rushing to Present, focus on correctly
diagnosing your prospects Pain, the impact of the Pain, the cost of the Pain, and the prospects
commitment to removing that Pain from their life. Sell like your Doctor and never forget,
Prescription without proper Diagnosis is negligence.
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