Would you agree that a head nod or smile from the audience during your sales presentation puts you at ease and leads to greater connection? Let me share with you how to make that happen more effectively.  

First, let’s define sales presentation. It’s what happens whenever you’re trying to convince prospects or clients about whatever you’re selling – it could be products, services, ideas, you name it. Your presentation can be virtual or in person, one-on-one or in a group setting.  

Many people make the mistake of thinking a sales presentation comes at the end, whether it’s one-on-one or in a group. They think it’s disconnected from the rest, but that’s simply not the case.  

Your sales presentation starts with the first words out of your mouth, so structure yours with that in mind.  

To break down the walls between you and the prospect as soon as possible, you want to develop trust, connection, and likeability. You can do that by sharing the right Personal Brand WHY Story within the first five minutes. 

Your story can change the tone from “professional who is trying to sell something” to “another human being who really cares about the audience or prospect’s well-being.” The earlier you can establish that trust, connection, and likeability the more they will buy in to you – your products, your services or whatever it is you are quote-unquote selling.  

I mentioned head nods and smiles earlier. You get those micro sales during your presentation where people let you know they’re feeling something based on what you’re sharing. Every time it happens, they’re moving closer and closer to you. And you are more likely to get the “yes” at the close.  

Your Personal Brand WHY Story has to be the right story for the right audience, and it has to be packaged for immediate consumption by them.  

Let me give you an example. It happened to me several years ago when a mutual friend arranged for me to meet with two executives at a major financial services company. They’re vetting vendors all the time and were doing a favor by giving me a phone call.  

They promptly got down to business and asked, “What can you do for our wholesalers?”  

“I’d love to tell you what I do,” I replied, “but can I take 90 seconds to tell you why I do what I do? Because that’s more important than what I do.” And then I shared the shorter version of my Personal Brand WHY Story.  

The silence on the phone spoke volumes when I was done. You could feel the energy shift from courtesy call to caring connection.  

They could tell I cared about their people and trusted that I had their best interest at heart. I’ve had a deep relationship with that organization ever since, collaborating on many projects.  

You can learn more about giving shape to your presentation in my Implementation Guide, which contains language specific to introducing your Personal Brand WHY Story in an authentic way. Simply complete the pop-up box at my Crazy Good Talks website and we’ll send it your way.  

Also, you can hear me explain to Michael Kitces on his FA Success podcast (episode 250) about connecting better with prospects by sharing stories, not expertise.