Sandler Brief: Only Give A Presentation for the Close!

Many of us in sales use the presentation phase for educating the buyer about what we do and what we offer. Does that really make sense strategically?

We may be tempted to use the presentation as an opportunity to talk about everything we’ve done in our career. Everything our awesome product or service does, has done, or might do in the future. Everything our happy clients and customers have said about us. Here’s a question: How do you feel when you’re on the receiving end of a presentation like that?

Of course, you tune out. We all do. So what we tell our clients is simple: Don’t do it.

Don’t give a presentation to educate. Don’t suffer from premature presentation syndrome. Don’t put your presentation early in the sales process, because that kind of presentation does not actually help you close business. In fact, you know what it does? It prevents you from closing business.

Here’s why: When you present too early, there’s a seesaw dynamic going on. Are you moving the sale forward or not? It’s hard to tell, because you don’t yet have enough information to make a really powerful recommendation. Sometimes you’re focusing on why it makes sense to do business, but sometimes you’re playing catch-up, because you haven’t gotten the buyer to open up about everything that’s not working in their world. When the leverage swings back and forth like that, you lose momentum.

Early on in the sale, you should be in the information gathering phase, tracking down as many relevant facts as you can. You need all the facts before you present.