Public Speaking Tips for a Sales Pitch

Every presentation is a sales pitch.
Whenever you present, you are trying to educate, persuade, entertain, or reassure your audience.
On the most basic level, you are trying to win them over from your point of view. 
If not, why are you there at all?
If they do not need much persuasion or reassurance, you could save everybody’s time and send them an email.
The reason we are in the room is that some interaction is necessary to move them from where they are to where you want them to be.
A sales presentation is a heightened version of any presentation because you are looking for a more immediate result.
A good result at the end of a general presentation might be when the audience walks away discussing your presentation, noting how interesting it was and how it set them thinking
A good result at the end of a sales presentation is when the audience signs a contract or buys an item.

Think of a sales presentation in three parts: preparation, delivery, and desired result.

Here are 10 tips to cover those three parts.

1. Know your audience

As Brian Tracey used to say:
‘To sell Joe Jones what Joe Jones buys,
You need to see the world through Joe Jones’ eyes.’
A basic error underlying most sales presentations (and for that, marriages and general discussions among friends and colleagues) is that the proposer argues from their own point of view, rather than the listener’s.
If I am selling racing cars and the client is a family man, my talk of acceleration, manoeuvring, and handling is not going to interest him if he needs a car to drive around town and do the weekly shop.
However if I suspect that he is a family man that secretly wishes he were a racing driver, I might emphasise the safety aspects, it economy and that the boot is plenty big enough to a typical weekly shop, while subtly mentioning that should he wish on the odd occasion to take a relaxing spin in the country, it can do everything!

Similarly in a presentation if I know the audience agrees with me, I can reassure them how correct they are in their beliefs, whereas if I know they are not likely to agree with me, I can let them know how reasonable their beliefs are, but explain how I merely want to give them a bit more information to help them get the true picture.

2. How much time do you have?

I have seen many a good sales presentation sink, because the presenter went over time.
If the client can offer you 10 minutes, either you make sure that you are finished in 10 minutes, or you need to help the client realise that you need more time to do the presentation full justice.
Going over time sends a very negative message; it implies that either you are not very well organised, or that you think your time is more important than their time.  In either case, it will lead to a negative response from the client.

Taking 10 minutes when you have been offered 10 minutes suggests that you are professional and in control of your subject, as well as showing respect for the other person’s diary.

3. What does success look like?

A sales presentation has a purpose: a chat does not.
Unless you have a very clear idea of what you want to achieve over the next few minutes you are likely to come away disappointed, because most of the time the client also has a clear idea of what they want to achieve and that will probably range from not committing immediately to getting you out of their office as fast as possible.
So in the same way as a presentation should have a clear purpose, a sales presenter should walk into a room with a clear idea of what success looks like and if the prime goal is not achieved, what the most acceptable fall-back position is.
So, for example, if they do not buy on the first meeting, then a second meeting has been scheduled in the diary.

4. Planned Spontaneity

Planned Spontaneity is the key to a successful presentation.
This means that the speaker has a clear idea of what they want to cover, but is flexible in how they are going to cover it
While a presentation is likely to be mainly one person speaking (although it should never feel like that to the listener), a sales presentation is likely to be set up as a conversation, and a good sales presenter will be able to lead the conversation back onto their ground.
This is why, particularly over the phone, new salespeople are given a flow chart of possible responses – ‘if they say that’ – ‘you say this’
To be able to do this without mechanically following a script can take a lot of flexibility, requires a clear and deep knowledge of the subject, and requires a lot of concentration, which is why those salespeople who say they like to ‘wing it’ worry me.  If you are too busy winging, you are less likely to be able to listen, respond, and redirect the conversation.

5. Eye contact

Eye contact is important for a speaker, essential for a salesperson.
Eye contact is interpreted as a sign of honesty; a person that does not look at you might be seen as, at best unsure and unconvincing, at worst hiding something or even downright dishonest and if the purpose of the sales presentation is to move the client to action, anything that might cause doubt in their mind needs to be avoided.

6. Enthusiasm

‘Attitudes are contagious; is yours worth catching?’
At the end of a presentation, the listener is likely to forget most of what you have said, but they will remember 100% the impression that you made, so if you do not come across as convinced yourself, you will not be able to be convincing.

7. Rhetorical Questions

Any question in a presentation is ‘rhetorical’. 
Usually, a rhetorical question is understood as a question from the speaker that is not looking for a direct answer; however, a question like:
‘How many of you here…?’
is looking for an answer and is a simple technique that a speaker can use to gain interaction with the audience.
Therefore, it is worth sprinkling plenty of questions through a sales presentation.
Questions will prevent the presentation from becoming a one-way broadcast and can be used to gain valuable information about the client.

8. Pause

Pausing in a presentation allows the audience to think, brings a degree of variety into the presenter’s delivery, and prevents the speech from sounding breathless or monotonous.
In a sales presentation, it also gives the other person a chance to speak!
It can be used to allow a point to sink in.
It can be used to give the speaker a chance to think.
It stops the delivery sounding too insistent and overwhelming.

9. Smile

Smiling is important for a speaker, more important for a politician, and essential for a salesperson.
Smiling, apart from seeming friendly, sends a message of confidence: confidence in the offering, confidence in your ability, and confidence that you are leading the client in the right direction.

10. Tell stories

Once again, what is important for a speaker is even more so for a salesperson.
Stories provide pictures, allow the audience to empathise with a situation, and show that the speaker has credibility in their field.
A good story is the best way of embedding a message and making sure that the message is retained by the listener.
As a salesperson, a good story can allow you to show that you fully relate to the listener’s world and you can paint a picture that resonates with them, a picture that either resonates with what they desire or chimes with what they want to avoid.

Good presenters have a purpose to their presentation, are in full control of how they deliver their message, and build their presentation around stories and examples, because that is how they will make an impact on their audience

Good sales people need to be able to do all of that and more because their presentation will need to do more than make an impact; it will need to move a client towards action.