Three Secrets for Presenting a New Product to Your Sales Team
You just walked off the stage at your global sales event. You presented the new product you’ve been working on for 18 months. You think you nailed it.
Or did you? Does the conversation between sales reps at the coffee break sound like this?
- Ted: What’d you think of the new product presentation?
- Jeremy: Total snooze fest.
- Ted: Seriously. I’m in a coma. I wish they could speak plain English.
- Jeremy: You going to sell it?
- Ted: Not with everything else I have going on.
- Jeremy: I hear you. Any idea who the keynote speaker is this year?
- Ted: Some astronaut.
- Jeremy: That should keep us awake. You playing golf later?
- Ted: Indeed. I’ve got a 3:15 tee time.
- Jeremy: Hey, me too!
- Ted: Cool. We’ll be back just in time for cocktails.
- Jeremy: And ribs. Don’t forget it’s barbecue night.
- Ted: Excellent! At least we’ll end the day on a high note.
To avoid that conversation after your next presentation to the sales team, follow the three Ss:
Synthesize, simplify, and make it sales friendly.
Synthesize
Here is a concept you must understand. Please listen. This will change your career.
Salespeople do not need to know as much as you or your customers. Salespeople need just enough information to ask probing questions, be conversant, and feel confident on sales calls.
I understand—you want to tell them everything you know. Do. Not. Do. That.
Too much information will overwhelm salespeople. Carefully identify the most important elements and present those. Nothing more.
Alfred Hitchock, the English film director, said, “Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.” If you want to have greater impact, cut the dull parts out of your presentation.
It takes time and effort to hone product training presentations that resonate with salespeople. Ensure your success by investing 100 hours for every hour of delivery.
Simplify
It’s not enough to hone your content into the most important points. It must be simplified. Salespeople need to know how to sell the product, not every detail about how it works. Avoid academic language. Use words salespeople would actually use on sales calls.
Link the information to the sales process so salespeople know how and when to use it. Package it cohesively to make it easy to remember.
Make it Sales-friendly
Salespeople are motivated by fun, money, and recognition. Their attention spans are short.
When you stand before a sales team, assume they are bored, skeptical, and do not want to be there. Your first task is to get their attention. Do this by getting them excited about your product. Why did you create it? What is the market need? What is the market potential? What’s in it for them?
Present in small, digestible chunks. Use humor. Add elements of fun. Gain buy-in by incorporating a respected salesperson or two.
Final thought:
Do not create sales communications in a marketing ivory tower. Roll up your sleeves and get salespeople on your creative team. Sometimes the most sales-friendly content comes from the very people you need to educate in the first place.
