Problem
It has been said that successful selling is 90 percent preparation and 10 percent presentation. This is especially true in selling today, with more unique customer needs, more complex products, more competition, longer sales cycles, and multiple decision makers. Sales people who strategically plan their sales presentations before delivering them outsell those who fail to develop a sales presentation that is tailored to meet the needs of the prospect. Poorly planned sales presentations are not convincing. A salesperson cannot leave the sales presentation to the inspiration of the moment, any more than a speaker can face an audience without having taken care and time to prepare a speech. In almost every aspect of life, strategic planning is necessary to gain the desired result. The effective sales presentation is built with a strategic plan. Every step of the sale, from the approach to servicing the sale, is carefully planned. A well-planned sales presentation is not memorized. It is a logically planned outline that carries the salesperson's own thoughts from one step to the next. This project will be your outline for strategically planning a sales presentation. The following outline should be used in preparing your manual. Developing a Customer Strategy.
i. Describe the typical buying motives of prospect.
ii. Describe the typical prospect as an individual (and as a company representative, if appropriate).
iii. How are prospects identified in most cases?