Sales presentation blunders to avoid

A few weeks ago, I attended a client conference, where a professional workshop leader gave a presentation. He began by indicating that his session would be highly interactive and then proceeded to lecture for the next 55 minutes. To make matters worse, not only was his volume too soft for the group and room size, but he spoke in a monotone.

He frequently read from his computer screen (a combination of PowerPoint slides and PDF documents) and pointed to each word on the screen as he read it. Also detracting from his presentation was the fact that the lights were off at the front of the room to allow the audience to see the screen. That meant that for most of the 55 minutes, he was in relative darkness. Needless to say, it didn't take long for the audience to become fidgety and tune him out.

I see similar mistakes in sales presentations, too. Sometimes salespeople:

• • Don't vary their voices.
  • Read directly from their PowerPoint slides.
  • Don't realize their prospects have lost interest.
  • Fail to engage their prospects/customers in the presentation.

Unfortunately, these mistakes are more common than not and take away from the message you want to deliver. Stand out from the competition by delivering a compelling, interesting and engaging sales presentation.