PlusOne – Marketing Musings

Getting your product or service sold to an organisation is never an easy thing and developing a fancy presentation in programs such as PowerPoint extolling the virtues is the answer….

Not so according to Jeff Thull.

He has a new book out and it is discussed in this article Avoid the Fatal Presentation Trap

He says you need to develop a different strategy – talking to key staff members and perhaps not doing a ‘presentation’ at all….

“You’re probably spending 80% of your time talking about your solution, while the prospect may not even understand his own problem,” he continues. “So no matter how impressive your product sounds, he’s not going to grasp how it applies to his situation. Finally, he probably has several other presentations just like yours lined up. In his mind you are a commodity. The only way you’re going to ‘win’ is if you’re the lowest bidder, and that doesn’t guarantee success.” The major tragedy of this overwhelming urge to present and propose (by the way–a hang over from much simpler times) is the high number of these pursuits that end in no decision at all. Thull suggests, “the strongest sign of the ineffectiveness of the presentation is the percentage that results in no action on the part of the prospect.

I think we have all suffered that last action – no action on the part of the prospect.

There is more useful detail in the article

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