Sales presentations can be a tricky thing to consider when wondering what industry you’re presenting in. For example, it’s very different to present add-on’s when you’re in the retail industry, to when you’re selling life insurance! But they also have many things in common too. See the most interesting points about add-on selling below:

1. Add-on sales during the sale to create a total product solution for the customer. Many people believe that selling things at the end of the sale is a bit more risky and the products should all be provided in the sales presentation. This ideal is common for retail industries when there are many other products that are available for additional sales at the time. This approach is actually fairly customer centric too. By that I mean that the customer gets to see the total package deal (and sometimes negotiate a better bundle price). This helps the customer make a better decision, and the sales person gets a high volume sale. Everyone wins!

2. When the add-on sale is best to do at the end of the sale. Many times the customer knows what they want, they order the item and haven’t considered what other things might complement their purchase. This is often because the sales person has not had a chance to present a total product solution, or the purchasing method did not make the choices available. Either way, a classic example of an up-sell at the time of sale is the McDonald’s “Would you like fries with that?”. It’s been found that a targeted add-on sale question at the register will improve sales by almost 30% if it’s done every time. This is often the key to any up-sell marketing campaign. If you cannot measure your target, then you need to consider if your target is working or not.

3. What products to add-on for best effect and profit. One the keys to having a profitable campaign is to sell the best add-on products at the end of the sale. Complement the product or service with something that the customer will need later on anyway. Batteries for the toy they just bought. Screen protector and case for the mobile phone they just bought. How about an extra controller and a free game (bundle) to go with the new play station 3 you just bought too.

The opportunities are endless. Give your staff the freedom to bundle and up-sell to their clients and watch the customer satisfaction go through the roof. And your sales too.

How often do you find yourself doing one activity and thinking about another? Perhaps you check email while you’re on the phone or talking to someone? Or you read the paper (or browse the web) while your partner or child is trying to tell you something?

It’s so common to do this, and when we do, we generally think we’re making good use of the time by multitasking. And yet, most of us have also had the experience of getting “busted”:the person who’s talking realizes we aren’t listening, or we make an error because we’re juggling two (or more) tasks simultaneously. At a minimum, our stress level goes up because the brain isn’t wired for multitasking.

Instead, try being fully present with what you’re doing. If you’re in conversation, close your email and put your phone on “do not disturb” so you can direct all of your attention to the discussion. Conversations tend to go more quickly when you’re fully present because you’re at full attention, and you’ll notice that you catch not only what’s said, but also what is going unsaid that should perhaps be explored.

For instance, imagine that a colleague is briefing you on an expert witness deposition prep session and the words say all is well. If you are fully present to your colleague, you might notice tension in his face that you would miss if you were looking at papers or email while he’s talking. Seeing the tension, you’d have an opportunity to inquire and learn that although he can’t put his finger on the issue, something isn’t right about the testimony or the way the expert is presenting it. That’s valuable information that could go undetected. (Should your colleague raise the concern without being asked? Absolutely. However, many of us are uncomfortable bringing up a concern without any evidence to back it up, and so he might well not mention it.)

How to become fully present? I recommend a quick centering exercise, which can be as simple as taking 3 or 4 slow, deep breaths. Bring all of your attention to the present activity, and if you find your attention wandering, breathe deeply again and bring it back. This level of focus will allow you to be more effective and less stressed.

As Malcolm Forbes said, “Presence is more than just being there.” Being fully present focuses all of your senses on the task or person at hand. It’s a learned skill. Try an experiment: resolve to be fully present for a couple of hours a day and see what you notice.

If you create presentations to sell or to persuade, deciding what you want to say, and in what order, is obviously extremely important. And what better place to turn to for guidance than copywriting. Copywriting is usually defined as the art and science of writing to sell. Experience (it’s an old discipline) and modern research have provided many guidelines for getting the desired results.

After all, copywriters test and test and test again. When you click on a link and go to a page that describes a product, little do you know that other people click that link and go to a slightly different page. Marketers then count how many people buy from each page. They choose the winner, modify the better page slightly, and the start over, comparing results.

From this process, copywriters have derived tried and true principles for effective selling and persuading. Remember, even if you’re trying to persuade your boss to approve a new project, you can use these principles.

The most common structure is called AIDA:

* Attention: Get attention.
* Interest: Keep interest
* Desire: Create desire
* Action: Spur action

How do you translate AIDA to presentations?

- Get attention

In traditional copywriting, you use the heading to get attention. In a presentation, the first words out of your mouth should get your audience’s attention. Will, “Hi, I’m so-and-so, and I’d like to start by telling you a little bit about our company” do it?

No!

Instead, say or do something to get attention. Ask the audience a challenging question. “How many of you sometimes feel like a gerbil in an exercise wheel?”

Display a striking, full-slide photo. You might use this one if you’re presenting about organization and time-management skills.

- Tell a meaningful story.

Yes, if no one introduces you, it’s OK to introduce yourself and explain what you’ll be saying, but finish it in under 1 minute. But putting the attention step first is ideal. Then, you can introduce yourself.

- Keep interest

You hold people’s interest by:

* Making sure the content is relevant to your audience
* Providing information they don’t know
* Using the Tell ‘n’ Show (SM) method to communicate visually
* Interacting with the audience, including eye contact, answering questions, and asking questions

This is only a partial list! Try to think up some more ways to keep the attention of your audience.

- Spur action

At the end of your presentation, summarize what you’ve said and state your conclusion. Invite comments so that you have a chance to respond to any concerns. Finish by asking for the next step, whether it be signing a contract, approving a project, or setting up another meeting. Have the necessary materials (the contract, approval form, your calendar) so you can accomplish your goal.

In Part 1 of this article, I laid out the importance of handling questions which stump us. Lets recap the first three strategies which we have discussed:

o Toss it Back – Repeat the question and toss it back to your audience;

o “Let me check and get back to You” – Write down the question and make sure you revert to the questioner on the promised date and time;

o Tit for Tat – Posing another question to question the questioner for asking that question (a tongue twister). This method helps to diffuse the situation and adds more understanding to the topic you are presenting.

Let us examine the rest of the other 4 strategies:

4. “That is A Good Question”

Compliment the questioner. This will only be effective if the compliment is sincere. Sometimes we tend to believe that we have seen and heard it all on a particular topic. But someone from somewhere will always come up with a question that we have never thought of. If that happens just say “That’s a great question. I’ve never thought about it that way. Does anyone here have any ideas on that?” (You toss back the question back to the audience). The key here is you must sound sincere. It always works when it’s sincere because the audience love to be complimented. If no one in the audience steps forward with a reply, just use the “Let me check and get back to you” technique.

5. “Any Experts Here?”

What do you do when a question falls out of your area of expertise? You may be a marketing expert but the question asked deals with the technical aspects of a product. This is a question that requires the input of say an engineer. If you know that there is an engineer in the room you could say, “Peter, you are an engineer. Can we tap on your experience for this question?” If there are no engineers in the room, tell the questioner that you will confer with an engineer and get back to them (technique 2).

6. Offer Similar Answers

If you don’t know the exact answer to a question, offer what you do know quickly to demonstrate some credibility. Then use the “I’ll get back to you” technique. Refrain from droning on and on about your parallel knowledge or you will be accused of beating round the bush! This hurts your credibility.

7. Lay the Ground Rules

You can avoid many difficult questions simply by laying the ground rules for questions in the beginning. Whenever you present to a group, you are the leader. You are accountable for everything, so lead. My experience is that if you set rules and follow them, the audience respects you. If you make rules up as you go along, you lose credibility. The number of rules you set will vary depending on the topic. If your presentation is very technical, you can use “I welcome general questions at any time about anything on the agenda. If you have a specific question please see me at a break for a private consultation. Since we have limited time, I reserve the right to stop taking questions and comments. This is to make sure that we cover everything today.” This line always works!

In the world of corporate branding good quality promotional pens are one of the top performers but if you want to gain an advantage over your competitors you should think carefully about presentation. It is best to choose a pen or pen set that is supplied in its own presentation box or tube if possible. You might find, however, that the pens you have chosen are not supplied with either of these things but don’t worry as there is a selection of presentation packaging available for a small extra cost that will be suitable for most pens or writing sets and which are well worth investing in.

* Presentation boxes are available in a variety of shapes and sizes to accommodate single pens or complete writing sets. They can be made from cardboard, plastic or metal and care should be taken when selecting the right case for your chosen pen or set in order to enhance the perceived value it and not reduce it. Some presentation boxes have a clear window in the lid so that the contents can be seen whilst others are suitable for four colour process printing. The interior fitments in these boxes are made from a variety of materials ranging from moulded plastic with a flocked finish to satin or velvet depending on your budget.

* Presentation pouches tend to be for single pens and are made from card, plastic, leatherette or suede. They don’t have quite the same prestigious qualities as the presentation boxes but still create a better impression than supplying a pen on its own.

* Presentation tubes also tend to be for single pens and are typically made from clear plastic although aluminium is also used. The tubes can be round or triangular in section and are usually supplied as plain stock. Tubes are also less prestigious than a presentation box but they can give your promotional pen a more modern feel and this should be taken into account when considering your target audience.

Although you may feel that the type of pen you purchase for your promotion is the most important thing, it is also good to remember that when it comes to high quality executive gifts and staff incentives presentation becomes just as important. Careful selection can make all the difference to how people perceive your business and time taken at this stage can really pay dividends in the long run.