Linda Eve Diamond - Perfect Phrases for Sales Presentations: Hundreds of Ready-to-Use Phrases for Delivering Powerful Presentations That Close Every Sale

Copyright 2010 by Linda Eve Diamond. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Welcome to Perfect Phrases for Sales Presentations. As always, these phrases are guidelines. Some can be used directly or with only slight modifications, and others may inspire a new, creative phrase thats pinpointed for your audience and purpose. While some phrases will become standard parts of your presentation, a successful salesperson is always continually refining his or her pitch, and the most successful presentations are created and refined with each prospects individual needs, interests, and values in mind.

Because any perfect phrase can be the one to intrigue or entice a potential prospect or to close the sale, Ive added a special section to this edition of Perfect Phrases called Your Perfect Phrases. This new section is designed to assist you in creating more fresh, relevant perfect phrases as you continue to refine and pinpoint your presentations over time. But first youll find numerous phrases that lead you from getting through the door through closing and follow-up.

Whether you are an experienced sales professional or new to the field, I hope youll find that these perfect phrases are helpful as you develop and hone your sales presentations.

Perfect Phrases for Sales Presentations is an easy-to-carry, easily referenced resource for anyone who gives sales presentations. Whatever your business, whatever your goals, bottom lines depend on gaining buy-in, continued interest, and referrals from potential clients and customers. This book is designed for those who specialize in sales, whether retail or business-to-business, online or face-to-face, and those who sell products, services, or ideas. This book is useful for those with the title of salesperson but also for small- and large-business owners, and the self-employed who rely on themselves for sales and/or marketing efforts.

The sales-success mindsets and phrases are designed, for the most part, to cross industry needs. If, however, some do not apply to your industry, they can be easily adapted to suit your needs. (Please accept the broad use of the words clients and customers. I often refer to clients and customers interchangeably.)

Since a sales presentation is only great if you can get in front of the prospect, Perfect Phrases for Sales Presentations begins at the beginningestablishing a relationship. From there, the book takes you through helpful phrases from setting up your presentation through closing and follow-up.

Before you even think about building your sales presentation, you want to be sure that you are working on a solid foundation. address the issues of your foundation and your image, which may be the first impressions prospects will have of youbefore theyve even met you. Your presentation begins with how you present yourself. Who are you as a salesperson? What is your image? What attitude do you project? Beyond choosing the right words, are you comfortable with yourself and knowledgeable about your product or service? Do you have some understanding of human nature and strong communications skills? Your image is another aspect of your foundation to consider, and so is your reputation. Even if you already have a strong foundation, you may want to read Part One to self-assess and consider whether any part of your image, outlook, or style needs strengthening to build the most successful presentations.

addresses preparation. Preparation requires some self-questioning and readiness checks and good questions to ask either your potential client or your referral source. The more you know going in, the more you can target your presentation. Once youve identified and reached out to prospects and prepared, its time for the presentation.

begins with some basic presentation pointers and then flows into mindsets and phrases for the two most important goals for the start of your presentation: getting their attention and putting them at ease. What else is important for a perfect start? Never underestimate the importance of great time management and clear, concise communication about time. The time to think about timing is when you prepare the presentation, as you begin and throughout. Timing phrases are included here to stress the importance of clearly identifying and sticking to your time frame. When your audience is concerned about time, itll be distracted. Communicating about time helps people to relax. Engaging them in interactive communication, to some degree, during the presentation also helps to put them at ease and invest them in what youre saying. The final pointers in this chapter offer a few simple phrases to engage your audience in your presentation.