Page 300 - Duct Tape Marketing

284 Part V: Winning and Keeping Customers

Successful presentations share three attributes:

ߜ They describe the product or service by showing how it will deliver ben-
efits, solve problems, or provide opportunities for the prospect.

ߜ They focus on a few major points that the prospect can relate to and
remember.

ߜ They are appropriately entertaining — grabbing and holding the
prospect’s interest while reinforcing rather than detracting from the
sales message.

Translating your message into prospect benefits

People buy benefits, not features. They don’t buy all-natural, algae-based
facial moisturizer; they buy the promise of firmer skin in four weeks. They
don’t care about lists of ingredients as much as they care about the benefits
those ingredients will deliver.

To keep your presentation focused on benefits, stay tuned at all times to your
prospect’s station WIII-FM: What Is In It — for me? Prepare a presentation
that clearly answers that question and you’ll be on your way to closing the
deal.

Ask, then listen

The more your prospect is talking, the more likely a sale will occur. Make
your introductory remarks and then ask questions that elicit more than yes
or no answers. Nod to validate points, but don’t interrupt. Wait until the
prospect is done talking before you begin to respond, share additional infor-
mation, or present another question.

Show, don’t tell

People start to own a product when they hold it in their hands, take it for a
test drive, carry it into a fitting room, or in some other way get involved in a
tactile manner.

Realtors take home buyers onto a bedroom deck to deliver a sense of waking
up in the home. Restaurants put menus in phone books to involve diners
while they’re still deciding where to make reservations. Service businesses
encourage prospects to gain a sense of their offerings by calling other clients
for testimonials or by accepting speculative presentations.

To accelerate the buying process in your business, figure out ways to let your
prospects touch or sample your offering.

Realize this: People buy in before they buy. Help them do so by letting them
acquire a sense of ownership long before the money changes hands.