Prospects are all different — and every presentation must be carefully tooled to win them over.

Phone conversations, e-mails and letters can all be effective tools of persuasion. But face-to-face presentations are the heavy artillery of selling.

Here are five rules for persuasive presentations to share at your next sales meeting:

Rule #1: Most presentations are won in preparation. Winning salespeople spend enormous amounts of time finding out what the prospect wants days, weeks and months before the presentation. They want to know their prospects’ needs better than the prospects themselves. They try to uncover facts about what the prospect needs and not just what their product or service can do for the potential buyer.

Remember: Facts about your prospect’s specific situation will always be more persuasive than facts about your product or service.

Two things you need to find out when preparing a presentation:

• What does the prospect perceive his or her needs to be — and why?
• What are the customer’s quality, service and delivery requirements?

Rule #2: Emotion is a primary driver of the persuasion process. A persuasive presentation starts with the salesperson. Your own personal enthusiasm determines whether your presentation sparks enthusiasm from your prospect.

Emotional points to consider:

• You can have all the facts and details in the world, but if you can’t package and present them with passion and conviction, you’re probably not going to make the sale.
• Tap into what it is that you deeply believe about what you’re presenting.

Rule #3: The most persuasive salespeople strengthen dialogue and don’t try to control it. The least persuasive presentations start and end with salespeople who take total control of the conversation.

Ask yourself: How can I get the prospect to start talking about his or her needs for the solutions my products/services can provide? It’ll not only put the prospect in charge of the conversation, but also support what makes your offer so great.

Rule #4: Don’t talk about solutions too soon. A common presentation mistake is to talk about solutions too early. Offering solutions before you know a prospect’s needs may cause objections and reduce your chances for a successful close.

Instead of rolling out solutions early on, tailor the presentation to create something unique for the prospect. To do this, you need to study your product from every conceivable angle and determine what you offer that is truly unique.

Try to find ways to get the prospect involved in the sale. Ask questions. Get feedback on major selling points. Prospects want helpful ideas and to increase their knowledge. Do everything you can to share everything you know.

Rule #5: Ask for the order. Top salespeople set a goal they want to achieve before beginning a presentation. And before they end the presentation, they either seek to achieve that goal or understand what the next step toward achieving it will be.

In a sales presentation, if you don’t ask for the order you won’t get it — no matter how persuasive your presentation has been.

Source: Wesley Forcier, President of Alpha Marketing, Brookline, MA.

Tags: 20 Minute Sales Meeting, persuasive, presentation, rules, sales meeting, selling, solutions