I don’t care how good you think they are, your sales materials really are not that good at all. In fact, there’s not one piece of your sales materials, sales kit, sales presentation pieces, or whatever that is worth even using.
Why do you even use sales materials? Your customers aren’t buying a PowerPoint presentation or a brochure. They are buying buying confidence, they’re buying solutions, and they’re investing in a return on investment. On your next sales call, skip the sales materials. Instead, use the best sales presentation you have — YOU! You’re the best one to sell what you sell. If your sales materials sell better than you, then we have an even bigger problem.
Let yourself be the presentation. You’re the one who’s asking the questions and you’re the one who’s clarifying the benefits the customer wants and needs.
When I’m working with sales managers, a technique I show them is how to measure the effectiveness of a salesperson. I suggest they base the effectiveness on the degree to which the salesperson relies on sales materials to carry the sales call. The top performing salesperson, the highly motivated salesperson does not rely on sales materials. Rather, they use sales materials only as a last resort, because they know they are the best sales tool.
You are better than you think you are, so start today to rely on your sales materials less.
incredibly timely! I just spent a day explaining to a manager ( cough) that there’s a difference between having a command of clinical knowledge vs data dumping clinical papers in a physicians lap. I refuse to do so, despite much kickback from upper management. Thanks for reiterating this point.
Excellent points here. Salespeople who rely on their literature to do the selling for them will starve.
One piece of literature that will never go out of style is something that is of value to the prospect. I used to tell salespeople to never sell empty-handed (or empty-headed for that matter) and always have something of value for the prospect when you visit them.