On Monday’s post we discussed the idea of staying focused on one key message in your presentation that will pull you into the next step. However, there are many thoughts that should probably be shared with your customer. For example, if you leave out your company’s core values, will they think you don’t have any? What about your recent expansion – won’t that help demonstrate your success and stability? Although investing time on these types of topics will dilute your primary message, they’re still important. How can you include them while staying focused?
I recommend building a fact sheet – a one page document that covers all of the items that might bore your customer in a presentation, but are helpful to share. When presenting it to your customer, you can state exactly that point: “I have a leave-behind that illustrates some of the basic facts about our company that I think you’ll find helpful. These items are the core of our business and give you a snapshot of who we are, our core values, mission, and recent news about our success.”
Do not downplay or make fun of this information. I get irritated when I hear a sales person say: “… and here is our obligatory mission statement.” These fundamental items of your business should be important to you, but may not be necessary in your presentation.
Idea Tuesday: Build a fact sheet about your business and use it as a leave-behind to your presentations. This is not a leave-behind marketing piece, but a fact sheet built specifically for people that have invested their time meeting with you and discussing your business. It might even be a good idea to forward to them ahead of time as a warm-up and a sign of professionalism.
