Twenty seven years ago, The Father of Modern Marketing, Philip Kotler, said, “Revenue performance is directly tied to the success of sales.” What does this mean, today? It means exactly the same thing as it did back then – a successful business is sales-driven.
And because sales is the key to driving business success, it is critical to empower sales in their effort to close deals. And that begins with delivering our intended message. What’s the ultimate way to achieve this? It is to let our audiences navigate through the features and benefits of our product themselves.
Our audiences go through the sales process on their own for the majority of their purchase cycle. They read articles, they visit our websites, take advantage of social media, and they get information via email. But what we are seeing more and more, is that Sales Enablement is becoming a critical process for sales success; one that enables customers to interact with our brand via sales tools.
According to a CEI Survey, 86% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience, but only 1% of customers feel that vendors consistently meet their expectations (Forbes). And while a better customer experience starts with marketing, top performers have learned that going beyond marketing, and empowering sales teams is critical if we want to succeed with customers.
This is where interactive sales presentations come in. According to Brainshark, 55% of top-performing companies are driving productivity by investing in sales enablement technology. Sales enablement technology has become a critical tool in the sales rep’s arsenal that arms them on sales call. Sure we can talk about our product as much as we want. We can outline the features, the benefits, the advantages, but what if we were to add media into the mix?
Tablets and the technology behind them have taken the tech world by storm. Linus introduced the technology in 1987, and in 2010, tablets became one of the most desirable technologies once Apple introduced the iPad (Business Insider, 2013). Today, tablet technology enhances the customer interaction, and, in turn, marketing and sales effectiveness in B2B sales.
The use of visual sales tools to drive home a message has become essential. Making use of visual sales tools when meeting with potential customers, and showing them first-hand what you can do for them, enables them to see your product up close. By letting them see what it does, and what it looks and feels like, we demonstrate the solution.
The old adage, “Show, don’t tell,” applies to effective sales presentations. Coming into the boardroom, and demonstrating an interactive presentation gives customers a hands-on experience that will enable them not only to understand the solution, but also remember it long after the presentation is finished.
A picture is worth a thousand words, but an interactive presentation via a sales tool is worth even more. Advancement in tablet technology enable us to interact with our audiences on an entirely new level. How effective are your presentations? Are you making use of interactive technology to close deals?