15 Rules For A Persuasive OOH Sales Presentation

Out of home sales expert Kevin Gephart

If the thought of delivering a presentation makes you nervous, you’re in very good company.  Beyoncé, Barbara Streisand, Prince Harry, Tiger Woods, and Adele all have stage fright. It’s natural to be uneasy, it’s up to you if you stay uneasy.

The value of your ideas and your ability to execute them is based (wrongfully) on your ability to communicate.  Conveying an idea seems natural, it’s not.  It’s a skill honed through education and practice.

To gain effective presentation skills requires a 6-month commitment. There are immense resources available.  Courses like The Dale Carnegie Course are very good but very expensive.

The most affordable and effective resources to learn presentation skills and build confidence are:

  1. Dale Carnegie’s book: How to Win Friends and Influence People
  2. Community college Speech 101 course
  3. Membership in Toastmasters

Here are my 15 rules for a persuasive presentation:

  1. Build rapport by being genuine.  Audiences can spot a phony.
  2. Nervousness is simply energy.  Channel it into enthusiasm and emotion for your presentation.
  3. Limber up your mouth/jaws/tongue beforehand.  Nervousness causes tension and locks up muscles.  Put a pencil crossway in your mouth and recite tongue twisters for 15 -20 minutes before you present. Your mouth will flow freely when begin.
  4. Know your stuff; prepare 70% more info than you are going to need.
  5. You can’t bore a prospect into buying. Less is more. Tell a story and keep it fast paced and relevant.
  6. Practice practice practice. For major presentations practice in front of people who can offer valuable feedback.
  7. Never present in a room that you haven’t been in prior to the presentation.  Part of the fright is seeing the surroundings for the first time. Most organizations are very willing to let you in a day or two early to prep.
  8. Troubleshoot all of the electronics. If your electronics fail, it’s a reflection on your overall acumen.
  9. Like a good pilot, you must succeed even if your systems fail. Crashes happen. Be prepared to confidently take your audience through the presentation without a PowerPoint.
  10. Never, ever read a slide to the group.  The slide should be a reinforcement not a crutch. Eye contact is power.
  11. Every audience has a hierarchy; however, you must speak to everyone as though they are the CEO.
  12. Every audience has someone who attempts to dominate the conversation for their own ego. Plan for it and don’t allow it.  When questions go in an unwanted direction, “park” the question by making a note and tell them you’ll follow-up.
  13. Control the attention by never giving a handout/thumb drive of the presentation until you are finished.
  14. Never use weak phrases like: “I just wanted to talk to you today about XYZ”.  A stronger opener is “I’m looking forward to today’s discussion to talk to you specifically about XYZ.
  15. Build in checkpoints, every fourth slide or so, to gain agreement on what you’ve said.

Knock-em dead!!!

Next week:  Secrets for an Engaging Market-ride.

If I can leverage my experience to help you/your company sell more OOH faster, contact me at: KevinJGephart@gmail.com

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