The passion that the best founders have for their businesses can be intoxicating and inspire a talented team to get on board and make their vision a reality.
However, not all founders do a great job of explaining their company and/or products to those outside the business – especially when it comes to putting together a sales presentation.
Finding the best way to communicate an inspiring idea to a potential customer takes time, and it can be hard for a lot of people who are used to relying on their own passion and personality to sell that vision to others.
This lack of clear communication can happen for several reasons. Below are some of the more frequent causes and how to improve communication:
Causes:
- Background: Usually, founders tend to focus on the part of the business where they have the most background and expertise. For example, people with a stronger coding and tech background may be inclined to use more technical language when describing their product and this may not be easily understood by the average buyer/consumer. If a founder doesn’t happen to have much experience in sales/marketing, it can become challenging to figure out the clearest and most compelling way to explain their business. And, even if the founder has experience in sales/marketing, this is no guarantee – the shoemaker’s son always goes barefoot.
- Time. Being a founder is hard work. There’s almost never enough time in a day and a lot of decisions demand immediate attention. Each demand is important in its own way, but you can never lose sight of how important a sales presentation is; it is a tool for bringing in money.
- Pride: Yes, pride can be a good thing, but not when it has you putting every single little thing about your company in a sales presentation. The inclusion of too much detail muddies the point, confuses people, and wastes time.
How to Improve:
- Test, Learn and Optimize: Put something together and then get feedback from people outside your business and from outside your world. If your on-tech family member gets it, you’re on the right path.
- Start with Why: Forget the “how” for a bit, and focus on the “why” – specifically, why you exist. If you can explain the “why,” it will unlock the door for deeper conversations and other points to be made. Most importantly, it will inspire and evoke emotions that drive action in your consumer.
- Delegate: Allow someone else on your team to develop the first draft, and build from there. Delegating will give you another chance to understand what others on your team think is important, and it gives you something to react to. They might have included things you never considered important, but which stand out as a key point to others.
Also consider hiring someone or a service to review your sales presentation. Finally, and most importantly, best of luck with what you’re building! Try different things, and if you fail, gather feedback and keep going.
Leo Morejon is a successful social media marketing and sales leader known for distinctions such as a Guinness World Record for Most Facebook Likes, pioneering real-time marketing while working on campaigns including the Oreo Super Bowl Blackout Tweet, and leading sales enablement at SaaS companies in leadership roles.
Leo is also known for hosting the popular business debate show, Prove It Matters, where he humorously debates notable business people on topics ranging from influencer marketing to social media strategies.
