4 steps to presenting solutions on a sales visit

Your sales team have scheduled a meeting with your key prospects and customers. They’ve prepared fully in advance, built rapport, mutually agreed an agenda, encouraged participation and started to build a relationship with the prospect. They’ve asked appropriate open questions and actively listened to the prospect’s answers. This has led to the prospect revealing specific issues that they need addressing. So, what’s next?

1. Present Product and Services

Now that the customer’s needs have been identified it is time to proceed to the next part of the sales process, to make a bespoke presentation of your tailored products and value-added services. Specifically, to deliver a solution specific to THEIR problem. What your sales team must bear in mind here is to create a presentation that reflects the needs of their prospect and perhaps their client and how they solve their problem. They may wish to consider a product demonstration but ultimately, they need to present the benefits that their product and value-added services provide. After all, they want to highlight how their solution makes the prospect’s life easier in some way i.e., how it saves them time, money, increases quality, efficiency etc., whilst convincing them they are providing the best possible solution.

2. Use Case Studies

Your sales team may wish to consider demonstrating the benefits to the customer by including a few relevant case studies that back-up their argument. For instance, giving examples of similar projects that centre around the prospect’s needs. Using the opportunity to emphasise how the specific problems were solved and the benefits experienced. Ideally with quantitative resource savings or improvements if possible.

Presenting how a problem was put right

Presentations aren't only for winning new business. When I was a Global Sales Manager, a member of our quality team asked for my help after a problem with a customer.

Together we put a presentation together covering the issue, how it had been resolved and the steps we'd taken to stop it happening again. Then I went along on the visit and presented it to the customer with them.

The customer left satisfied. Showing them clearly what we'd done, rather than just telling them, made all the difference.

3. Highlight Value Solutions Provide

As part of the discussion, ideally your salespeople need to emphasise the benefits and value that your solution will provide both for their prospect and their client. During the meeting, they need to use their observation skills and ask questions to see how this has been received.

4. Gain Further Commitment

Your sales team’s solution may not be exactly what the prospect is looking for. But what they’re really after is commitment that they are interested and that they would like to pursue things further. It’s advisable here that your salespeople summarise what has been discussed, and if the prospect is in agreement, jointly agree on what the next steps should be.