"Marketing puts together our presentations and we have to use what we get."

"The problem is, I have so little time! The customer's have short attention spans and we have so much to talk about, so I speed up."

"How do I close during a presentation? I never know how to end with impact."

There are many more issues, but I'll stick to a few tips to get you through these for now. First, a bit about the SalesPEAK approach, just to warm you up in case YOUR presentation delivery has room for improvement...

Our philosophy is that you want to be "customer-centered" in your approach. Customers don't carve out time from their busy schedules just to tire-kick. When decision makers are in a room together, a lot of schedules have had to be coordinated for them to get there. They are serious. So YOU need to be seriously prepared. This isn't the time to wing it or show up and throw up. Careful preparation and planning is necessary, as well as practice and perhaps coaching. This is  a big deal. You don't want to blow it.

OK, now for some tips to address those comments above...

1. "Marketing puts our presentations together."  --Remember, Marketing people are terrific at getting customer's attention, but they are not salespeople. When marketing provides you with a deck of slides, they are to be culled down to meet the needs of the customer you are presenting to. Also, Marketing can come up with talking points, but they have to homogenize their stuff to maximize impact with the entire sales team in your firm. This is YOUR presentation, so take responsibility. Tip: Create your presentation content, focusing on your customer's needs, THEN create a few slides and/or handouts to go along with what your customer wants. EACH and EVERY presentation you deliver should be customized to meet the demands of the customer you are with. Sorry. No shortcuts, here. The good news is,  you will close more sales.

2. "You ramble?" The reason for this is that you are either: planning too much for a short time frame. Using too many slides. Or, you just speak too fast without a plan. There are many remedies for any of these issues. Here are a few tips for this problem: 1. Practice in front of a mirror and in your car OUT LOUD. Listen to how you sound. 2. SLOW down in your head! If you sound slowwww in your head, you will often speaker slower. Plan for less. Use fewer slides, focus on NOT all the features/benefits, but just what is important to that particular customer. See #3...

3. Customers ALWAYS cut your time. It's the law. They are either: late, inattentive for a few minutes, or they have to leave early. Regardless of the reason, expect your time to be cut by approximately 25%. If you think you have an hour, you will be very fortunate to have 45 minutes, but will probably have about 40. Therefore, make sure you plan for less and include plenty of Q/A opportunity in your presentation. Keep your talking points shorter, eliminate 85% of the slides you usually use, and be ready to hook and engage quickly--all while keeping your customer's attention throughout.

4. To end your sales presentations with impact, you must consider what your next action is. Do they need a demo next, a meeting, a factory tour, or a prototype? Perhaps this is your last presentation and they are off to make a decision next. Well, ending with an "Elvis" or "Thank you very much", isn't an impactful close to your presentation. Ask for the business! If it's inappropriate to ask for a decision at this meeting, then ask for some type of a commitment. For example, "So now that you have heard about how our services will help you save costs, what are our next steps together?" Get the customers talking at the end--this may be the only time you have. Oh, and remember, the law of recent cy. Customers remember the last thing they hear, say, or do. This is truly your time to shine!