#164: Getting Unstuck—6 Tips to Deliver a Better Presentation that Closes More Sales

Okay, Hero Maker, are you like me and you've purchased maybe a few online courses and they're just like hanging out, waiting to be gone through. But what I really need, and maybe you do too, is somebody to walk you through the content live. Like I need to put it on my calendar. I need to say, okay, for these two days I am doing this and then I want some real time feedback. Well, that's what you're gonna get if you come to Storybrand Live workshop. Instead of worrying about the future, you can actually make a plan and move forward. You can surround yourself with support and positivity. So at this virtual marketing workshop, you are going to clarify your message by walking through every single piece of the story brand framework and figuring out, okay, what is it that my customer wants? What is it that my customer is experiencing? Like, what's the problem that we need to actually focus on here? And you're going to do that with the help of an expert Storybrand coach. And so our next workshop is coming up July 23rd and 24th and all you've got to do is go to storybrand.comworkshop to sign up, get it on your calendar and know that you will have the accountability and somebody to come alongside you and walk you through it every step of the way. Again, go to storybrand.comworkshop to sign up now.

There are so many people who are out there. You've got a pitch deck. You are in front of the actual people that you are hoping to convert into a buyer. And I'm curious if there is any time bound reason why someone would need to jump off the fence right then. When you're giving the presentation, if you're giving it on Zoom or in person, why does that person need to do it today? And that needs to be super clear because otherwise people are going to go, well, let me think about it.

Hello Hero Maker. Welcome to the Marketing Made simple podcast, powered by Story Brand and brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network where we believe your marketing should be easy and it should work. I AM your host, Dr. J.J. peterson and I am joined by my co host, April Sunshine Hawkins. Hi April.

What's up JJ and hello Hero Maker.

April, I'm so excited about this series that we're starting today.

Yes, me too, because it's all about our Hero Makers. That's really, you know, what this whole podcast is about.

And so we asked you listeners to send in some questions about places where you are feeling stuck in your marketing and the reason we wanted you to do that and why we're responding to them on here is because I can almost guarantee that there are other people who are feeling that exact same thing and struggling with the exact same issue. So, first off, thank you. Thank you for calling in, everybody who has called in. Thank you for reaching out to us and sharing your stuck moment because you are helping other people by doing that because they are probably feeling the same thing, and maybe they missed the announcement about calling in, or maybe they just didn't have time to pull over and call in and you did. So thank you. And we are going to, over the next few weeks, really just respond to your listener questions and. And try to help you come unstuck and help everybody who might be dealing with the exact same issue also become unstuck in this season. So we're not going into a lot of banter right now. We're just gonna get straight to our hero maker question. We're gonna listen to it right now. Here is our first caller who is giving us their problem where they are stuck in their marketing. And then we're gonna respond.

Hey, my name is Anna. My business is called Prolific. That's Prolific with an F with fro li fic. I offer a leadership program for teams, and I just had a parent info session that I conducted yesterday, and I'm seeing a pattern that I am not able to convert the same day I give this. I think it's a pretty decent presentation, but clearly I'm not doing something right. I have changed my presentations many times, and yet I'm not able to. What I want to do is have a way of converting them the same day. If you have any tips around that, I will appreciate that. Thank you so much.

Wow, Anna, that is a really good question that I'm sure a lot of people deal with, and unfortunately, we don't have any answers, and you're going to still be stuck. This is a short episode. Thank you for joining us on Marketing Made simple, where we believe we're wrapping.

Up this series immediately.

Turns out this was a really bad idea.

No, no, no.

It's not at all.

We are still so excited to help you because just like JJ is saying, there are so many people who are out there tinkering. You've got a pitch deck. You are in front of the actual people that you are hoping to convert into a buyer, into a customer, and you've been going, well, should I say this first, or is my call to action not clear enough? Or are they just not motivated? Like, there are all these questions that we're running in Our mind going, what is the issue here? And so, jj, you know, if, if Anna was sitting right here in my seat, what would be the first thing that you would do with Anna and her presentation?

Well, for everybody out there who has sales decks or proposals they're sending out, this is the first thing that I would recommend. Start off your proposal by talking about your customer's problem. Every single time is where you need to start. And so many people, I mean, I get pitched stuff all the time. And they start with, here's who we are and here's our history, and this is what we do. No, no, no, don't do that. When you start with who you are and your history, you're positioning yourself as the hero of the story. So, Anna, I'm assuming that you have at least some of this in there because you've been listening to the podcast, so you know this stuff. But what I want to reiterate for everybody is always start with a customer problem. So, Anna, if you're sitting there and you are getting ready to present to the people on Zoom or in person, you want to say teens suffer today because blank, or when teens don't experience blank, they don't get ahead. Right? You really want to. And I don't know if I want to use suffering with teens. And you're talking to parents, but, you know, if you're helping teens with leadership, then what is the problem that teenagers experience when they don't engage in your program? Start with that problem, identify it. Then talk about the emotional struggle connected with that. This is frustrating. This is overwhelming. It feels like even when you're getting ready to compete to go to college, that good grades aren't the thing that just matters matters anymore. You need more in order to compete to get into the college. You want things like that. Frustrating, overwhelming, troubled. You know, anything like that that you're putting in there? Because we're not talking about, like disgruntled teens here. We're talking about really moving the needle forward with leadership. So what is the problem that's getting in the way of that? And for everybody, really, the first say, if you're having a 10 minute presentation, I would argue the first third of your presentation needs to be about this. Really. The first three minutes needs to hone in on the problem and amp up the problem. You can throw in statistics about things that teens are struggling with these days, how leadership helps in different areas, but really just name the problem for the first three minutes. Then bring your product and service into the presentation. So you want to then Talk about how you solve that problem. And you can go into a couple different ways of talking about that. You can talk about your authority, like why you are the person that can help them move forward. But always start with empathy. Always start with empathy and talk about how you understand the struggle that parents are dealing with, you understand the struggle that teens are dealing with. You have been a teen, you know those kind of things. And then bring in your authority and then talk about how you solve the problem. Really keep it really clear. What are the steps you take to help teens in leadership? And then the biggest thing really where a lot of people drop the ball is call to action.

It really is. The call to action, of course, needs to be so clear that people know exactly what you want them to do. Because if it's not clear, that's like asking someone, you know that game Simon says. Yeah, okay, so if I go, Simon says do this and I've got both of my thumbs in the air, you know, then you'll do it. But if I go Simon says do this and this and this and this and I'm moving my hand in a bunch of different directions, then that is too many things to concentrate on and follow. It needs to be as simple as a Simon says direction. That is just one thing you want them to do. And so I'm very curious about this call to action that you have at the end. And I'm curious if there is any time bound reason why someone would need to jump off the fence right then in the room when you're giving the presentation. If you're giving it on zoom or if you're giving it on, you know, in person, like why does that person need to do it today? And that needs to be super clear because otherwise people are going to go, well, let me think about it.

Yeah, right. So you can add a bonus in the room. If you're not already adding a bonus to them signing up that day. That's something that will increase your conversion rate. So if you say, hey, if you actually sign up today, I'm going to give you an extra session or I'm going to give you some videos to jumpstart this or I will throw in a college application review. You know, it's something that gives value to them. I don't love giving discounts. Like if you sign up today you get 25% off. Those work, they really do work, but I don't love them. I don't like to be a discount brand. I like to be a value add brand. And so by doing that by creating something that's like, if you sign up by the end of the day, or if you sign up by the time we're done, you get this extra thing and that goes away, it's gone after. And if you want to give them 24 hours, you can. But if you're Anna, if you're trying to say like, I want to close in the room, then you need something that expires in the room. Otherwise there's no real urgency for them to sign up. And I want to. You made such a good point about the clarity of the call to action. What is that one thing you want people to do? Here's a mistake people make with that is they think they're being clear, but they're not. One thing is if you say, if you have any other questions, reach out to me. When you say that. If you're saying that to me and I go, I don't have any other questions, my story loop is closed. I've done the thing that you asked me to do. I don't have any more questions. So now I'm just going to think about it. But if you say, sign up today and you'll get this, now I am presented with an option to either be in or out. And that really is key. I know that feels scary for a lot of people, but the reality is people need that kind of clarity and a little bit of a push to help them make a decision. If they can delay the action, they're gonna delay the action. And delayed action often equals inaction. So don't let them delay. You don't wanna be pushy and like shoving it down their throat, but be really clear. Clarity is kindness. And so let them know what decision they need to be making in order to. And this is so important when it comes to a sales relationship because if you are truly positioning yourself as the guide to the hero, and you know that your customer, the hero of this story, if they sign up for your product or service, that their life will be better. You shrinking in that moment is not helpful to them. You are not serving them by being weak in your call to action. You think you are. We think sometimes by just like sitting back and going, you know what, I'm not going to pressure you. You get to decide. I'm gonna leave it in your hands. I might follow up in a week. We'll see what happens. You think you're being kind by not pressuring them, and in reality you're not. That is unclear. And it is also basically positions you as weak in the story. So be confident in that. You don't have to be pushy, you don't have to strong arm them, you don't have to manipulate, you just have to present the option and be real about it. And then the final thing I would say in all of this is truthfully, don't be afra afraid to follow up. So if you're not closing in the room and you're not sending follow up emails that also have deadlines attached to them, you're missing out on an incredible opportunity. I think that's one thing we think is, well, if I don't close in the room, it's done. It's not. You should create a two to three, maybe four email sequence that you send out automatically after somebody goes through your presentation that works to close that deal. So as far as the form of the presentation goes, this is for everybody. Make sure that you're always starting with the problem that your customer is experiencing. Agitate that in the beginning, then position your product and service as the solution. You talk about yourself with empathy, authority, and how you solve the problem. And make sure you're closing with a very clear call to action that has some kind of time sensitive aspect to it that allows them to get something of value or a bonus if they act while they're in the room. Room.

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HubSpot's inbound conference is back. It is going down live in Boston from September 18th through the 20th. And I have to tell you, this really is my favorite marketing conference of the year. I go to a lot. I love them all, I really do. But this is my favorite. HubSpot knows how to put on a conference. I mean, it's unbelievable. And what's really fun is I actually am doing a session this year that you can come and see me in person, where I'll be talking about an insider's perspective on the dynamics between creators and brands, specifically when it comes to influencer marketing. There's also other amazing speakers that are going to be there, like Disney Experiences chairman Josh Di Armo. He's going to be talking about the magic of storytelling and how to use technology to breathe life into your brand. And there's so much more. Ryan Reynolds, Serena Williams, I mean, the list goes on. So visit inbound.com to see the lineup and grab your tickets today.

And now back to the show.

One of the things that you can add on after you've done all of that, that really will be kind of like the secret sauce. This is add in a hype video of testimonials from people who have used your product or service. And so I see on your website, you are really marketing to parents and students. Parents and their kids who are in school. Right. And so you need testimonials from both of those types of people because the parents are likely going to be the ones footing the bill for this on behalf of their student, but the student is the one that's going to be experiencing the results and the success. And so you need testimonials from both of those key players in the story. It will get the parents hyped, it will get the kids hyped, and show what success looks like in their life at the end. And the people sitting in front of you who are considering your offer are going to be like, yeah, I want that. That's exactly why I'm sitting here right now. And, oh, there's a bonus for signing up today. Yes, I'm in.

Yeah, you can put that in multiple places in the presentation, but I love putting it at the end. Wrap everything up. Show the success that other people have experienced through your program. And then just what you said. Get that call to action and you're gonna close more deals. So many of us have these moments, and here somebody was just asking me the other day, what is the biggest mistake people make when it comes to the story brand framework? And there are a lot of things that I could say. You know, sometimes people miss the internal problem or they're not super clear on what their customer wants, or they don't talk about the problem enough. There's little tips we can give in each of the areas. But the thing that I said in that room was a room full of marketers. I just said, whenever there's a question, go back to trusting the process. When we talk about using the story brand framework, in your marketing, it's based in science, it's based in research, and it's based in the understanding of how humans connect with messaging. And so for me, I have been in rooms where I am selling something to gigantic corporations. Like, I've been on the phone or I've been in person where I'm talking to organizations I never thought in a million years I would be in that room with. And all of a sudden, in that moment, I start to shrink. I start to get a little nervous. Cause I'm like, they're a big deal.

A really big deal. They're known worldw. And I'm thinking a very specific brand right now. Literally, this brand is one of the top, I believe I know, top three companies in the world financially. And I walk into that room and I'm intimidated. And what I have to do in that moment is lean not on my own understanding.

Yes.

But trust in the process, and literally go, all right, if I do what I'm supposed to do in communicating this story clearly, and I know that we can help them, I am presenting them with the option to move forward in that. If they say no, that's fine, because I might not be their guide in that moment, but if I can actually sit down and identify they do have the problem I can solve, I can talk about how I solve that problem. I can give them a clear call to action, and I can present evidence in testimonies that I've solved it for other people. That's the best I can do. And I actually can just kind of present that with a. Not only clear conscience, but with confidence. And so, you know, the. The specific tips we're giving you, Anna, about your presentation will be helpful. If you are following each of these steps and adding them and tweaking your presentation to make it a little bit tighter, it's going to be helpful and for everybody listening. If you do that with your presentations, it will help you as well. But the other thing for me is that it gives me the confidence that I'm not missing something. I think that's almost at the root of Anna's question. She's like, I'm throwing this out there, and I know that it does. Am I missing something? Right. And a lot of times when we come to those moments, we just have to say, this might not be the right time or the right person for my product. If we presented it clearly, we can know that we can rest in that. And so I want to encourage everybody to just step into that confidence that what you're doing is Good. What you're doing is going to help people. And when you communicate it clearly, you're leaving the option up to them to move forward or not. And you want to follow up. You want to do all the things, but sometimes it's just not the right person or the right time. Trust in the process that has helped me and grounded me so much in walking into any room because I don't have to be confident that I'm doing it right or wrong, like I'm not good enough or I'm not hype enough. It's that maybe it's just not the right time. So, Anna, I hope that this has been helpful for you and I hope that it's been helpful for everybody listening because I know that we all have to pitch, we all have to sell at some point, whether it's in an email or in a presentation. And these tips have helped us and helped thousands of companies just like you. And if you follow this process, I know that you too will be able to close more sales. And my ultimate hope really is that you have the confidence to walk into sales conversations and sell your product in a way that is not pushy but really invites your customer into a story where they become the hero and you become their guide and their life is better because they work with you. And if you're still feeling stuck trying trying to figure out how to apply the story brand framework into your marketing and your sales conversations, you can hire a story brand certified guide. Just go to marketingmadesimple.com to hire a guide that will show you how to clarify your message and create marketing and sales collateral that works. All right, hero maker, it's time to apply everything you learned with this week's actionable step. A practical step from today's conversation you can can immediately use to shape your marketing and clarify your message. In today's getting unstuck conversation, we really walked through a number of different things that you can add to your sales presentations to help your conversion rate go up. But the specific thing that I want you to work on right now is your call to action. What is your call to action going to be? You need it to be very clear. What's the next step? Sign the contract, Schedule an info session, Download a video. What is it? What is the one thing that you want them to do in order to buy your product and service? Then I want you to figure out how to attach a time sensitive bonus offer to that call to action. If they buy within the call or they buy in the room, or they buy in the next 24 hours, what is a bonus you're going to give to them? So, first step of your actionable step is to create that call to action with a time sensitive bonus. The second thing I want you to do is practice saying it at least 10 times. I want you to practice saying it because here's the thing, so many times we get in that moment and it becomes awkward because we kind of stumble over our words or we just kind of offer it as a suggestion. I want you to be confident when it comes to that moment of asking for the sale. So I want you to practice it 10 times. Then. Then the next day I want you to practice it 10 times. Then the next day I want you to practice it 10 times. I want you to keep practicing your call to action. Say it out loud, say it in the mirror so that when that moment comes, you're not stumbling over your words. You're not feeling like you have to shrink. In that moment, you are confident that what you're putting out there is valuable and you're giving clarity to your customer to help close that deal. When you have a clear call to action and you can state it clearly with confidence, you are giving permission to your customer to do what they already want to do. If they're on a call with you or they're in a room with you, they've already said, I think I want this product or service. They want it. They know that it can make their life better. There's some hesitation maybe around money or how it works, and your presentation will explain all of that. But that moment, at the end of the call, at the end of the meeting, they want permission to make that decision. And when you come in with a clear, strong call to to action that has a bonus attached to it, you give them permission to make the decision they already want to make. So write your call to action, attach a time sensitive bonus to it, and then practice it over and over and over again so that you can be confident in selling your product and asking for that commitment. When you step into that role with confidence and call your customer to action with confidence, you are helping them overcome their problems by purchasing your product or service. That is ultimately what makes them the hero of their own story. And that's what makes you a great guide. That's what makes you a hero maker. Well, that's all for this week's episode of Marketing Made Simple. Thanks so much for listening and believing, like us, that your marketing should be easy and it should work. Follow Marketing Made Simple Wherever you listen to podcasts and if you found this episode valuable, please please rate and review the show, letting us know how these tips are clarifying your message and growing your business. We'll see you next week.