Author Archive | Ray Simon

You have probably heard “ABC, Always Be Closing”. A phrase made famous by the cult-classic film Glengarry Glen Ross. There’s an epic scene where Alec Baldwin belligerently lectures a group of underperforming salespeople. He tells them that they should “ABC, Always Be Closing”. All drama aside, there are some good messages in the movie, and ABC […]

If you have only one takeaway from this discussion it is this: You must be crystal clear on your end goal of your presentation. Here is a simple litmus test to see if you have a clear end goal. Finish this sentence: “My presentation will be successful if I _____.” Here are some examples of […]

Let’s look at some examples of closes. These are a continuation of the examples provided in the previous post. 1. Presentation: You give an educational presentation to Tom and Sue on how critical it is to a pastry shop to buy ovens that are versatile enough to bake a wide variety of food products. Close: […]

Nothing else matters if you don’t know your close. Imagine you are on a remote desert highway and your car is low on gas. You pull into the last service station for the next 100 miles. You clean the windshield, put air in the tires, and buy snacks. But you forget to fill up the […]

Know your audience. Who are they, what role do they play in the decision-making process, and what are they looking to get out of your presentation? What is their agenda? Let’s look at some examples: 1. Tom and Sue are small business owners. They are researching new ovens for expanding their pastry shop. Roles: Tom […]

The content of your presentation is a strategic balance of two parties’ needs and expectations. You have information that you want to cover and your audience has topics that they want to hear about. You have an agenda of focusing on material that will lead to a specific close. It’s highly likely that you do […]

Sales presentations are a critical step in the sales cycle. A great presentation paves the way to closing the deal. A bad presentation puts you in damage control mode or can kill the deal. Many people think that good presenters are born and that they are naturally charismatic, funny, and persuasive. The reality is that […]

Salespeople love to talk about their product. Common advise to salespeople is, “you need to know your product” and “you need to believe in what you’re selling”. These things are true but they are not the highest priority. Ask me the first thing a salesperson needs to know and I’ll say, “You need to know […]