One salesclerk in a candy store always had customers lined up waiting, while other sales clerks stood around with nothing to do. The owner of the store noted his popularity and asked for his secret. “It’s easy,” he said. “The others scoop up more than a pound of candy and then start taking away. I always scoop up less than a pound and then add to it.
The presentation is the core of the sale because this is when all of your product knowledge, information about why people buy, and pre-approach information come together to make the sale. This is the moment you were working toward as you spent all those hard hours prospecting for customers. It is during this time, the presentation, which you will attempt to persuade the prospect that your product is the one that will best satisfy their need. The presentation includes all that the sales professional says and does during the sale. This is the main persuasive effort because you produce a change of mind in the customer that will end in a sale. This is often called the meat and potatoes of the selling process because it is the main course; that which provides the main substance of the sale. You can get your foot in the door with your ability to make positive first impressions, but if you can’t tell your story with persuasion and sell your product, you will lose the sale.