Research indicates that most salespeople put 80-90% of their time into presenting and demonstrating and leave only 10-20% of their time for other things. Professional salespeople, however, spend only 40% of their time presenting or demonstrating; not more than 10% prospecting; and about 50% of their time qualifying and planning.

Let’s look at these figures one more time. The professionals spend half as much time demonstrating or presenting as the average salesperson does, yet we find that he or she still manages to turn in at least twice the volume. And this is a conservative figure. Actually, the professional brings in between four and ten times as much business as the average salesperson will. It’s not uncommon for a single salesperson to outsell the entire bottom half of the sales force, and keep on doing it month after month, year after year.

So what is it that the true professional does to stand above the rest? By far the greatest difference lies in his or her attention to and ability at planning sales, at selecting and qualifying the right people to sell to, at overcoming objections and closing, and at deserving and obtaining referrals.

So as important as presenting and demonstrating is, if you do it with the wrong people because you didn’t qualify properly, it’s all for nothing. If you’re working with the right people, but you let their objections beat you because you haven’t prepared properly, it’s all for nothing. And if you have no capability in closing, you’re working for nothing. If you can’t close, many sales you could and should make will go to the next competitor who comes along because you built the structure for the sale but couldn’t close the door before he or she got there. You have to be a strong presenter or demonstrator to sell strongly. You also have to qualify strongly, handle objections strongly and close strongly.

There are three things you should cover in your presentation:

1. Tell them what you’re going to tell them. This is your introduction.

2. Tell them what you’re there to tell them. This is your presentation.

3. Tell them what you just told them. This is your summary.

That’s the outline of all successful speeches, presentations and demonstrations. In other words, we use repetition. We don’t say exactly the same thing three times, of course, As outlined above, we begin by introducing our new ideas, then we cover our points in depth and relate them to our future clients’ interests and needs and finally, we draw conclusions from our points and indicate the direction that things should take.

Repetition is the mother of learning, yet average salespeople don’t like repetition. For one thing, they have used their material so many times that it’s stale to them. All too often, average salespeople have gone worse than stale on their presentations and feel it would be better off buried. The professional, on the other hand, never tires of phrases that work, ploys that sell, and ideas that make sense to his or her buyers.

There is no doubt about it, one of the keys to the professional’s greater skill at presenting or demonstrating lies in his or her ability and willingness to use repetition effectively to reinforce every point. He or she doesn’t mind repeating the sales point because he or she knows it leads to repeated sales to the same type of clientele.

So think in terms of tell, tell, tell and remember: Repetition is the seed of selling.

A common misconception amongst many consumers is that the only way to get rid of credit card debt is by either paying it off or by filing for bankruptcy. Many times paying it off just isn’t possible due to financial constraints and declaring bankruptcy can hurt an individual many more ways than just financially so that should be avoided at all costs.

Another alternative that makes sense for a great many people is credit card debt negotiation. This is accomplished by working with a well-trained representative of a reputable debt settlement company who will work directly with the credit card companies that are owed money in order to reach a viable solution that is agreeable to both the creditor and debtor.

How It Works

When dealing with debt it’s all about the numbers. What happens in credit debt negotiation is the debt negotiator or debt arbitrator will work out a financial settlement price as a percentage of the whole. For example; if the cardholder is $25,000 in debt the negotiator works with the bank or financial institution to reduce it to $12,000 and the remaining $13,000 is then written off or forgiven.

That is of course a simplified explanation of how it works but I believe it conveys the general idea behind credit card debt negotiation. Another positive is that it will stop the collectors from contacting the debtor at home or at work through phone calls and threatening letters. All correspondence automatically goes through the debt settlement company.

Finding a Reputable Company

It is absolutely imperative that any individual interested in working with an organization to negotiate their credit card debt does their homework in advance to make sure that that company is in fact reputable. The very first thing to do is to contact the Better Business Bureau to make sure that there are no outstanding complaints.

The next thing you want to do is go online and do thorough research. I’m talking about spending hours and doing it right. Search consumer watchdog sites, forums and any and all other information sources that you can find. Don’t be afraid to use the search box on Google. That’s what it’s there for.

Questions to Ask

Asking questions is a big deal when it comes to finding the right debt negotiation company. You’re going to want to know what the training and credentials of the negotiator that will be assigned to you are. You’re also going to want to get a guarantee that they will do exactly what they claim they will do.

Because this is new to you you will no doubt have a great many questions to ask about how the program works. Write them down in advance so you do not forget them. If you feel as though the representative is evasive or does not answer your questions to your satisfaction then move on to another company.

It is your financial future that is at stake so take the time to educate yourself as much as you possibly can about how the credit card debt negotiation process works. The more you know the better off you’ll be and the quicker you will become debt free.

It was that far away look in my students’ eyes that told me something was wrong. I was teaching grade 8-mathematics and trying to show the kids how to solve expressions with exponents. But what I didn’t realize was that they didn’t know how to solve algebraic equations yet, so I might as well have been speaking to them in a foreign language. As a newly minted teacher, early on in my career, I hadn’t yet learned that before you start holding forth you’d better find out what the students already know! Otherwise, you risk losing them, and your lesson flops.

In many ways, this same principle applies to business communication. If you want to be an effective communicator – whether it’s a presentation or a written document such as an email message, a letter, or a report – you really do have to know who your audience is and what their needs are.

We’ve probably all experienced opening an email from someone who is anxious for our business only to find the message is totally irrelevant. What’s the first thing you do when this happens? Right! You hit the delete button. No doubt you’re grumbling why this message was sent to you in the first place, since its content clearly doesn’t apply to you. And that’s not a good start for building a business relationship!

The fact is; it’s hard to persuade your audience to respond to your message if you haven’t done your homework. The Plain Language and Action Information Network (PLAIN) which is at the forefront of a movement promoting communication that’s clear and simple, makes the idea of focusing on audiences their first defining principle:

“Written material is in plain language if your audience can:

• Find what they need;
• Understand what they find; and
• Use what they find to meet their needs.”

Or if you think of it in retail terms: the customer truly does come first. As I like to put it, “It’s not about me, it’s really about you.”

So how do you figure out who your audience is? Do a little homework.

Here are My Top Tips for Getting to Know Your Audience:

1. Talk To Me: A good old-fashioned conversation is frequently the best way to find out what your audience knows, doesn’t know, and wants to know. Whether it’s a casual chat or a formal interview the goal is the same – find out who your audience is, and what their needs are.
2. Make Google Your Friend: Do a little research online before you write that proposal or send that email message. If you’re working with a new company, their website may reveal a great deal about their current status and future goals.
3. Survey The Crowd: Much like a pollster or a broadcast measurement organization, you may want to send out a survey to your audience. It may be the best option when you have a new client with a complex catalogue of needs, and limited interest in face-to-face or phone meetings.
4. Get Social: Sometimes social media (Facebook and Twitter) are a good way to conduct research. Facebook recently introduced Facebook Questions, which some feel can be a useful tool for polling your already existing community.

Getting to know your audience so that you can be an effective communicator isn’t terrifically complicated. It’s more a matter of taking the time to do your due diligence. Of course, sometimes it’s tempting to skip this step. After all, many people find the thought of “research” and “interviewing” a little dry and dusty. But what outcome would you prefer – reaping the rewards because you put in the time? Or watching as their eyes glaze over?