How to kiss goodbye to yo-yo revenue, poor close rates and sleepless nights

If you suffer from the angst associated with an inconsistent revenue stream, then do yourself – and your business – a favour by spending a few short moments reading this page. I wrote it especially for you.

The key to boosting your close rates and getting more revenue from your existing pipeline is right here. Your company reputation will also enjoy a lift, which in itself will attract more opportunities.

The consistently clear way you and your colleagues will be able to deliver your message will free up more time for you to think about the future of your business, as opposed to fighting in the trenches for yet another day.

If you carry on as you are things will get worse. This is not some common cold that will get better by itself. We are knocking on the front door of the third decade of the 21st Century and there is a new business landscape out there. Your business is part of it, whether you like it or not.

The Harvard Business Review’s revelation that 95% of buyers are disloyal to their present suppliers is shocking enough. However the HBR goes on to report that 80% of those disloyal buyers rated their present suppliers as either ‘good’ or ‘very good’. Wow! That’s a new and somewhat ugly landscape.

At Active Presence we understand achieving spectacular close rates is much harder than it used to be, particularly in complex B2B sales. Clients are increasingly better informed and you're having to work a lot harder to stay ahead of the pack.

Your clients are realigning their businesses to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. The growing demand for staff flexibility has expanded both teamwork and devolved responsibility – directly increasing the number of people involved in purchasing decisions.

Gartner’s research asserts that the average corporate purchasing decision now involves seven different departments. Little wonder it’s impossible for your sales staff to get all the decision makers into the same room at the same time. You need internal champions to help you spread your message.

Stopping you is the villain of the piece: the noisy world in which we now live, with many of us bombarded by high volumes of low quality, inappropriate messages.

I came across a big firm quite recently whose close rate was an appalling 41%. This was a big, prestigious London outfit known for paying their staff top dollar. Based on their address, their market position and the way the staff swaggered and sashayed around the office, I’d have expected them to be closing at least 7 bids in 10. How wrong I was. Having estimated the time spent submitting proposals, and having a reasonable idea as to their likely salaries, I reckon each proposal was costing them in the region of £150,000. For every 10 bids submitted they were flushing something like £600k (around $800k) straight down the drain.

There’s a direct cost with carrying on the way you are now. Do you know what that cost is? It was clear to me the crowd I met at that London firm hadn’t got much of a clue.

Right now, the most important meetings going on in your business are meetings that convert prospects into customers.

Other stuff you can live without; but if prospects stop converting, your business is toast.

And the Number One converting tool? A seriously good sales presentation – one that speaks to the needs of your customers, answers their questions, allays their fears and captures their hearts.

You should look on your sales presentation as your most valuable asset and a sound investment in your future business.

When most business people hear the word presentation, they think; slides. At Active Presence, we use the word presentation to encapsulate the whole experience that engages the audience and leaves them remembering your message.

A cracking sales presentation comprises a careful blend of:

• Copywriting
• Graphic design
• Buying psychology
• Persuasion techniques

A ton of research has been done into how the brain processes and remembers information. We’ve read all the papers, so you don’t have to. For example, Alan Baddeley is well known for his research on working memory, as is John Sweller for his related work on cognitive load. George Miller came up the ‘magic number’ of ‘seven, plus or minus two’. Richard Mayer’s contributions on multimedia learning have been particularly well received.

Our contribution has been to unite this body of work and bring it to bear on 21st Century business reality, for your benefit. And we’ve done that with our 4in1 Presentation Performance Package.

Finally, it's your turn to boost your close rates and get some consistency into your revenue stream. And the 4in1 Presentation Performance Package delivers precisely that. The name ‘4 in 1’ refers to fact that the package comprises four integrated elements:

•  A brand new set of beautiful slides (Microsoft PowerPoint)
•  A tightly integrated segue script (PDF)
•  A narrated screenshot video for practice and rehearsal (MP4)
• Stage craft coaching to maximize the impact of your delivery

The final element – the stage craft coaching – has some flexibility built into it. We can deliver it via video-conference, or via an in-house workshop. UK based clients are welcome to visit our dedicated training studio in north west England.

We know the 4in1 Presentation Performance Package packs a punch and can have a hugely positive impact on the consistency of your company’s revenue stream. We also know that there’s a gap between believing and doing. The choice to bridge that gap is yours, and yours alone.

You can elect to carry on as you are. As I commented earlier, I wouldn’t expect that to work out well for any business looking for a bright future in the 21st Century. Alternatively, you can elect to take action and get a new result.

The action to take is to click the button below. You’ll be taken to a page where you’ll be asked to send us your current sales presentation, in addition to answering a few questions about your business. You’ll then given the opportunity to schedule a 30 minute slot in my diary. By the end of that call you’ll have a very clear idea as to how we can help you boost your close rates, reduce your stress levels and build a more consistent revenue stream.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to speaking with you.

Click now and see the future.

Chris Davidson

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