Does the thought of putting together a quarterly sales presentation to stakeholders give you nightmares? Well, a sales presentation doesn’t have to be that way! Developing quarterly sales presentations requires analysis and research of one’s audience. In particular, a recipe for good a sales presentation would start by identifying the characteristics of each audience, choosing the appropriate communication channel for each audience, addressing extraordinary elements for a diverse audience, and establish effective communication strategies. Undoubtedly, the task of formulating a stakeholder’s sales presentation will cause some butterflies and fears of anxiety. On the other hand, a presentation can be very successful with a little preparation and knowing the audience, which leads me to my first topic.
When developing a presentation the audience becomes an extremely important factor to take into consideration. For starters, the audience will need to be classified and analyzed by the presenter. Take for example a meeting situation consisting of presenting quarterly sales information. The audience would most likely be identified as the managers, salespeople, and customers – varying audience. When presenting sales information to a varying audience, the presenter has to transform the material according to the different members of the audience. Therefore, the presenter will need to know the material well and must select the words carefully so as not to confuse, annoy, or alienate anyone in the audience. Following this further, the presenter should evaluate the demographics of this very diverse audience. Characteristics such as ethnicity, age, culture, and gender should be considered. Apart from these particular characteristics, the level of education and knowledge of quarterly sales information should also be appraised. Similarly, the presenter must consider which communication channels are appropriate for each group (Locker &
References: Locker, K. O., & Kienzler, D. S. (2008). Business and Administrative Communication. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Top7Business. (2011). Top 7 Strategies For Effective Communication. Retrieved from http://top7business.com/?Top-7-Strategies-For-Effective