Corporate presentations—we all know them. In a short amount of time, we have to present our company. Not easy! Especially not when you also have to maintain balance in the conversation, as we described in this blog . Due to standardization, the result is often that our corporate pitches are not very effective. Putting your own company at the center or sticking to the standard 'I/we' narrative is disastrous. Winning the trust of your conversation partner(s) is what it’s all about! But how do you do that?
Be a conversation partner and know your customer's motivation
Some time ago, we wrote a blog post about using psychology in communication and managing expectations with your existing customers. At the time, we discussed, among other things, Jung's motivation theory, which allows you to predict people's behavior. This principle can also be perfectly applied in your business presentations, sales conversations, and pitches. By assessing the profile of your conversation partner, you can keep your story much shorter and more concise, with the right payoff for your future customer. How? By using leitmotifs!
From leitmotifs to customer!
Your conversation partner may try to partly disguise it, but he or she has a certain personality. When presenting your company, or selling your business offer, it is useful to be able to estimate what consequences that personality has for the progress of the sales process. We use leitmotifs for this. This term represents the “guiding thought” that every person has and that translates into virtually every action we take. There are 4 leitmotifs, each of which is very applicable within sales and relationship management.
Status
People who fall into this leitmotif are real controllers. They decide quickly, are goal-oriented, and have a winning mentality. Many entrepreneurs fall into this profile. You can respond to this during your sales conversations and presentations by highlighting the unique character of your company and offering. This group can be sensitive to sales arguments such as 'exclusive to your company', 'unique offer' or 'tailor-made solution'.
Profit
Thinkers! That is a central term that you can link to this leitmotif. They work methodically and systematically and are always looking for benefits, with an unprecedented eye for detail. So make sure that during your presentation or conversation you emphasize matters such as the price/quality ratio of your offer, the efficiency gains that your lead can make with your products and the price benefits. Discounts can also work well with these thinkers.
Assured
You know them, conversation partners who are relatively quiet and keep an eye on things. This often has to do with uncertainty, a central feature of this leitmotif. These individuals are reserved and cautious. They want to fit in and don't like to admit that they don't know much about certain things. You especially want to reassure such people in your conversation or presentation. Don't try to push a sale. In short, send a written version of your conversation afterwards, include warranty provisions or no cure / no pay solutions in your quotation, and above all explain clearly what you will help the organization with.
Ease
Finally, the creatives. Salespeople often fall into this profile. They are fast, easy to talk to, dynamic and very intuitive. They work on the basis of feeling and trust and are strongly relationship-oriented. You should not bore these people with an extensive substantive story during a sales conversation or presentation. Above all, make it clear that he or she can purchase everything from your company under one roof and save a lot of work by working with you. Also emphasize that your organization can purchase ad-hoc and last-minute items. The convenience of your lead is central to this profile.
