Your Presentation Bombed? Here’s what to do…

Your Presentation Bombed? Here’s what to do…

Did your sales presentation just go up in smoke? Was it a total bust? If you know in your gut that the answer is, “YES!” here’s what to do for instant recovery.

First, stop beating yourself up.

Although presentation coaches, public speech consultants and trainers promise to help you increase your impact, things can go wrong. It happens to the best of us.

Here’s a few examples from real life:

“I had a long-standing relationship with this client. It was just a routine ‘check-up’ presentation. But when I got to the site, I got the bad news. My contact had been fired. First time I heard about it was when I walked through the door. I had to start from square one.”

“This presentation was on the books forever. But at the last minute, the top guns from overseas decided to sit in. They had a million questions I wasn’t prepared for. It went south and I never got it back on track.”

“I had a specific presentation planned. But when I got there, I found out the group was different — and the needs had changed. I was swimming upstream without a paddle.”

These are comments from seasoned and highly experienced sales professionals. It happens. Even when you’ve done your research. Even when you have a long and trusting partnership with your client. Even when every thing looks all set and ready to go.

Things happen. Don’t go nuts.

Second, examine what went wrong

As you see in the above cases, different things went wrong. And by examining, I do not mean feeling guilty, beating yourself up or bathing in ‘if-only’ slaps to your head.

Just keep a cool and level view. Look at what went wrong. Did you miss a check-in with your client? Did you do all the research you needed to? Did you have a little niggling feeling that you ignored?
While you are examining, notice the little things. Often it’s with the longest customers that we can tend to get lax and forget the basics. Did something like this just happen in your presentation?

While you are examining, take notes. Jot down any possible thing that may have been distracting you or keeping you from noticing what was going on — before the bomb went off.

Third, do it differently next time

Clearly, this is the most important thing to do. Define what you will do differently next time. Brilliant sales professionals make mistakes. But they don’t make the exact same mistake two times.

Commit to a plan of action that will give you a different result. I know. It’s painful. It’s ugly. And it shouldn’t have happened. Certainly not to you.

But it did. Now, dust yourself off and outline your plan.

Next time is a new time. Don’t take one bad experience and leverage it into a string of bombs. One is more than enough. Use it as a wake-up call.

If you need to, build your skills and fortify your confidence. Maybe it’s been a while since you polished the basics. Take some time right now, when the pain is fresh, to invest in your sales presentation skills. This is often the best way to turn a tough situation into a true opportunity.