SALES TIP #19
You have designed the perfect presentation. You have a strong opening, your pages are crisp and concise, each page is constructed to convey the messaging that is critical to your overall story. As a team, you have assigned roles and responsibilities. You are ready.
As you walk through your client’s door, there is a challenge that exists in every meeting, every time. How do you keep your audience fully engaged for the entire meeting? Once you capture their attention, how do you keep it? Or more importantly, how do you re-engage someone after they have mentally wandered?
Studies show the average attention span today is 8.25 minutes. This means in a 60-minute meeting, you will lose your audience approximately 7 times. 7 times they will fade away; 7 times you must pull them back.
One way to help your audience re-engage is to use section breaks throughout the presentation deck.
Why a section break?
Every good presentation includes a wealth of information about your value proposition; the section break allows you to divide the presentation into separate chapters of information. It will help with the flow of the meeting and signal to the client that a new topic is being introduced. This makes it much easier to follow the discussion and/or to re-engage in the meeting.
The section break page is a simply designed page with only a few words, so the eye recognizes that something is different. The brain registers that the pattern of the presentation has been broken. Any time the brain picks up change, it works to figure out what is different and why. This gives you an opportunity to recapture the attention of any wandering minds.
Design of the section break
Here are some things to keep in mind as you design section breaks.
- Meeting Structure: The section breaks should flow directly from the meeting agenda outlined at the beginning of the presentation. Use the same language in your remarks and in your presentation, in the same order. The consistency of your messaging allows the client to easily follow as your story builds. Your goal is to structure a flow to the meeting that is logical to the client and addresses their key concerns. Each section should build upon the sections that came before, in a way that enables the client to easily make sense of your key messages.
- Number of Sections: The number of sections is important. Too few and the client is forced to focus for too long. Too many and the presentation will seem choppy and disrupt the flow of the meeting.
- Titles of Sections: This is an opportunity to underscore key messaging and ensure it maps back to your meeting structure. Think about ways to captivate your audience. As an example, the title “Marketing Overview” is direct and to the point, albeit a bit broad. Alternatively, the title “The Keys to a Successful Marketing Campaign” is designed to intrigue the client to want to know more, even before you start the section. Another option is to use a question, such as the title “How do you Structure the Optimal Marketing Campaign?” Here, you are choosing a question you believe the client already has in mind, or that you want to make sure to address. This allows you to easily structure the information in this section to address a problem, rather than just providing information. It is more engaging and more intriguing to the client.
- Meeting Flow: As you think about your team’s roles in the meeting, section breaks provide a smooth and seamless transition to a new presenter. This is especially helpful when you have multiple presenters in the meeting. Moreover, it allows you to introduce a new topic and remind the audience why it is important to your discussion. Introduce the section in a way that will intrigue the client.
- Key Messaging: At the end of each section, the presenter can quickly summarize the previous section. By providing 2-3 succinct messages, you can underscore the important points from the section before moving on.
- Q&A: The transition to a new section provides a natural pause to allow or encourage questions. The client wants to be heard and you need to hear what is important to them. Active client participation is critical in any meeting, but even more important for those clients that may be attending remotely and who may have become passive or disengaged. A section break gives everyone a chance to talk and gives you a chance to listen.
Summary
When used thoughtfully and with purpose, section breaks can be a simple, yet powerful tool to keep the client engaged. Like chapters in a book, it breaks a story up into sections that are digestible and more easily understood by the client. It helps the presenting team stay focused and on message. It provides the client with the opportunity to ask questions and share their observations. It ensures a more interactive meeting. Section breaks are another way of ensuring a successful outcome.