Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers studied many successful people from the Beatles and Bill Gates to concert violinists and concluded that it takes roughly ten thousand hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field. Whether that number is correct or not, the larger point is that there is definitely a correlation between practice and success. Yet I find many sales people feel they do not need to practice their skills regularly, particularly their presentation skills. How wise is that? This issue came up recently in conversation with a non-sales executive in a digital service
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company. Having witnessed several less than stellar presentations made by the firm’s sales team to clients, he was gnashing his teeth that they were not interested in further presentation practice training because, as they pointed out, “We don’t need it. Business is so good!”
I suspect #1 ranked singles tennis player Serena Williams (practices 8 hours a day), Gold Medal gymnast Simone Biles (practices 32 hours per 6 days), and #1 world golfer Jason Day (practices 6 hours a day) would not buy that argument.
The Kiss of Death
Complacency in presenting, as in any endeavor, can quickly lead to calamity. We live in a world of constant change and keen competition. If you are not moving forward, you are moving backward and success moving forward depends on continuous learning and improvement. If your company is not providing regular presentation practice and coaching, try these three ideas to keep you on top of your game:
- Set up a small group of peers either within or outside your company and present to each other on a regular basis with the goal of identifying what is working well for you and getting feedback and suggestions for improving in your weaker areas.
- Video yourself presenting. Review your video with a critical eye. Work on those areas that need improvement (content, structure, flow, delivery, visuals)
- Debrief presentations after client meetings,
There’s an old saying that still rings true: “If you want to become an old dog, stop learning new tricks.”
Anne Miller
Make What You Say Pay!
P.S. Email me at .amiller@annemiller.com for a free “Presentation Skills Evaluation Sheet.”