Whiteboard Selling : Empowering Sales Through Visuals

Why did I choose this resource?

I chose this resource to learn about the advantages of using a whiteboard for sales presentations.

What did you learn from it?

I learned that using whiteboards during a sales pitch is a great way to keep your prospects engaged, create a memorable presentation, and increase your chances of closing the sale.

Key Knowledge

• No More Slides
  • Unable to alter efficiently last minute
  • Boring
  • Not interactive
  • Not memorable
• Telling the Story
  • Using whiteboards
    • keeps the prospects interest;
    • offers “progressive disclosure;”
    • engages the prospect;
  • Basic Sales Steps
    • Listen
    • Diagnose
    • Ask questions
    • Consult
    • Adapt
• Basic Types of Whiteboards
  • “Qualification and discovery whiteboards”
    • Use first to asses lead, define prospect needs, and confirm your offering is a good fit.
  • Why change, Why now, Why us whiteboards
    • Prove to the prospect the negative side of not buying
    • Demonstrate partnership with writing the prospect name next to your Company name.
    • Top third of the board, why change pitch, exemplify with details about the marketplace.
    • Second third of the board, why now pitch, connect prospects current circumstances to their goals.
    • Final third of the board, why us pitch, emphasize your successful history with metric to prove it.
  • “Competitive” whiteboards
    • Demonstrate the advantages of your product compared to others like it
  • “Business-case whiteboards”
    • Illustrate payment options and the benefits in terms of ROI.
    • Used if unable to close after your competitive whiteboard
  • “Closing whiteboards”
    • Conclusion board used when another approval is necessary after it’s evident you are the best option.
• Other Types of Whiteboards
  • “Level Set Wheel”
    • Present circumstances, opportunities, challenges, and product/service solution to challenges
  • “Day-in-the-Life”
    • Illustrates a first person perspective of the company’s struggles.
• Making Whiteboards Work for You
  • Use the whiteboard to tell a story using words and visuals.
  • Use “grabbers”
  • Numbers that increase in value as the narrative develops.
  • Draw a “wall of challenges”
  • Present solutions to obstacles.
  • Must have “break points”
    • “Interaction points”
    • “Confirmations”
    • Ask open-ended questions
    • “Objection reframes”
  • Use “Competitive Retrofit” approach
    • Respond to prospect inquiries with “competitive differentiators”
  • ALWAYS have evidence to support your “value delivered” statements.
• Closing the Sale – Techniques
  • “Assumptive close”
    • Incorporate statements that imply you already have the sale.
      • Ex: Would you like us to create the mobile app as well?
  • “Alternative close”
    • Offer choices that presume a close
      • Ex: Would you like that in blue or red?
  • “Trial close”
    • Coax the prospect to concur the product/service is the best option with a question
      • Ex: This is a compelling resolution, don’t you agree?
• Prepare Your Team and Design Your Whiteboards
  • One story per whiteboard
  • Use different colors
  • Do not erase whiteboard until the story is complete
  • Each whiteboard should consist of 6-12 steps
  • No more than 90 seconds to explain each step
  • Limit yourself to 75 words and 10-12 visuals
  • Keep the presentation interactive!

How are you using what you learned?

I am using what I learned to create ideas for using whiteboards to see our products and services.

Key Changes / Key Actions

• Create a whiteboard presentation.
• Present to team members and receive feedback.

Source

• Name : Whiteboard Selling
• Author : Corey Sommers and David Jenkins
• getAbstract.com: Link to Book