Great performance can be the difference between losing the sale forever and winning a long-term customer. So when it comes to presenting your small business’s product or services, it’s important to showcase the best of what you’re capable of to your potential customers.

There are a few key elements to a successful presentation, but first and foremost is confidence in what you’re trying to sell and in your ability to do it. Sales professionals who take an optimistic approach to the sales process outperform their pessimistic counterparts by 57%, even when the latter group has better selling skills. And to approach your presentation with confidence, you need to make sure you have access to all the information you need.

Having a small business CRM in place is crucial to equip yourself with as much information and sales confidence as possible in the lead up to your presentation. And to illustrate why, we've outlined a few areas where a CRM can be really useful in your presentation.

Prove you know what you’re talking about

An excellent sales presentation strikes the right balance between being engaging and providing potential customers with the information they need to know to make a decision.

As well as making sure you follow the basics, such as not making the presentation too long (try not to exceed 45 minutes) and preparing a clear and organized agenda that covers 3-5 key points, you should also proceed with the presentation after you have done all the necessary research. Among business buyers, 78% say they are looking for trusted advisors to add value to their business - not just salespeople. If you’re not well-versed in potential clients’ needs, preferences and past behaviors, you won’t instill confidence in them that you can be the partner they’re looking for.

Where your CRM fits

Think of CRM as a crystal ball that helps you turn an ’’unremarkable’’ presentation into a real stunner. All the data is there - it’s just up to you to use it. You can do this in several important ways, including:

1. Knowing the audience

As in all marketing and sales activities, the better you know your audience, the more successful you will be.

Your CRM helps you in this regard in two ways:

• It allows you to target the best potential buyers so you can target your sales offer to the right people.

• It gives you lots of information that you can use to understand the needs of your potential customers. Everything from the size of their business to their biggest obstacles and goals.

Go back to your content marketing strategy where you’ve outlined buyer personas. Look at them again and make sure they’re still the group of people you want to sell to. Compare them to your current customers and use their CRM data to make any refinements to make sure the personas you’re marketing your products to match them.

2. Create case studies

Case studies add credibility and help you show, not just tell, potential buyers what you can offer them.

Use CRM data as part of your case study creation strategy by identifying your most successful customers and then contacting them to create forward-looking marketing materials. You can also use your CRM to identify customers who are in the same industry as high-value leads and develop a targeted case study just for them or double down on relevant expertise.

Remember: the purpose of your sales presentation, besides laying out the key features of your product or service, is to position yourself as a potential partner. And just as you wouldn’t hire a consultant who didn’t have experience in your field, your potential clients don’t want a partner who won’t come with at least a vague idea of what they’re up against.

3. Inclusion of recommendations

Similar to creating case studies, CRM can help you identify your happiest customers. You can review your customer data to see which ones like your services or software, and contact them to see if they would offer a testimonial. 

Testimonials are great to add to promotional materials as they provide third-party credibility, directly from someone who has actually worked with your company. Just make sure you encourage your customers to be as specific as possible when offering a testimonial, so get them to comment on a specific feature or element of your service.

The formula of the perfect sales speech

Like a great email or blog post, a great sales pitch is clear, precise and skillfully targeted to the audience. Plus, it includes each of the key components below:

• Identification of the potential client’s problem

• Gives a brief description of the value your business can provide

• Explains how your solution works

• Provides evidence that your solution works 

• Offers examples of how your solution has helped customers

• Gives the potential customer an opportunity to ask questions and get comprehensive answers

Each part of the formula requires a slightly different approach to performance planning, but in all areas your CRM can provide you with more of the information you need to close the deal. With such a great resource available, there’s no reason not to use it to hone your sales pitch.

Perfect sales performance is achievable, especially with the help of a CRM.