The secret to presenting to a potential client is “matching.” Prior to presenting, you would have asked plenty of questions and uncovered the problems they want solved. The next step then is to present your solution and to do lots of matching.

What do I mean by matching? Matching is where you make the connection between the problems a potential client wants solved and the features/characteristics of your service that solves those problems.

Your solution has lots of features/characteristics and some are relevant to the potential client and some are not. You want to sort all your features and characteristics into two piles. Pile one consists of the features/characteristics they care about - as they solve the specific problems they have discussed with you. Pile two consists of the features/characteristics they will not care about - as they don’t solve any of the problems they have discussed with you. Note that you can only do this sorting if you’ve asked enough questions before you present.

To prepare for your presentation, look at all the features/characteristics your potential client cares about (pile one). The next step is to then “match” each of the problems they want solved to the feature/characteristic of your service that will solve it for them. When you present, you then show the connection between the problems they have agreed they want solved and the features/characteristics of your service that solves those problems.

If you do not do the matching for your potential client, they will be left trying to work out what aspect (features/characteristic) of your service can solve their problems. Also if you do not do the matching, your potential client will feel you haven’t listened to them, amongst other things.

To explain this further, I am going to use a simple example of buying a car. Even though I do not like stereotype car salesmen, this is a good example for matching, plus it is an example you can probably relate to.

Scenario One

The car salesman asks you what sort of car you’re looking for and what is important to you. You tell him. He then shows you a car and proceeds to tell you all about the features of the car that you frankly could not care less about. He just goes on and on telling you absolutely everything about the car. Sound familiar?

Scenario Two

The car salesman asks you what sort of car you are looking for and what is important to you. You tell him. He then shows you a car and describes exactly what features of the car will give you each of the things you said are important to you.

Who would you buy the car from? Would you buy from the car salesman in scenario one or scenario two? Who did matching?

What would you be thinking with the scenario-one car salesman?

You might be thinking:

- He didn’t listen to me.
- He doesn’t understand me.
- Why did he ask me what I wanted as he clearly wasn’t interested?
- I am not sure if it meets my needs. I am confused.
- I am bored and irritated.
- How can I get away from this person?

What would you be thinking with the scenario-two car salesman?

You might be thinking:

- He really listened to me.
- He understands me.
- I can clearly see how this meets my needs.
- I am interested.

When you present your solution, demonstrate that you have been listening and that you understand their problems. Only present the features/characteristics that solve the specific problems they have been telling you about. That is what they’re interested in and what they will care about. The key to presenting is in the matching!

(c) Tessa Stowe, Sales Conversation, 2006. You are welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the “about the author” info at the end).

Are you too busy to put yourself first? If a plane loses
oxygen pressure for any reason, oxygen masks will drop down
from a small overhead compartment. If the oxygen masks come
down in a plane and you have children, you are always
advised to put yours on first before helping your children.

Why? Because you are in a better position to help your
children put their masks on if you are not struggling for
air.

I have noticed that when I am calm and relaxed it is much
easier to deal with anything that life throws at me, and to
become calm I have often needed to put myself first, often
by saying no.

When I am tired or stressed, I am rarely very effective.
Time out is vital as it allows us to recharge our batteries.
It is similar to running a car without regular service and
maintenance - it will inevitably break down one day, usually
at the most inconvenient time. If you are tired or stressed,
you won’t have the patience or the energy to be able to give
much to anyone else.

Taking care of ourselves and putting our priorities first
may feel selfish to you. But if you are running on empty,
what will you have left to give others? If you are burned
out, stressed and overloaded, what will be left of you to
share? You cannot give away what you don’t have. When we put
ourselves first and do what we need to do to stay healthy
and vibrant, we have more to give to other people and tasks.

Make a list of activities you can do daily that will give
your mind and body a break and help to renew your energy. If
you need inspiration, magazines and newspapers have ideas
almost every week. You may have previously ignored them as
you thought you didn’t have time, or you were so busy
looking after everyone else.

Take a break

If you are doing something that is really frustrating you
need to take a break - step away from the situation. The
more stressed you are, the less likely you are to be
effective in solving a problem. In the past I have often
been stuck on something, thinking that I will solve the
problem while I am sitting at my desk. I rarely do.

How long is it since you took a break at work?
The value of stepping away from work is that you come back
more refreshed and see things in a different way. And with a
calmer mind you will find it easier to focus, not on 101
things you haven’t done, but on one thing, which you can
handle. When you return, refocus by asking the question,
What do I need to get done in the next hour?

Get walking

I read so many articles telling me how good exercise is for
my health - I know that and so do you, I am sure. Exercise
is wonderfully distracting; it’s actually very difficult to
think about your problems while exercising! Just 15 minutes is enough to unfreeze
your brain so you gain a different perspective.

About The Author:

Carolyn Matheson is Author of “Yes to Less Stress”

To receive her free weekly newsletter, sign up today: http://www.areustressed.com/newsletter-signup.htm

Yesterday I look at my calendar and saw that my newsletter was on my calendar for today. I wondered what I would write about. By the end of the day, I had my topic. Back-up and Recovery System.

Are you prepared for a disaster? Around 2pm yesterday I looked up from my computer and saw a reflection of smoke. I knew right away someone’s home was on fire. Thinking it was one of the homes behind me I stepped out my patio door. It was the house right beside mine that had caught fire. I immediately went out front to find two members of the family in shock. I found out 911 had been called and no one else was at home. The fire department was there within moments and started fighting the fire. I, like a lot of my neighbors, stood outside and watched with sympathy as this single mother with five children lost everything they owned.

It always happens to somebody else, right? Not all the time. One minute my neighbor’s house was on fire, the next, a whole opened up in their attic and the most amazing ball of flames shot directly towards my house. It was at that time I realized that I could also lose my home. I went in, grabbed my purse and my dog and was back out in the driveway. As I stood there I realized I didn’t follow my plan.

You see, since I started my business I’ve had what I considered a good plan incase of fire, I’ve even written up a disaster recovery plan. My business and its equipment are insured separate from my homeowners. It will also cover any lost income I may incur. I’ve burned copies of all my software and keep it off site along with copies of important business documents. I back up my entire hard drive daily incase my PC crashes. I keep my calendar on my PC and sync it with my palm; I also keep a paper calendar incase of power outage. Now, the plan was that on my way out of the house I would grab my external hard drive that is used as a backup.

I stood there really hoping that my home would be saved and thinking I need a new plan because when push came to shove, my dog and purse were the only things on my mind. I was so shocked that after all that planning, my business didn’t even come to mind.

Well, I was lucky; my home suffered only some exterior damage. My neighbors, unfortunately, lost everything except what was in their garage. Note: fireplace ashes stay alive at least a week after the fire burns out.

If you have not considered what you would do to get your business back up and running incase of a disaster, I suggest now is a good time to start.

Kathy McHenry, Your Virtual Advantage, LLC -
Virtual Assistant, Transaction Manager and founder of Your Virtual Advantage, LLC. Kathy is a brilliant resource center for entrepreneurs. Increase your success, reduce stress, and have time to focus on your billable hours. Visit her web site today at http://www.YourVirtualAdvantage.com and sign up for her FREE newsletter Distant Assistant