Hear the Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer of Whiteboard Selling Interviewed on "Business for Breakfast"

5 Ways to Boost Sales with Visual Storytelling
Whether using a whiteboard, flip chart, or a tablet PC and sharing software, sales teams can use visual storytelling as a powerful differentiator in a competitive landscape.

The phrase "death by PowerPoint" is a common way to describe the lack of interactivity with, and boredom engendered by, slide presentations. Such presentations are not only tedious and clunky, but they can also become a crutch and reduce salespeople's confidence in their product knowledge and ability to communicate value in a convincing way. A more compelling presentation makes use of "visual storytelling." Whether using a whiteboard, flip chart, the back of an envelope, or a tablet PC and desktop sharing software, sales teams can integrate visual storytelling into their existing sales methodologies and apply the approach as a powerful differentiator in competitive and complex selling environments. Here are five ways to make that happen in your organization. ...

Slip, Slidin’ Away
Social media tools and interactive technologies are making the standard (and often boring) PowerPoint presentation a thing of the past
BY GWEN SHAFFER

When Corey Sommers found himself sitting next to a prospective client on a fl ight, he grabbed the airsickness bag from the seat pocket in front of him. Sommers began sketching out his company’s approach and objectives, “and the woman next to me left the airplane with that bag,” Sommers recalls. It is this kind of spontaneous and interactive presentation technique that inspired Sommers to co-found Whiteboard Selling in 2007. The company trains sales professionals to shift away from their reliance on PowerPoint slides and, instead, to embrace “the power of the pen.” Teams from IBM, Symantec, Software AG and a dozen other information technology companies have gone through the training and now integrate these “visual storytelling” techniques into their sales pitches. “You’ll never write something on the whiteboard that’s not in your head,” Sommers says. Of course, not every presenter is ...

WhiteboardSelling feature in Aberdeen Research on Sales Effectiveness

Aberdeen surveyed 517 organizations in an effort to explore the effectiveness of sales training as a definitive contributor toward overall sales results. Based on the survey results, the Best-in-Class sales organizations deploy a wide variety - and usually a blend - of technology and service solutions that are enhancing both the skills of their sales reps as well as crucial, revenue-centric, bottom-line productivity. The research shows that best-in-Class companies increased their average annual revenue per sales rep by 11% on a year-over-year basis and 83% of their sales reps achive annual quota.

Don't Get Slideswiped: Sell Value with a Pen

There's a reason why the phrase "Death by PowerPoint" has become part of today's corporate vernacular. There's no better way to torpedo a sales call than to plug in a projector and start presenting a bunch of slides. How often have we heard, "I'll get to that in five slides," or "I'm not really sure what's meant by that bullet," or "that's actually an old version of this slide." You've only got one chance to stand out from the crowd and become a trusted advisor, and slides aren't the answer. Let's look at a new way of ...

Five Ways to Boost Sales Using Visual Storytelling

Ever heard the term "Death by PowerPoint?"  This has become a common way to describe the lack of interactivity and boredom engendered by slide presentations.  You’ve only got one chance to stand out from the crowd, and slides aren’t the answer.

 Here are five ways salespeople can boost performance using "visual storytelling" instead of slides.  Whether using a whiteboard, a flipchart, the back of an envelope or a tablet PC via desktop sharing software, savvy salespeople are now using the visual storytelling approach to engage with prospects in a way that will...

Sales Calls without PowerPoint: Why High-Tech Sales Gurus Go Low-Tech

The new low-tech trend in high-tech sales? Salespeople at Software AG, Borland and Symantec are ditching PowerPoint and engaging with customers using a whiteboard and markers. Here's a look at Software AG's strategy.

High-tech sales pitches have historically fallen into one of two categories: not so bad or awful. Typically, representatives from the prospective customer—clustered together on one side of a conference table—have had to endure a PowerPoint presentation delivered by a vendor salesperson who more than likely didn't write the slides; has not been a programmer of database admin in a previous life and doesn't understand the complexities of the software and how it applies to the customer's situation; and is so pressed to get through all 45 slides in 15 minutes that he has little time to actually converse with the users and IT staffers on the other side of the table....

Avnet's ProSeries Symposium Helps VARs' Sales Reps Hone Ability to Deliver NetApp Solutions

Symposium Features New Audience Engagement Technique That Promotes Information Retention and Client Interaction

"Our partners have told us that they want their sales representatives to be able to present to a C-level audience in a way that engages and persuades," said Patty Gray, vice president of NetApp and Symantec Sales for Avnet Technology Solutions. "Communicating effectively with this audience takes more than typical slide presentations, which can put distance between the sales representative and the audience. Avnet's ProSeries Symposium helps sales personnel learn to actively engage the customer using the proven technique of whiteboarding developed by consultant Whiteboard Selling."

Avnet turns VARs on to whiteboarding

With a recent series of events focusing on NetApp VARs, distributor Avnet Technology Solutions has started turning resellers away from the PowerPoint presentation and towards selling by whiteboard.

With a recent series of events focusing on NetApp VARs, distributor Avnet Technology Solutions has started turning resellers away from the PowerPoint presentation and towards selling by whiteboard.

“Whiteboarding is a great way to really captivate the audience,” Neal said. “We wanted to look at a way that would bring these products closer to the end-user, and we’ve found the whiteboard a great way to do that.