“Sameness is the Enemy of the Presenter.”
– Patricia Fripp Presentation Skills Expert
Sameness is defined as looking and sounding the same during a presentation. The audience will tune out if your speech looks and sounds like others.
This wisdom also applies when you are selling your products and services.
Indistinguishability will extinguish the deal.
Why would a shopper buy if they can’t differentiate you from others? When a prospect is lost in a sea of sameness, the only buying criteria is the price.
My good friend Pete Moyer does a great job of being heard above the noise.
His clients are big-box retailers and grocery chains.
In layman’s terms, Pete sells gasoline pumps–you know, those things you need #bitcoin to fill your tank.
In his industry, the sameness is 100+ page proposals and 100+ slide decks.
But Pete does something completely different. Rather than submitting sleep-inducing proposals or slides. Pete brings to his buyers a fully functioning gasoline pump. [It does not have gasoline in it. He’s replaced the black hoses with clear plastic hoses and lights on the inside.]
He gives his buyer a credit card and lets them play with the machine. It has a TV monitor- running announcements and various fuel options. The clear lights flash, indicating you are pumping gas.
Rather than sameness, the client gets a memorable experience.
Guess who wins the business the majority of the time?
Guess who the top producer for his company is? I’ll give you three guesses.
How have you avoided sameness in your presentation or your (sales) pitch?
