Hopefully the latter! Presentations that aim to educate and inform will connect you with high-level audiences in ways that no standard sales pitch ever will.

Think about it – how many executives would choose to spend their time sitting through a sales presentation? None. If they can delegate that job, they will. And when they must attend, they do so with their guard up and their skepticism on high alert. In short, traditional sales presentations make for an uphill battle when it comes to getting time in front of top executives and connecting with them in a meaningful way.

Contrast this with an educational seminar on an important and timely subject that could help decision-makers make better decisions and spot important trends. What a difference! Not only are executives generally eager to attend these events, but they also come with an open mind and high expectations. Done right, these presentations can open the doors to the highest levels of leadership within your target organisations while shortening the sales cycle and dramatically boosting sales.

When you use a selling approach like this, you have to make sure your first objective is to truly serve the buyer. Your presentation must be rock-solid and full of useful data about exactly what you’ve promised.

You don’t need to commission an expensive study in order to put together a compelling educational presentation. Most of the information is available publicly. But it was scattered over hundreds of sources. By putting it together in one source, salespeople are able to give a high-level snapshot of issues important to the prospect’s business and involve the audience. Once you give prospects some value your sales proposition, threaded through the educational part of the presentation is more likely to be accepted.