People make up their minds about a lot of things within 60 seconds. Research across a variety of disciplines shows that professionals make quick judgments about interest and acceptability, even for important decisions such as hiring and big-ticket investments.

And yet…we have seen countless examples in our practice of sales presentations that fail to engage prospects properly during that all-important start.

How many sales decks out there begin with slides featuring the selling company’s headquarters building, its history, its executive team and/or mission statement? If your company hopes to win through solution selling, then it is a far better practice to engage your prospect in a solution-oriented conversation from the very beginning.

We often help clients break out of “stumbling out of the blocks” selling habits by:

(1) Moving the discussion about the seller. If you need to establish credentials and credibility, it’s better to send a brief and focused background description a few days in advance of the meeting.

(2) Creating with the client a customized, solution-oriented “provocation” that jump-starts an executive conversation far more effectively.

Are your team’s sales conversations getting off track during the first minute of action?