When developed and used properly, buyer personas can help marketers and salespeople win more business. By talking to clients, leads, and prospects, your team can implement highly effective communications that drive new and retained assets. When a company develops effective communications, it leaves buyers thinking, “This firm really gets me.” On the road to creating the most effective materials, there are many obstacles salespeople face when trying to be customer-centric.

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Ten years ago the average adult attention span was 10 seconds; today it’s five. With this emerging data, we now know that attention deficit disorder is not just limited to today’s younger generations. With the advent of personal computers, laptops, tablets and hand-held devices, delivery and interpretation of information happens so quickly it’s hard to keep up. Ad banners streaming along the top of a screen, icons flashing mid-screen and cartoon figures flickering along the bottom and we cannot reasonably expect anyone to pay attention off-line at the same pace that they do on-line. These trends can be particularly challenging for the traditional face-to-face sales presentation, even when accompanied by a laptop or tablet. This holds true whether the presentation is for one or two people in a back office or for a crowded room. For these reasons alone, a strong and distinctive launch into a presentation is increasingly critical. As one financial services professional puts it: “We must establish and invigorate the trust, respect and engagement of our audience—immediately.”  Securing instantaneous trust is much more easily said than done, though. The key is to be authentic, someone who truly wishes to have a personal connection with their listeners. There is an overabundance of articles and books on the topic of establishing authenticity, but three key themes seem common to all:

• Be personable, not personal
• Brand yourself
• Make it a conversation

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