When we train enterprise sales people how to use a whiteboard to have a compelling, consistent and confident interaction with customers and prospects, we often hear, "I'm terrible at whiteboarding", or "I have awful penmanship." At the end of our half-day or full-day whiteboard symposiums, however, participants surprise themselves when they realize they now have the confidence to go pitch their company's whiteboard story to C-level buyers the very next day.

By following some very simple best practices, an awkward and "one-way" presentation can be turned into an engaging and fully interactive dialogue.

Know Your Story
Before you even think about getting in front of a customer or prospect to begin whiteboarding, you've got to have complete "knowledge ownership" of the solution or service you are positioning. Whiteboarding requires that you're able to dive a level deeper into the content. If questions come up during a PowerPoint presentation, it's easy to defer it by saying, "let's take that offline." The slides actually rescue you from going a level deeper if they only contain high level bullets. When on a whiteboard, you really have no excuse for not being able to "add brushstrokes" to enrich your canvas.

Consider Your Stance
A very minor adjustment in stance can make a big difference when delivering a whiteboard presentation. Position yourself so your feet are perpendicular (at a right angle) to the whiteboard surface, and be conscious not to ever alter this position except to turn and face your audience completely. It's a small detail, but it will prevent you from ever having your back to your audience. It's analogous to having an "open stance" in baseball - it gives you more control and a better view of the ball's trajectory.

Engage
Because you are now positioned with the open stance, you are now able to truly engage your customer or prospect in an interactive dialogue. Smile. Make eye contact. And use hand gestures! Pull up YouTube and do a search on "Billy Mays", the ubiquitous and bearded "pitch man" for products like Oxyclean. You're selling enterprise-class solutions, not house cleaning products, so don't take it to such extremes. But Billy is using gestures that are proven to subconsciously draw in the audience and keep them focused on what you are saying.

Corey Sommers