sales presentation mix

7 Amazing Sales Presentation Examples (And How to Make Them Your Own)

7 Types of Slides to Include In Your Sales Presentation

Inside the mind of your prospect: change is hard, before-after-bridge: the only formula you need to create a persuasive sales presentation, facebook — how smiles and simplicity make you more memorable, contently — how to build a strong bridge, brick by brick, yesware — how to go above and beyond with your benefits, uber — how to cater your content for readers quick to scan, dealtap — how to use leading questions to your advantage, zuora — how to win over your prospects by feeding them dots, linkedin sales navigator — how to create excitement with color, how to make a sales pitch in 4 straightforward steps, 7 embarrassing pitfalls to avoid in your presentation, over to you.

A brilliant sales presentation has a number of things going for it.

Being product-centered isn’t one of them. Or simply focusing on your sales pitch won’t do the trick.

So what can you do to make your offer compelling?

From different types of slides to persuasive techniques and visuals, we’ve got you covered.

Below, we look at data-backed strategies, examples, and easy steps to build your own sales presentations in minutes.

• Title slide: Company name, topic, tagline
• The “Before” picture: No more than three slides with relevant statistics and graphics.
• The “After” picture: How life looks with your product. Use happy faces.
• Company introduction: Who you are and what you do (as it applies to them).
• The “Bridge” slide: Short outcome statements with icons in circles.
• Social proof slides: Customer logos with the mission statement on one slide. Pull quote on another.
• “We’re here for you” slide: Include a call-to-action and contact information.

Many sales presentations fall flat because they ignore this universal psychological bias: People overvalue the benefits of what they have over what they’re missing.

Harvard Business School professor John T. Gourville calls this the “ 9x Effect .” Left unchecked, it can be disastrous for your business.

According to Gourville, “It’s not enough for a new product simply to be better. Unless the gains far outweigh the losses, customers will not adopt it.”

The good news: You can influence how prospects perceive these gains and losses. One of the best ways to prove value is to contrast life before and after your product.

Luckily, there’s a three-step formula for that.

• Before → Here’s your world…
• After → Imagine what it would be like if…
• Bridge → Here’s how to get there.

Start with a vivid description of the pain, present an enviable world where that problem doesn’t exist, then explain how to get there using your tool.

It’s super simple, and it works for cold emails , drip campaigns , and sales discovery decks. Basically anywhere you need to get people excited about what you have to say.

In fact, a lot of companies are already using this formula to great success. The methods used in the sales presentation examples below will help you do the same.

We’re all drawn to happiness. A study at Harvard tells us that emotion is contagious .

You’ll notice that the “Before” (pre-Digital Age) pictures in Facebook’s slides all display neutral faces. But the cover slide that introduces Facebook and the “After” slides have smiling faces on them.

This is important. The placement of those graphics is an intentional persuasion technique.

Studies by psychologists show that we register smiles faster than any other expression. All it takes is 500 milliseconds (1/20th of a second). And when participants in a study were asked to recall expressions, they consistently remembered happy faces over neutral ones.

What to do about it : Add a happy stock photo to your intro and “After” slides, and keep people in “Before” slides to neutral expressions.

Here are some further techniques used during the sales presentation:

Tactic #1: Use Simple Graphics

Use simple graphics to convey meaning without text.

Example: Slide 2 is a picture of a consumer’s hand holding an iPhone — something we can all relate to.

Why It Works: Pictures are more effective than words — it’s called  Picture Superiority . In presentations, pictures help you create connections with your audience. Instead of spoon-feeding them everything word for word, you let them interpret. This builds trust.

Tactic #2: Use Icons

Use icons to show statistics you’re comparing instead of listing them out.

Example: Slide 18 uses people icons to emphasize how small 38 out of 100 people is compared to 89 out of 100.

Why It Works:  We process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.

Tactic #3: Include Statistics

Include statistics that tie real success to the benefits you mention.

Example: “71% lift driving visits to retailer title pages” (Slide 26).

Why It Works:  Precise details prove that you are telling the truth.

Just like how you can’t drive from Marin County to San Francisco without the Golden Gate, you can’t connect a “Before” to an “After” without a bridge.

Add the mission statement of your company — something Contently does from Slide 1 of their deck. Having a logo-filled Customers slide isn’t unusual for sales presentations, but Contently goes one step further by showing you exactly what they do for these companies.

They then drive home the Before-After-Bridge Formula further with case studies:

Before : Customer’s needs when they came on

After: What your company accomplished for them

Bridge : How they got there (specific actions and outcomes)

Here are some other tactics we pulled from the sales presentation:

Tactic #1: Use Graphics/Diagrams

Use graphics, Venn diagrams, and/or equations to drive home your “Before” picture.

Why It Works:  According to a Cornell study , graphs and equations have persuasive power. They “signal a scientific basis for claims, which grants them greater credibility.”

Tactic #2: Keep Slides That Have Bullets to a Minimum

Keep slides that have bullets to a minimum. No more than one in every five slides.

Why It Works:  According to an experiment by the International Journal of Business Communication , “Subjects exposed to a graphic representation paid significantly more attention to , agreed more with, and better recalled the strategy than did subjects who saw a (textually identical) bulleted list.”

Tactic #3: Use Visual Examples

Follow up your descriptions with visual examples.

Example: After stating “15000+ vetted, ready to work journalists searchable by location, topical experience, and social media influence” on Slide 8, Contently shows what this looks like firsthand on slides 9 and 10.

Why It Works:  The same reason why prospects clamor for demos and car buyers ask for test drives. You’re never truly convinced until you see something for yourself.

Which is more effective for you?

This statement — “On average, Yesware customers save ten hours per week” — or this image:

The graphic shows you what that 10 hours looks like for prospects vs. customers. It also calls out a pain that the product removes: data entry.

Visuals are more effective every time. They fuel retention of a presentation from 10% to 65% .

But it’s not as easy as just including a graphic. You need to keep the design clean.

Can you feel it?

Clutter provokes anxiety and stress because it bombards our minds with excessive visual stimuli, causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren’t important.

Here’s a tip from Yesware’s Graphic Designer, Ginelle DeAntonis:

“Customer logos won’t all necessarily have the same dimensions, but keep them the same size visually so that they all have the same importance. You should also disperse colors throughout, so that you don’t for example end up with a bunch of blue logos next to each other. Organize them in a way that’s easy for the eye, because in the end it’s a lot of information at once.”

Here are more tactics to inspire sales presentation ideas:

Tactic #1: Personalize Your Final Slide

Personalize your final slide with your contact information and a headline that drives emotion.

Example: Our Mid-Market Team Lead Kyle includes his phone number and email address with “We’re Here For You”

Why It Works: These small details show your audience that:

• This is about giving them the end picture, not making a sale
• The end of the presentation doesn’t mean the end of the conversation
• Questions are welcomed

Tactic #2: Pair Outcome Statements With Icons in Circles

Example: Slide 4 does this with seven different “After” outcomes.

Why It Works:  We already know why pictures work, but circles have power , too. They imply completeness, infiniteness, and harmony.

Tactic #3: Include Specific Success Metrics

Don’t just list who you work with; include specific success metrics that hit home what you’ve done for them.

Example: 35% New Business Growth for Boomtrain; 30% Higher Reply Rates for Dyn.

Why It Works:  Social proof drives action. It’s why we wait in lines at restaurants and put ourselves on waitlists for sold-out items.

People can only focus for eight seconds at a time. (Sadly, goldfish have one second on us.)

This means you need to cut to the chase fast.

Uber’s headlines in Slides 2-9 tailor the “After” picture to specific pain points. As a result, there’s no need to explicitly state a “Before.”

Slides 11-13 then continue touching on “Before” problems tangentially with customer quotes:

So instead of self-touting benefits, the brand steps aside to let consumers hear from their peers — something that sways 92% of consumers .

Leading questions may be banned from the courtroom, but they aren’t in the boardroom.

DealTap’s slides ask viewers to choose between two scenarios over and over. Each has an obvious winner:

Ever heard of the Focusing Effect?

It’s part of what makes us tick as humans and what makes this design move effective. We focus on one thing and then ignore the rest. Here, DealTap puts the magnifying glass on paperwork vs. automated transactions.

Easy choice.

Sure, DealTap’s platform might have complexities that rival paperwork, but we don’t think about that. We’re looking at the pile of work one the left and the simpler, single interface on the right.

Here are some other tactics to use in your own sales presentation:

Tactic #1: Tell a Story

Tell a story that flows from one slide to the next.

Example: Here’s the story DealTap tells from slides 4 to 8: “Transactions are complicated” → “Expectations on all sides” → “Too many disconnected tools” → “Slow and error prone process” → “However, there’s an opportunity.

Why It Works:   Storytelling in sales with a clear beginning and end (or in this case, a “Before” and “After”) trigger a trust hormone called Oxytocin.

Tactic #2: This vs. That

If it’s hard to separate out one “Before” and “After” vision with your product or service because you offer many dissimilar benefits, consider a “This vs. That” theme for each.

Why It Works:  It breaks up your points into simple decisions and sets you up to win emotional reactions from your audience with stock photos.

Remember how satisfying it was to play connect the dots? Forming a bigger picture out of disconnected circles.

That’s what you need to make your audience do.

Zuora tells a story by:

• Laying out the reality (the “Before” part of the Before-After-Bridge formula).
• Asking you a question that you want to answer (the “After”)
• Giving you hints to help you connect the dots
• Showing you the common thread (the “Bridge”)

You can achieve this by founding your sales presentation on your audience’s intuitions. Set them up with the closely-set “dots,” then let them make the connection.

Here are more tactical sales presentation ideas to steal for your own use:

Tactic #1: Use Logos and Testimonials

Use logos and  testimonial pull-quotes for your highest-profile customers to strengthen your sales presentation.

Example: Slides 21 to 23 include customer quotes from Schneider Electric, Financial Times, and Box.

Why It Works: It’s called  social proof . Prospects value other people’s opinions and trust reputable sources more than you.

Tactic #2: Include White Space

Pad your images with white space.

Example: Slide 17 includes two simple graphics on a white background to drive home an important concept.

Why It Works:  White space creates separation, balance, and attracts the audience’s eyes to the main focus: your image.

Tactic #3: Incorporate Hard Data

Incorporate hard data with a memorable background to make your data stand out.

Example: Slide 5 includes statistics with a backdrop that stands out. The number and exciting title (‘A Global Phenomenon’) are the main focuses of the slide.

Why It Works:  Vivid backdrops are proven to be memorable and help your audience take away important numbers or data.

Psychology tells us that seeing colors can set our mood .

The color red is proven to increase the pulse and heart rate. Beyond that, it’s associated with being active, aggressive, and outspoken. LinkedIn Sales Navigator uses red on slides to draw attention to main points:

You can use hues in your own slides to guide your audience’s emotions. Green gives peace; grey adds a sense of calm; blue breeds trust. See more here .

Tip: You can grab free photos from Creative Commons and then set them to black & white and add a colored filter on top using a (also free) tool like Canva . Here’s the sizing for your image:

Caveat: Check with your marketing team first to see if you have a specific color palette or brand guidelines to follow.

Here are some other takeaways from LinkedIn’s sales presentation:

Tactic #1: Include a CTA on Final Slide

Include one clear call-to-action on your final slide.

Example: Slide 9 has a “Learn More” CTA button.

Why It Works:  According to the Paradox of Choice , the more options you give, the less likely they are to act.

Step One : Ask marketing for your company’s style guide (color, logo, and font style).

Step Two: Answer these questions to outline the “Before → After → Bridge” formula for your sales pitch :

• What are your ICP’s pain points?
• What end picture resonates with them?
• How does your company come into play?

Step Three: Ask account management/marketing which customers you can mention in your slides (plus where to access any case studies for pull quotes).

Step Four:  Download photos from Creative Commons . Remember: Graphics > Text. Use Canva to edit on your own — free and fast.

What are the sales presentation strategies that work best for your industry and customers? Tweet us:  @Yesware .

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Sales presentations: templates, examples and ideas on how to present like a pro

A good sales presentation is more than a simple pitch, a demo or a list of facts and figures. Done well, at the right time in your sales process , it’s a tool for getting your prospects’ attention, drumming up excitement and moving prospects toward a buying decision.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to use the power of storytelling to drive decision-making and close more deals. We’ll also cover the fundamental elements of the best sales presentation ever, what to include in your sales decks and practical ideas on how to deliver them.

What is a sales presentation?

A sales presentation is a live meeting where your team showcases your product or service and why it’s the best option for your prospect.

Although the terminology differs from company to company, a sales presentation is not always the same as a sales pitch.

A sales pitch doesn’t use visualized sales presentation themes – it’s what your sales professionals do all day long, on the phone, over Zoom or in person with clients.

A sales presentation (although it’s still a sales pitch) is a point-in-time event that usually happens when your sales team is trying to close a more lucrative deal. It’s not a simple phone call, as it often involves a meeting and a demo.

Because you’re likely presenting to a group of senior decision-makers and executives, even the best sales presentation ever requires ample prep time and coordination across multiple team members.

Key takeaways from this sales presentations article

Deliver effective presentations: Make your sales presentations compelling with storytelling, effective slide decks, tailored content and strong delivery techniques. Benefits of great presentations: Sales presentations grab attention, excite prospects and drive decision-making, helping close more deals by showcasing your product’s value. Pipedrive’s tools, including customizable sales dashboards and Smart Docs , help a sales presenter create professional, tailored presentations that enhance your sales strategy. Try Pipedrive free for 14 days .

How (and why) to use storytelling in your sales presentation

Use stories in your presentations to help people remember and relate to your brand.

Statistics, facts and figures can help when you’re trying to persuade a prospect to become a customer, but they’re more impactful if you can frame them with a memorable story.

For example, tell a story about a customer who faced the same challenges as your prospect and supplement it with powerful data, they are more likely to listen and want to know more.

Human beings have a deep relationship with storytelling. Stories move, teach and, in a sales context, persuade audiences.

Chip Heath, a Stanford professor and the co-author of Made to Stick , demonstrates the importance of storytelling by doing an exercise with his students. He divides them into groups and asks them to deliver a one-minute persuasive pitch based on data he’s just shown them.

After the pitches are delivered, he asks the class to jot down everything they remember about them. Although most students use stats rather than stories, 63% remember the stories, while only 5% remember an individual data point .

The stickiness of stories makes them a useful tool for developing a sales presentation outline. They help prospects understand and remember the key points of the presentation and your product.

Thomas Dredge Sales Manager, Particular Audience

Start with a problem (and a deadline)

Your presentation is about the solution you’re offering your prospects, but it shouldn’t start with that solution.

Instead, lead with the problem your solution was designed to solve.

“ Value selling is key,” says Bradley Davies, business development at Cognism . “It is important to understand your buyer and tailor their journey to what you can do for them.

“First, you need to understand what is motivating them to have a discussion, which allows you to identify their pains and present how your offering solves their pains. Everything presented to a prospect should be based on the value for them specifically.”

You might choose to tell a story that positions your product as the hero, helping the customer vanquish a villain: their pain point.

Your story should be tailored to the pain points of the prospects in the room. For example, a change to their business, industry or the technology they use.

“If an element of your offering is not relevant, then don't distract them from the important features. It will keep them engaged and help to build their user story,” adds Bradley.

Recommended reading

Digging deep to determine customer pain points and make the sale

Create a sense of urgency around your product: It’s a solution to their problem, but if they don’t act now, they could miss an opportunity. Tell a story about what might happen if your prospect doesn’t change, framing the consequences of inaction.

Focus on outcomes

You’ve outlined the problem and, if you’re doing your job, your audience is nodding along. Now it’s time to start talking about the solution.

However, that doesn’t mean you should launch into the features and benefits of your product just yet.

Rather than presenting your product, a good sales presentation draws a picture of what life could look like for a customer once they start doing things differently. How will their workload or productivity improve? What will they be able to do with additional time and resources? How will they reduce spending and increase revenue?

From there, introduce your solution and the features that can make this brave new world possible. Do this in a few ways:

Position your features against the old way of doing things

Present those features as “superpowers” that will solve your prospect’s problems

Compare those features to competitors’ features

Quantify the value your features bring vs. the cost of doing nothing

Use a combination of some or all of the above

Creating a winning sales presentation slide deck

Most sales presentations include a slide deck to deliver facts, case studies and statistics that convey the value of your solution.

A corporate presentation showing new promotions can be a powerful tool to engage prospects and keep them interested in your product or service. Highlighting key promotions and offers ensures your audience knows exactly what value they can gain by choosing your business. When preparing a corporate presentation showing new promotions, focus on how these offers align with the needs and challenges of your audience. Tailoring the promotions to the specific interests of your prospects can drive excitement and motivate them to take action.

Create your sales pitch deck in an application like PowerPoint or Google slides to ensure your presentation is visible to everyone in the room (or in a virtual setting).

The best sales decks have a few key elements:

A great cover image or opening slide. Like the story you open your presentation with, your cover slide should grab your audience’s attention.

Data and key points . Charts, graphs, infographics, quotes and other information back up your presentation. Your slides should support your presentation by visualizing data, not repeating what you’re saying. You can get metrics from third-party sources or (if appropriate) from your own sales dashboard .

Testimonials and case studies from other customers. Quotes and success stories from or information about other customers, preferably in the same industry as your prospects, will act as social proof and go a long way to backing up your claims.

Competitive context. In all likelihood, your product isn’t the only one a potential customer is evaluating. Savvy sales professionals take the opportunity to proactively communicate how their product stacks up to their competitors’ and anticipate objections.

Customized content. While it might seem tempting to use the same content for every presentation, you should personalize your presentation for each meeting. You might want to use your prospect’s brand colors, find data specific to their market or industry, or reference an earlier exchange. You can find ready-to-use customizable sales decks through a graphic design app, such as Canva.

A glimpse into next steps. Give your prospects an understanding of what new customer onboarding looks like with a slide that includes a direct call to action offering next steps. For some companies, the training and customer support experience can be a value proposition in and of itself.

A note about text in your sales deck : Keep the slides simple and light on text. Your prospects don’t want to look at a wall of words to read. According to data from Venngage , 84% of presenters use visual data in their presentations – and for good reason: You don’t want to overwhelm your audience with text as they listen to you, look at your sales deck and watch the demo.

When you do include text, ensure you use a font (and font size) that can be easily read by everyone sitting in on your presentation. Need help? Enter your email in the box below to request some sales presentation templates.

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What else to bring to your sales presentation

Now that we’ve discussed the story elements of a sales presentation and your slide deck, what else should you bring to the meeting?

Most sales presentations are in-person affairs and include visual elements like a sales deck, handouts or even an in-person demonstration of the physical product. Here are a few things to think about including in your pitch.

13 examples of sales collateral you need to drive revenue

The product.

Nothing sells a product like seeing it in action.

Take Scrub Daddy, a sponge that changes shape depending on the heat of the water. When Aaron Krause, Scrub Daddy’s founder and inventor, presented the product on Shark Tank in 2012 , he demonstrated the sponge cleaning dirty kitchenware and greasy countertops. He also used bowls of water and two 10-pound weights to show the sponge’s amazing morphic abilities.

The tactic paid off: Scrub Daddy partnered with Lori Greiner for $200,000, in return for 20% equity in the business and is now considered one of Shark Tank’s most successful products.

Not all products are easy to demo, so you may have to improvise.

With a physical product, think of the perfect environment for a demo. What would show the product at its best?

With a digital product, make sure you have the technology on hand to show what your product can do (and check beforehand that the tech works). If it’s a mobile app, have your prospects download it. If it’s a platform, consider producing recorded or interactive product demos that can be embedded in your sales presentation.

For items that are too big to be brought in or which are location-specific, you may have to rely on a video as part of the presentation.

7 steps to putting together a brilliant sales demo

Leave behinds.

Depending on the nature of your solution, you may want to have materials you can leave with the prospects in the room.

This can be as simple as contact information or sales literature you pass out at the end of the presentation. It can also be something that’s part of the presentation, like a QR code that allows them to download the demo on their phones. Whatever format you choose, make sure the material is concise and to the point.

Tailoring your sales presentation to speak to your audience

Once you develop a strong sales deck template, it’s tempting to use it over and over with your target audience. Remember, personalization is essential in sales.

During lead generation , prospecting and sales calls, you know that prospects are more interested in buying if your pitches are tailored to them. It’s the same with your sales presentations, especially if you have an unusual prospect.

Let’s say your product is a CRM that’s normally used by sales organizations, but a human resources department is interested in using it to create a recruiting pipeline.

You wouldn’t use a sales deck with sales-related examples to sell it during the presentation.

Instead, you’d research talent acquisition challenges, ask your product department to create a template or a demo aimed at recruiting and build your sales deck accordingly.

Different industries have unique challenges and opportunities. It’s your responsibility to tailor your value proposition and key bullet points accordingly.

“To craft the perfect sales presentation pitch,” advises Danny Hayward, Sales Manager at Unruly , “ensure you take care of these three things:

Ask the right questions beforehand to understand the needs of the client, especially their flaws

Learn your product inside and out

Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse again

Danny Hayward Sales Manager, Unruly

How to nail your sales presentation delivery

Here are a few tried and true sales presentation techniques to make sure you close the deal.

Whether you’re presenting solo or as part of a team, it’s important to plan in advance. Follow these sales presentation tips for preparation.

Practice, practice, practice . You’ll need to get the timing right, especially if your presentation has a lot of moving parts. Go through it to make sure your timing works, so that you can nail the meeting itself.

Make sure everything works . You don’t want to go into a meeting with a faulty PowerPoint presentation or a broken sample – or find out there is no whiteboard when one is integral to your demonstration. Do your best to make sure everything goes to plan.

Decide on everyone’s roles . This one is just for those presenting as a team. Will different sales reps speak through each section? Will one rep talk while the others handle the sales deck and demo? Decide who will do and say what ahead of time.

Know your attendees. Make sure you know who from the prospect company will be in the meeting, their titles and the roles they each play in the buying process. Conducting light social media research can also clue you into attendees’ past experiences or alma maters (information that can fuel pre-presentation small talk and forge closer connections with your audience).

Practice confident body language

Presentations usually happen in person, which is why you need to practice strong body language. You want to look relaxed and confident (even if you’re shaking in your shoes).

Here are some ways you can improve your body language:

Eye contact . Make and maintain eye contact, even in virtual meetings. This shows people you’re interested in them and invested in what they have to say.

Stand up straight . Pull your shoulders back and straighten your spine; fixing your posture is an easy way to convey confidence. You’ll also feel better if you’re not hunched over.

Chin up. It’s hard when you’re in front of people, but don’t look at the floor or your shoes. Face straight ahead and make eye contact (or look at the back wall rather than the floor.)

Have a firm handshake. Some people judge others by their handshakes. Offer a firm handshake to make a good first impression.

Engage your audience

Presentations can span 30 to 60 minutes or more, so you need to be able to hold your prospects’ attention. There are a number of ways to keep everyone interested:

1. Understand your audience’s attention span

The beginning and the end of your presentation are the most memorable, so that’s where you want to use your strongest material.

Rather than leading with your product’s features, use the first few minutes of a presentation to briefly introduce yourself, and share the compelling story we mentioned earlier. If your demo itself is compelling, lead with that.

Then talk about product features and pricing. Your prospects might have already researched it or can look it up afterward, so it’s fine that it’s occupying real estate in the middle of the presentation.

Lastly, finish strong. Return to your story, sharing how your product solved an important problem. Close with confidence, and open the floor for questions.

2. Be funny

Humor can be tricky, so if you’re not comfortable making jokes, don’t force it. If, however, humor is part of your brand voice and you think it will be well-received by your audience, go for it. Humor can be a good way to connect with prospects, make your presentation memorable and relax everyone in the room.

3. Use a little showmanship

The best thing about a sales presentation is that it lets you show off your product. Unlike a pitch, a presentation lets you pull out the stops, make a splash and showcase your solution.

Use this to your advantage and be as memorable as you possibly can.

Sophie Cameron Business Development Representative, CAKE

What to do after the sales presentation to close the deal

The sales cycle isn’t over when the sales presentation ends. Here are some tips on how to wrap up loose ends and close the deal.

Take questions

Encourage questions to show prospects you care about their experience.

Sometimes prospects may want a question answered right in the middle of a presentation. Interactivity is a great sign of engagement. If that happens, stop the presentation and take their questions head-on to show you’re listening and validate their thoughts.

Other times they may sit silently waiting for you to give them all the information they need.

In either case, proactively ask for questions once you’ve ended your presentation. Encourage them to share their concerns. This is a consultative selling approach that works to build a relationship with your prospects.

By the end of your sales pitch, your prospect should be ready to come along with you and start your business relationship.

Outline the next steps of the process. The first could be offering a trial of your product, scheduling a follow-up meeting or sending over a proposal.

Whatever the steps, make sure they’re clearly defined. If you don’t hear from the prospect soon after the proposal, check back in with a follow-up email or call.

How to write a response-worthy follow-up email (with 15 templates)

Great sales presentation examples (and why they worked)

Here are some sales pitch examples you can use to inform your next sales presentation; these examples range from great sales decks to sales pitch presentations and we’ll explain why they worked so well.

The successful demo

Stephen Conway of vegan chocolate brand Pure Heavenly opened his elevator pitch on the UK’s Dragons’ Den in 2019 by handing out samples of his chocolate. The product, paired with Stephen’s story about wanting to create an allergen-free treat that his young daughters could enjoy, led to three offers.

Why it worked: Conway knew the strength of his product and packaged it in a personal story, betting (correctly) that it would sell itself.

The data-driven presentation

Lunchbox is a restaurant technology company that specializes in online ordering, customer loyalty and guest engagement software. The sales deck the company used to raise its $50 million Series B in 2022 relied on bold visuals and graphs to illustrate its market opportunity, ARR history and competitive differentiators.

Why it worked: This selected deck of the best presentation examples tells two stories, one about the company itself and another about the way consumer dining habits have changed in the wake of COVID-19. Lunchbox used data to show how it met the industry’s new pain points for both itself and other companies.

Sales data: How to analyze sales data and a sample Excel spreadsheet

The presenters with overwhelming confidence

When Brian and Michael Speciale went on Shark Tank in 2017 to pitch their product, The Original Comfy, they had very little – no numbers or inventory, just a prototype of a big fleece blanket/hoodie and video of that hoodie being worn everywhere from the couch to the beach. What they did have was a good product and confidence in that product. Their presentation earned them an offer of $50,000 for 30% from Barbara Corcoran.

Why it worked: Corcoran says she bought in because the Speciale brothers had a good idea, the guts to present it and knew they had to strike while the iron was hot. While you probably should be more prepared for your own sales presentation, the Original Comfy story shows just how important confidence is in a sales presentation.

Begin your sales presentation by capturing your audience’s attention and establishing a solid foundation for the rest of your presentation. Here are some steps to consider:

Greet and introduce yourself

Establish rapport

State the purpose and agenda

Address the pain points

Present a compelling hook

Outline the benefits

Establish credibility

Set expectations

Remember to maintain a confident and enthusiastic demeanor throughout your presentation.

The ideal length of a sales presentation can vary depending on factors such as the complexity of the product or service, the audience’s attention span and the context in which the presentation is being delivered. However, keeping a sales presentation concise, focused and within the timeframe is generally recommended.

The conclusion of a sales presentation is a significant opportunity to leave a lasting impression and inspire action from your audience. Here are a few steps you should take to end your presentation effectively.

Include a call to action

Summarize key points

Showcase success stories

Open the floor to questions

Offer additional resources

Here’s an example of how to end your presentation:

“To quickly recap, we’ve covered these key points today: [Summarize the main features and benefits briefly].

“Now, let’s revisit our success stories. Our clients, like [Client A] and [Client B], achieved [mention their specific results]. These successes demonstrate how our product/service can deliver tangible benefits for your business.

“I’d be happy to address any questions or concerns you may have. Please feel free to ask about anything related to our offering, implementation process or pricing.

“Before we finish, I’d like to encourage you to take the next step. Schedule a demo, request a trial or start a conversation with our team. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience the advantages firsthand.

“Lastly, we have additional resources available, such as case studies and whitepapers, to provide you with more insights. Feel free to reach out to our team for any further assistance.

“Thank you all for your time and consideration today.”

Final thoughts

It can be tempting to play it safe with a sales presentation by keeping it to a sales deck and a speech – but a sales presentation should be a show-stopper.

The best sales presentation tells your customer’s story, validates with data, offers a demo and more. It’s a major undertaking that shows the strength of your product. Done well, it keeps your prospects engaged and will make them want to do business with you.

Show customers how your product can push their business forward (or better yet, how your product can make them the superhero) and you’ll have a winning sales presentation that sparks your customer’s interest and drives revenue.

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6 Essential Elements of a Successful Sales Pitch or Presentation [Infographic]

Updated: January 28, 2020

Published: April 23, 2015

Calling a sales presentation a "pitch" is a little misleading.

In baseball, good pitchers strike batters out. But in sales, a successful pitch is one that connects -- and gets hit out of the park.

As a pitch, however, good selling is something of an art form. People want to be told a story, to understand how your value proposition is going to mesh with their business and enhance it. How you accomplish that is up to you.

But along with the art of sales is a bit of science. The types of information most likely to convince a person to buy, or help them understand what you're talking about, can be broken down to zeroes and ones.

For example, did you know 40% of people respond better to information in visual form than when it's written? Or that the best presentations are two-thirds stories?

What is a sales pitch?

The sales presentation is where a huge part of this work gets done. Though you'll be speaking with your prospects about different concerns and questions on the phone, a sales presentation may be the best chance you have to put all your cards on the table and demonstrate exactly why your service is perfect for the prospect.

This infographic from PPTPOP breaks down the six essential elements of a successful sales presentation and includes examples from other companies' winning pitches .

From limiting the service offerings you recommend for a particular customer to ease their decision, to the types of proof you should include to demonstrate your product's worth, these helpful tips will help juice up any sales presentation.

Read on for tips on creating the perfect sales presentation, or skip to the infographic here .

Structure of a Sales Pitch

• A Stellar Cover Slide
• A Value Proposition
• A Powerful Story
• Enticing Solutions
• A Clear Call-to-Action

1. A Stellar Cover Slide

Your cover slide should reflect your company stance and industry. Your audience needs to "get it" instantly. Since 40% of people respond better to visual information than plain text, Google , Flickr , Unsplash , and Fubiz can be great sources for images that immediately boost your pitch.

2. A Value Proposition

What do you do? Summarize the value of your promise to deliver to prospects, and explain why they should buy from you. To help hone your value proposition, try using the "VP" formula:

[Company name]

helps [target audience]

with [services]

so you can [benefits].

Still not quite breaking through? Check out these examples of great value propositions:

• Geekdom - "We're a new kind of collaborative workspace where entrepreneurs, technologists, developers, makers, and creatives help each other build businesses and other cool things together."
• Airbnb - "Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world."

3. A Powerful Story

The most successful presentations are 65% stories. Present your story and your team to humanize your company and increase likeability.

Make sure you include the reason why your company and product came to be. Tell your audience what motivates your team to wake up and work every day. And offer tips that are personal and will make your audience smile, like, " John eats fast and makes things work. "

4. Enticing Solutions

First, focus on your client's problem. Here's how Airbnb did it:

Airbnb's first pitch extract: "Price is an important concern for customers booking travel online. Hotels leave you disconnected from the city and its culture. No easy way exists to book a room with a local or become a host."

• Problems - Price, convenience, access
• Aspirations - Have choice, unique experience, make money renting your place

Then, break down your value propositions into solutions tied to the benefits your clients want. Examples of benefits are, " Make more money and grow your business, " " Look good and impress, " and " Save time and money. "

How to list your solutions:

• Don't give too many choices
• Communicate results customers will get
• Make it easy and quick to understand
• Give examples that demonstrate your product's value.

The proofs you'll provide have to answer this question: " How do I believe you? " You should also:

• Add testimonials - They highlight what clients love about doing business with you. Use real client's pictures to enhance credibility impact.
• Share research data - Use expert quotes and findings that tie to the benefits of the product you're offering.
• Compare your products vs. competitors - Show your audience how you're better.
• Provide extra benefits - Offer a money-back guarantee, free trial, or free shipment to show and earn confidence.

6. A Clear Call-to-Action

A call to action is a simple command directing customers to take action (buy, start a free trial, sign up for our mailing list). To make your call-to-action even more enticing, include these sensory words to enhance your pitch .

Creating a Sales Presentation

• Build rapport with your audience.
• Lead with solutions.
• Include case studies.
• Ask for feedback.
• Be open to questions.

So, you're ready to create a sales presentation ? Here are some tips to keep in mind.

1. Build rapport with your audience.

If you want to give a successful presentation, you need to connect with your audience . Start out the presentation by addressing the audience and by appealing to them. This can be done by asking about their business (e.g., a new product launch or announcement).

2. Lead with solutions.

What's the biggest pain point your product or service will address? Start your presentation by providing the solution right off the bat. Not only will this capture your prospect's attention, but it will also keep them engaged and hungry to learn more about what you and your company have to offer.

3. Include case studies.

How can you support the solution you provided? Show the prospect how that solution can be applied. Case studies allow you to highlight specific aspects of your product or service that will positively impact the prospect's company. This helps you build credibility and further develop trust.

4. Ask for feedback.

It's important to connect with your audience and make sure they're engaged in your presentation. For example, you could ask, "Does this make sense?" or "Do you see how this would work for you/your team/your company?" Asking for feedback ensures that you're on the same page.

5. Be open to questions.

Let your audience know that they can ask questions at any time. Be aware of your audience and their reactions throughout the presentation. Sales strategist, Marc Wayshak , recommends, "Whenever a prospect interrupts you -- either with a verbal remark or subtle shift in their facial expression or posture -- stop immediately. Acknowledge the interruption, and welcome the opportunity to explore it with the prospect." You'll provide even more value to the prospect by addressing their questions and concerns during the presentation.

Your pitch is the fastest and easiest way to set yourself apart from your competitors. Make sure it pops with these tips -- and see the difference in your quota results.

Looking for more? Check out these sales pitch examples next.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

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5 Steps to Telling a Better Story in Your Next Sales Presentation

6 Types of Sales Pitches Every Salesperson Should Know

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6 Key Elements to Use in Your Ultimate Sales Presentation

The Sales Presentation is Step 4 of your Ultimate 10-Step Sales Presentation.

There is an old proverb that goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink!”

The same meaning is true for buyers. You can lead them to the right product or solution, but you can’t make them buy. Your job as a professional salesperson is to make the buyer “thirsty.” Show them why and how your product or solution is best. When you do that effectively, the buyer will buy.

Now, how do you make the buyer “thirsty?” The answer lies in how you craft your ultimate sales presentation.

In this article on crafting your ultimate sales presentation, we’ll examine:

• Three steps essential to your presentation.
• The sales presentation mix.
• Using persuasive communication to persuade.
• How to use visual aids to tell your story.
• Creating drama in your presentation.
• Using demonstrations to prove your point.
• Get ready for Murphy’s Law!

3 Steps Essential to Your Presentation

There are three essential steps to almost every presentation.

• You begin by discussing your product or idea. What are the features, advantages, and benefits of your product that will solve the buyer’s problem?
• Next, you present your marketing plan. If you are selling to a reseller or wholesaler, you discuss how they can resell your product. If you are selling to an end-user, you discuss how they will use your product.
• Finally, you need to explain your business proposition. Answer the questions: “What’s in it for your customer?” “How does the value of your product or idea outweigh its cost?”

Here’s a simple example to demonstrate those three steps. In this example, I am selling Sterling Vegetable Oil to an Executive Chef who buys through a foodservice wholesaler.

• Product Features. Sterling Vegetable Oil is 100% premium Soybean oil. It is nearly colorless, and tasteless, and has been “winterized.”
• Product Advantages. Sterling Vegetable Oil’s clarity and non-oily taste make it an excellent base for your signature dressings and marinades. The winterized formula means it will remain clear even when refrigerated, unlike most other oils that get cloudy when refrigerated.
• Product Benefits. The clarity and taste of the oil mean the colors and taste of your spices will stand out in your recipe. Customers will see the bright colors of your ingredients and taste the flavor of your spices, not just oil. Additionally, you may find you can use less spice in your recipe and still have a great taste carry through in your dressing!
• Marketing Plan. Sterling Vegetable Oil comes in 1-gallon bottles, 4 to a case. It is stocked by both your primary foodservice wholesalers. With weekly deliveries from both distributors, you don’t need to carry a large inventory. Since you can reorder weekly, you don’t have to worry about running out of stock.
• Business Proposition. In the business proposition, I would discuss comparisons to competitive products, pricing, etc. I would also stress the value of using a premium oil in his signature dressings.

It’s important to note the features, advantages, and benefits are discussed when talking about the product. It is equally important to use the same feature, advantage, benefit technique when discussing the marketing plan and business proposition.

The Sales Presentation Mix

Every presentation is different, but every presentation shares six common elements. These six elements are known as the Sales Presentation Mix. The professional salesperson utilizes some combination of these elements (to a greater or lesser extent) in every presentation.

First, I’d like to introduce you to these six powerful elements. After a brief introduction, we’ll spend some time examining several elements of the sales presentation mix in more detail.

1. Persuasive Communication

Persuasive communication is critical to your success as a salesperson. You must be able to transmit your message to another person so they support your proposal. Plus, you also need to be able to persuade people to adopt your viewpoint.

2. Visual Aids

There is nothing worse than sitting across from a salesperson whose entire presentation is them talking. How boring is that?! So, as a professional salesperson, you must bring some interest to your presentation to capture the buyer’s attention and engage them. One way to do that is through visual aids.

Buyers see salespeople one after another, all day long. If you were a buyer, who would you look forward to seeing today? If you’re like me, the answer is someone who brings their presentation to life in some dramatic fashion. Someone who entertains me while they present.

That’s the power of adding a dramatic element to your presentation.

4. Demonstrations

Demonstrations are a great way to add drama to your presentation and engage your buyer. Good demonstrations are short, concise, and dramatically prove a point you are making in your presentation. The best demonstrations go one step further, getting the buyer into the act by inviting the buyer to participate in the demonstration.

5. Participation

Getting a buyer involved in your presentation increases their engagement and interest. So, finding ways to have a buyer participate in some way is important.

Buyers want to be convinced that what you are telling them is the truth, whether they say it out loud or not. The easiest way to do that is through proof statements. Proof of your claims can be provided in several forms, including testimonials, guarantees, company research, outside research, and the customer’s own past experiences.

So, there you go. We have now finished the quick introduction to the six presentation mix elements. Now, let’s take a deeper dive into using persuasive communication, visual aids, adding drama, and conducting demonstrations.

Using Persuasive Communication to Persuade

As I said before, persuasive communication is critical to the success of every salesperson. You must be able to persuade people to adopt your viewpoint. If you can’t do that, your career as a salesperson will be short-lived!

There are libraries of books on the “how to’s” of persuasive communication. In this article, I can only give you a topline look at some of the most powerful elements of persuasive communication:

• The SELL sequence,
• How to use logic,
• The power of suggestion, and
• The importance of trust.

SELL Sequence

The SELL sequence is one of the most versatile and powerful tools in the persuasive communication arsenal. Every professional salesperson must master the use of the SELL sequence.

SELL is an acronym that stands for:

• S how the feature,
• E xplain the advantage,
• L ead into the benefit, and
• L et the customer talk!

You should use the SELL sequence when discussing any of the three stages (product, marketing plan, or business proposition) of your presentation.

For Example, I might ask an executive chef if the quality of the salad oil he uses in his signature dressings is important. I know he’ll say yes, of course, it is.

• Then I’ll hold up a small vial of Sterling Salad Oil and explain one feature of Sterling is it is the purest, 100% Soybean Oil available on the market.
• The advantage of Sterling’s purity is it is nearly colorless and tasteless.
• The benefit of being colorless and tasteless to you, chef, is the color and taste of the ingredients in your signature salad dressings will stand out, not the flavor of the oil.
• Then, I will let the customer talk by using a trial close. Knowing the taste of his signature dressings is important to him, I ask, “Is that important to you?”

The key to using a tool as powerful as the SELL sequence is to use the feature, advantage, benefit combination that is most important to the buyer first. Don’t start off by explaining something that isn’t that important to the buyer. Focus instead on the feature, advantage, and benefit that is most important to the buyer.

Another important tip in using the SELL sequence is to complete the sequence for each feature, advantage, and benefit before moving on to the next sequence. I’ve seen it over and over with less experienced salespeople. They are so excited they vomit out everything they know about a product in some random order that makes no sense and confuses the buyer.

Don’t be that salesperson! Be organized and follow your plan to talk about the most important thing first, then the next most important, and so on.

Logical Reasoning

Using logic as a persuasive communication tool is especially effective with analytical buyers. Analytical buyers appreciate the thought process that goes into the logical flow of establishing a premise followed by a conclusion.

A simple form of logical reasoning in a presentation calls for the salesperson to establish a major premise, then a minor premise, and finally, a conclusion.

For example. A major premise is, “Your trucking company wants to increase efficiency while reducing costs.” A minor premise is, “Brand X Trucks will increase efficiency while reducing your costs. And finally, the conclusion, “Therefore you should buy Brand X trucks from me.”

Another form of logical reasoning is called SCQA.

• S ituation. Describe the current situation.
• C omplication. What is the problem?
• Q uestion . How can the problem be solved?
• A nswer. Deliver your brilliant solution.

For example. You want to expand your trucking company business (situation) . However, you can’t afford to expand because profits are down (complication) . How can profits be increased to allow the business to expand (question) ? Buy my new high-efficiency trucks that get 50% better mileage than your current fleet of trucks (answer) .

These are just two of the many forms of logical reasoning that can be employed as part of a persuasive communication presentation. The important thing with these, or other logical reasoning tools, is that you adapt them to your buyer.

Suggestions Persuade

I don’t know about you, but usually, I don’t like being told what to do. If a salesperson tells me I need to do something in that “or else” tone of voice; my reaction is a hard “no!”

On the other hand, if a salesperson, respectfully suggests a course of action that will benefit me, then chances are good, I’ll take his or her suggestion.

That’s the power of persuasion through suggestion. You use suggestions to get the buyer’s attention, interest, desire, conviction, and action!

Here are six of the most common suggestion techniques you can deploy in your persuasive communication.

1. Suggestive Propositions

A suggestive proposition simply proposes the buyer should act now. It is particularly effective with buyers who procrastinate when making a decision.

For example, “Do you think it is beneficial for you to order before the price increase.?

2. Prestige Suggestions

The prestige suggestion appeals to the aspirational desire of the buyer. The buyer visualizes the prestige of a famous product or person associated with your suggestion applying to them.

For example, “Would you like to be like nine of the top ten manufacturers in your field who use Brand X?”

3. Autosuggestion

The autosuggestion technique asks the buyer to imagine themselves using or benefiting from the product. Almost every television commercial uses some form of autosuggestion.

For example, “Imagine how you will look when you lose that last 20-bs. You will be the envy of all your friends in the gym with your new physique!”

4. Direct Suggestions

Salespeople use the direct suggestion technique frequently because it is so effective. With the direct suggestion, you simply suggest what the buyer should do next.

For example, “Based on your recent sales volume, I suggest you purchase 20-cases of Brand Z.”

5. Indirect Suggestions

The indirect suggestion is also used to recommend a course of action. Often the indirect suggestion is used to assume the buyer will buy but give them a choice in how much or when to buy.

For example, “Do you think 50 cases of Brand Z will be enough for your next promotion, or would 75-cases be better?” Or, “Would you like delivery as soon as next week or would you prefer to take delivery at the end of the month?”

6. Counter Suggestions

The counter-suggestion is my least favorite technique. The idea is you make a suggestion counter to what you know the buyer wants.

For example, “Are you sure you really want the quality of these 1,000 count Island Cotton sheets?”

When you know a customer wants a specific product, the counter-suggestion can get them to defend their purchase decision. That is why I am not much of a fan of this technique. It tends to put the buyer in a defensive position, and that can easily backfire on the salesperson.

Build Trust

Trust is what I call a “hidden” element of persuasive communication. If the buyer trusts you, he or she is more likely to believe what you say. If the buyer doesn’t have a trusting relationship with you, they may take what you say with a grain of salt or disbelieve what you tell them.

For that reason, I always tell young salespeople for long-term success, be honest in all ways with everyone.

When I was a brand-new sales representative, I called on small independent grocery stores. I had trouble breaking through and selling a group of my customers. I kept calling on them every two weeks and finally got an order from one customer. Then two weeks later, I got an order from another customer in this group, and then another. Suddenly, I was flush with orders!

It turned out all these independent grocery store owners were part of a group, and they all talked to each other. The first owner ordered from me because I had quoted exactly the same prices and promotional offers to every one of my customers. Eventually, he had come to trust me. Why? Well, because I delivered exactly as I said I would, word got around, and the rest of the group ordered from me because they now trusted me.

If I hadn’t been honest with every one of the owners, I never would have gotten the first order. If I hadn’t delivered exactly as I said, I would never have gotten the other owners to order.

So, you always need to be honest with everyone all the time if you want to build trust. Trust that derives from honesty is a valuable tool in your persuasive communication.

How to Use Visual Aids to Tell Your Story

A visual aid is any physical item you use in your presentation to illustrate a key point. A visual aid leverages sight to reinforce the point being articulated. So, you appeal to two senses, hearing and sight, linked to make your point. Often visual aids are used to emphasize features, advantages, and benefits of the solution you are presenting.

Some of the common visual aids I’ve used over the years include

• Samples of the product itself.
• Photographs of the product.
• Testimonials from current users of the product.
• Product brochures and catalogs.
• Sample advertisements.
• Flip charts and posters.
• Printed presentations, including charts, graphs, and feature, advantage, benefit summaries.

I’m sure you can think of other visual tools you might use. The key to using a visual element is to use elements that support the point you are making in the presentation. You’ll just confuse the buyer if what you say doesn’t match what you show them in the visual!

Creating Drama in Your Presentation

Think about how you would feel if you were a buyer listening to one salesperson after another all day long, every day, day-after-day. How engaged would you be if the salesperson simply sat across the desk talking through a presentation, flipping through pieces of paper?

Or, would you be more engaged if they found a way to present their product in some striking, entertaining, or extravagant way?

I remember one sales rep that spoke about the quality of Iams Canned Dog Food to a buyer. He showed the buyer the can, then popped the top off the can, grabbed a spoon from his bag, and ate a big spoonful of Iams. He did this to make the point with the buyer that Iams is so pure it is fit for human consumption.

If you gagged a little bit just now, you know how I felt as he pulled this surprise move with his buyer.

I guarantee you that moment of drama engaged the buyer in the presentation. And I suspect, the buyer talked about this crazy salesperson eating dog food the rest of the week!

That’s what adding drama does for a presentation. It takes what might be a routine presentation and makes it stand out in the mind of the buyer!

Using Demonstrations to Prove Your Point

Another way to create drama in your presentation is to use demonstrations. Demonstrations are one of my favorite tools as a sales representative because the demonstration proves the point I am making in the presentation.

I have found that employing more of our senses when making a presentation always makes the story you are telling more powerful. Most salespeople talk all the way through their presentations. However, talking only employs the hearing sense, and we all know we tend to forget most of what we hear.

On the other hand, if what we hear is reinforced by a demonstration that dramatically makes the same point, we are much more likely to believe the point and to remember it. So, if you can use a demonstration to engage sight, touch, taste, and smell besides hearing your presentation will be far more memorable and convincing.

I was presenting at a convention of restaurant owners about the importance of using high-quality dish soap to clean their dishes and utensils. Does that sound like a snooze fest or what?!

The topic itself is important since a restaurant’s rating from the health department is based in part on how clean all those dishes and utensils are. But most restaurant owners think soap is soap, so who cares?!

I knew I had a great story to tell because institutional Joy Dishwashing liquid is far superior to just about everything else on the market. It is a little more expensive per gallon, but it is so much more effective you can use less and still end up with sparkling clean dishes.

So, to keep my audience from tuning out, or worse, falling asleep, I conducted a demonstration to prove my point.

I filled two beakers with some water, put in equal amounts of dirty oil, and shook them up.

Then I put ten drops of a competitor’s dish soap in one beaker, and five drops of Joy in the other beaker. I shook them both up, and the results were dramatic.

The competitor’s product still had oil floating on the water and no suds. The Joy beaker had all the oil trapped in the suds and lots of suds remaining.

That demonstration proved my point far more effectively than anything I could have said! The only thing I would do differently is getting an audience member to participate by doing the demonstration as I talked him or her through it.

Demonstration Checklist

As I said, I love doing demonstrations, but to be convincing, you must spend some time planning your demonstration. Here are five things to think through as you plan your next demonstration.

• Will the demonstration reinforce my presentation?
• What is my objective with this demonstration?
• Have I planned how I will conduct the demonstration?
• Have I rehearsed every element of the presentation, so I know it will flow smoothly and achieve my objective?
• Is there anything that can go wrong with this demonstration, and if so, how will I recover?

Remember, the whole reason for doing a demonstration is to increase the effectiveness of your presentation. You need to do three things.

• Capture the buyer’s attention and interest.
• Engage them through participation in the demonstration.
• Reinforce the features, advantages, and benefits of your product as a solution to the buyer’s problem.

One final note on demonstrations. You spend all this time and energy, creating and conducting this demonstration. Take advantage of the powerful conclusion to your demonstration by incorporating a trial close. In my Joy Dishwashing example above, a trial close might be something as simple as saying, “Do you all agree that Joy has done a better job of trapping the grease than the competitive product even though I used half as much Joy?” (We’ll talk more about the trial close and how to use them in your presentation in the near future.)

Get Ready for Murphy’s Law!

I suspect you are aware of the adage known as Murphy’s Law. Murphy’s Law states, “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”

You’re my friend, so let me assure you Murphy is alive and well, and his law is still in place!

As a professional salesperson, you might as well get used to the idea that things will go wrong when you are giving a presentation. However, I’m sure that you understand that I can’t possibly cover everything that can go wrong (that would be another book). Although, I know that there are two of the most common things that can and will go wrong at some point in your sales career.

Interruptions

You will be just about ready to close on a major point, and the phone will ring, or the boss will stick his or her head in the door and interrupt your presentation. What do you do? If the discussion is personal (like a spouse is on the phone) motion you will step outside to give the buyer privacy.

Meanwhile, wait and gather your thoughts. Quickly think about exactly where you left off in your presentation. Also, while you are waiting, decide how you will reengage the buyer when you resume.

Once you are ready to resume your presentation, give the buyer a moment to clear their head and focus their attention back on you and the business at hand.

Next, I like to restate the last point I made to help get the buyer’s attention back on track. In the Sterling Oil presentation, I mentioned before; I might say something like, “As I was saying, Sterling Oil is nearly clear and tasteless, which means the color, and the taste of your spices really stand out. Does that sound good to you?”

Technical Fails

Technology is often a vital element in our presentations today. Sadly, technology has a way of breaking down and not working right when we need it the most. I try to protect myself from technology failures ruining a presentation by having duplicate systems.

I don’t like to rely on internet downloads when I am in someone else’s’ office. So, I make sure that I have downloaded the videos, presentations, and everything else I need on my computer hard drive. Often, I will make another backup of all those important files on a second device like a thumb drive.

If my computer won’t run, I always have paper copies of my presentation so I can go old school if needed.

The point is, be prepared. Interruptions will happen. Technology will fail. Don’t get upset. Don’t let your frustration show. Just smile and get back on track as fast as you can and close that sale!

The Ultimate 10-Step Sales Presentation Series

Step4: The Presentation is the fifth in a series of articles, which have been created to teach you how to craft and deliver the Ultimate Sales Presentation in 10-Steps.

If you missed a prior article in this series or you want to review one again, you’ll find them here:

• Kick-Off: The Ultimate 10-Step Sales Presentation
• Step 1: Customer Prospecting
• Step 2: Pre-Approach Planning
• Step 3: The Approach
• Step 4: The Presentation – Part 1
• Step 4: Key elements of the Sales Presentation Mix to Use in Your Presentation (you’re here)
• Steps 5-10: Coming soon. A new article releases every two weeks.

If you want to make sure you don’t miss one of these articles, you can sign up to receive the series here .

Join the Conversation

As always, questions and comments are welcome. What questions do you have about the Sales Presentation Mix elements of the Ultimate 10-Step Presentation model?

I’d love your help. This blog is read primarily because of people like you who share it with friends. Would you be kind enough to share it by pressing the share button?

Category: Salespeople

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How to Leverage the Trial Close in Your Ultimate Sales Presentation

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Effective Sales Presentations: 11 Tips to Win Deals + Templates

What makes a sales presentation truly effective?

Is it that secret-sauce font, the comprehensive case studies, intricate graphs, or your shining personality? Or is it… something else?

It might seem like a simple question, but understanding the answer unlocks a world of opportunities for sales reps.

If your sales presentations are truly effective, they should accomplish these 4 things:

• Give prospects confidence in your brand
• Develop a deep relationship and mutual understanding of needs and priorities
• Convince potential customers of the value of your product
• Give clear direction for the next conversation

How many of your recent sales meetings have fallen short of these results?

A study by Forrester of more than 300 C-level buyers found that many reps are lacking key information for a successful sales meeting:

Put simply, most salespeople go into meetings:

• Unprepared for questions
• Without knowledge of the business or industry they’re selling to
• Without understanding the prospect’s situation and problems
• Without relevant social proof

Want to avoid falling into the trap of generic, ineffective sales presentations?

While preparing for and delivering a really good sales presentation isn’t an exact science, the following best practices will lead you to better results.

Let’s dive into the top methods sales professionals are using to nail their presentations and deliver killer sales pitches .

How to Prepare the Perfect Sales Pitch Presentation

Think you can get away with giving a great sales presentation on the fly? Think again. A PowerPoint presentation that was thrown together over lunch is not going to impress your decision-makers.

Preparation is a key aspect of every effective sales presentation.

Here are five ways you can prepare for success:

1. Set a Clear Agenda

Your sales presentation is built to guide the conversation and gives you a structure to work with throughout the meeting. But the prospect doesn’t know how your presentation is structured.

Does this situation sound familiar?

Prospect: “This is really interesting, but how does your product solve XYZ?”

You : “Actually, we’ll talk about that in a few slides. Anyway, as I was saying…”

These kinds of interruptions are common, and the popular response of “We’ll get to that” doesn’t normally go over very well with prospects.

Here’s how to avoid this: Set a clear agenda for the conversation, and share that with your prospects.

This could mean sharing an outline of the presentation topics you’ve prepared, or it can mean sharing the whole sales presentation with your prospect.

This way, your prospect can review the information before your meeting, see where you’ll cover certain topics, and save their questions for the right moment.

2. Adapt Your Script and Presentation

Above, we saw that 77 percent of reps enter meetings without a clear understanding of the issues that their prospect is facing, or areas where they can help.

There are two clear ways to fix this problem:

First, do your homework. The more you know about your potential client's business and current situation, the better. Also, try to understand their industry and target audience, read up on current news in the sector, and get a feel for the particular pain points this person is likely feeling the most.

Second, base your presentation and accompanying sales script on your ideal customer profile. If your sales team has multiple ideal customer profiles to sell to, discover which profile this prospect fits into and base your arguments, questions, and main points on the specific needs of this profile.

3. Pick Three Main Points for Each Prospect

No matter how many crazy statistics and fun features you throw at your prospect, they’re still only human. Shocking, we know.

In other words, they’ll probably forget at least half of what you say.

To create effective sales presentations that your prospects will remember, focus on three main bullet points that you want to highlight.

This isn’t a number we pulled from a hat. It’s based on an experiment performed by Kurt A. Carlson and Suzanne B. Shu. Their study found that, when your audience knows you’re trying to persuade them, the ideal number of positive claims to make is three. After four claims, your audience will start to become more and more skeptical of anything you say.

The title of their paper is a catchy phrase to help you remember this principle: Three Charms but Four Alarms .

So, go through your slides and pick three key points that you want your prospect to remember. Maybe these will be product features or maybe not, but once again, base these points on the real, felt needs of your prospect. You’ll see better results.

During the presentation, draw your audience's attention to these points as you introduce new ideas. Phrases like these draw attention at the right moments:

• Here’s the point…
• This is crucial…
• But this is what matters…
• But it gets even better...
• This next point is really important...
• This is what XYZ could mean for you, Jack…

And make sure these key points lead directly where you want them to—to your call to action. If they aren’t leading you to that, what’s the point?

For more, check out this video, where I talked in-depth about captivating and directing your prospect's attention during a sales conversation. Remember: whether you're delivering in-person or via video conferencing, maintaining eye contact and using body language to draw attention to main points works.

4. Use Visuals to Show, Not Tell

A sales deck can have several different functions. For example, if your sales deck is going to be read and discussed among stakeholders at your prospect’s company, it will need to include text that explains the visuals presented.

However, if you’re giving a sales presentation with that deck, it doesn’t need all that text.

To prepare a sales presentation for a product or service, make sure you include infographics and visuals that complement what you’re saying. You can use Canva or even a responsive whiteboard to do this.

Think of your slides as visual aids that give more meaning and context to your words.

These visuals can help to:

• Simplify complex processes
• Provide a clearer understanding of data/metrics
• Add credence to your words
• Keep your audience engaged
• Help your audience remember main points (this one is backed by science )

In short, for an effective sales presentation, keep your script and your slides separate. Use your words to add meaning to the visuals, and use your visuals to maximize the power of your words. With this approach, you will elevate your value proposition —and increase your close rate.

5. Show Them You Know Their Pain

Using a narrative in your presentation shows that you’re sympathetic to the problems your prospects are facing and that you know how to solve them.

So, what’s the narrative for your product?

Generally, the story you tell with your presentation will follow this pattern:

• There is a problem caused by a shift in the market, a change in the company’s circumstances, or the world situation
• That problem is solved, the business is saved, and your product is the hero

A compelling narrative that captures the feelings and frustrations of your prospect shows them that you understand them, you’re on the same page, and you’re here to help.

Maybe this is the story of how your product was born, to solve a problem internally at your own company. Maybe it’s the story of one of your successful customers. Or maybe it’s just a narrative that they can relate to and see themselves in.

In any case, using stories instead of just facts makes your presentation more memorable. According to one study, people only retain about 5-10 percent of the statistical information they hear. But they’ll remember 65-70 percent of the information they hear as stories.

Take advantage of this fact: Turn your data into a narrative.

Once you’ve prepared your sales deck and accompanying script, you’re ready to nail your next sales presentation.

Or are you?

Day-Of Sales Presentation Tips: Nail Your Next Sales Presentation

Ready for the big day? Here are six more tips you can use while actively presenting to your prospect, to give a truly effective sales presentation.

6. Open With Your Biggest Selling Point (Don’t Save it for the End)

Many sales reps like to save their product’s biggest selling point for the very end of their presentation, as if they’re coming to some grand crescendo.

But your prospect didn’t come to this meeting hoping to hear the Philharmonic Orchestra play Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. So, don’t play this pitch deck like another day at the theater.

Instead, open with your big selling points. Dazzle your prospects from the get-go, and you’ll have them hooked to the end.

To be counted among the Sales Success Stories and Stars of your organization… just go for it. Get the show on the road with a big opening. Leave them in (happy) tears.

7. Ask Open-Ended Questions

To understand your prospects and to keep them engaged with your presentation, questions are essential.

But wait, if you’re giving a sales presentation, aren’t you the one that’s supposed to be doing the talking? You answer the questions, right?

True. But, how do you know if your prospect is paying attention? How can you highlight the relevant points in your presentation if you don’t know what interests them?

To engage your prospect and draw them into your presentation, ask questions like:

• Can you walk me through how your team handles [problem]?
• Have you found any clever workarounds for when [issue] happens?
• What would your ideal solution to this problem look like?
• How would you expect a solution to this problem to affect your team?

It’s true; you’ve probably asked a lot of similar questions during the qualifying stage . But with these questions, you can lead the conversation and keep your prospect engaged with what you’re saying.

Open-ended questions will also help you with the next tip:

8. Build Context Around Your Biggest Value Points and Differentiators

The same questions we shared above can help add context to what you’re saying.

Don’t just tell the prospect: “ Our product helps you solve X problem. ”

Add meaning to that value point by asking questions:

• How often do you face X problem?
• How much time/money do you lose when this happens?
• How does X problem affect the morale/productivity of your team?

When you have the numbers clear, reiterate the problem: “ So, you lose $X every week because of this problem. That’s more than $Y per year that’s going down the drain until you solve this issue. ”

Then, bring in your value point: “With our product, you could save $Z every year by eliminating this problem for your team.”

The same method works for highlighting your key differentiators.

Instead of telling prospects that your product is the best because it’s the only one that does X, lead prospects to the features and benefits that set your product apart with open-ended questions.

This creates value and context around a problem that only your product can solve.

9. Make Social Proof Engaging: Mirror the Prospect’s Situation

This data blew our minds and will probably blow yours, too: According to studies from our friends at Gong , sellers who use social proof in their sales calls have a 22 percent lower close rate .

Have you noticed a similar pattern with social proof in your sales presentations?

We all know that social proof is a powerful tool in the hands of sales reps and marketers. No need to throw out all your social media customer quotes or company testimonials. But, it must be used correctly to work effectively.

Otherwise, you could actually hurt your chances of closing.

So, what’s the correct way to use social proof in your presentations?

Favor customers that are part of this prospect’s tribe .

For example, imagine you’re selling to an SMB, and you tell them that Facebook is your customer. They’ll be impressed, sure… but they’ll also start to wonder if your product is really a good fit for their small business.

Instead, when selling to SMBs, talk about your other SMB customers. Use examples of happy customers who are in the same field or industry. Or, find customer stories that mirror this prospect—with similar pain points.

With tribal social proof, you’ll gain the respect of prospects while demonstrating that you truly “get” them.

10. Never Talk Price Before Value

Chances are, you’re talking price somewhere in this sales presentation. At this stage in the sales pipeline , it’s normal that your prospect is ready to hear what your solution will cost.

But don’t open the conversation like this.

Sometimes, you get into a room (whether in-person or virtual) with your main point of contact and important stakeholders, and the first thing they want to know is: “How much will this cost us?”

One of the golden rules of sales is this: Never talk price before value .

If you fold to the pressure and start off by talking about the price of your solution, your audience will view your product as a commodity, not as a valuable solution to their problem.

When stakeholders push you for a number, don’t be afraid to push back. If they’re insistent, turn the question back around on them:

“Before we talk about price, let me ask you this: How much will it cost your company if you don’t get these issues solved by next quarter?”

By focusing on the real monetary value that your product provides, you’ll help position your product as a premium solution, not a wholesale band-aid.

11. Keep It Less Than 10 Minutes

Did you know that every presenter at Apple’s product launches speaks for just 10 minutes or less?

This is because science tells us that the brain gets bored easily—our attention spans just can’t expand beyond a certain point. However, you can reengage your audience by introducing a change every 10 minutes.

Apply this principle to your keynote sales presentations: If you’re presenting longer than 10 minutes, the prospect’s interest will steadily decline. Wrap it up.

Our friends at Gong found that there’s a sweet spot for winning sales presentations: 9.1 minutes. It’s like the ideal elevator pitch for sales presentations.

So, stick to this rule of thumb: Keep your presentations under 10 minutes.

Sales Presentation Templates: Use These Sales Pitch Decks to Win More Deals

Want to build a stellar sales pitch presentation? Steal these presentation templates and customize them to your business—including stunning visuals, striking text, and a presentation process that wins deals.

Get the Powerpoint or Keynote version of these templates, and start creating your own effective sales presentations!

Ready to Give the Best Sales Presentation Ever?

You’ve got all the pro tips you need to nail your next presentation.

In the end, you want to demonstrate that you understand your prospect’s needs and concerns. Show you “get” them by adding a compelling narrative and including customer stories that mirror their own situation.

An effective presentation must also be engaging, which is why it’s essential to highlight three main points and add context with open-ended questions.

With this info, you’re ready to deliver a winning sales presentation. ( Psst... don't forget to use our sales presentation templates to get started!)

But what happens next? There are still some unaccounted-for areas of the sales process. If you want to really crush the follow-up and close more deals, you need a CRM to help you do it.

Close CRM does all this—and so much more. Watch our demo or try Close free for 14 days.

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