Preparing a sales presentation can be nerve-wracking. Beautiful templates can simplify the process, but an effective sales presentation isn’t about getting attention.
It’s about initiating the desired action.
You want the presentee, the potential client, to BUY what you’re SELLING.
“How?”
Get a hot coffee, sit in a comfortable chair, and spend the next five minutes reading this article. Before you finish your coffee, you’ll be prepared for your next sales presentation.
We’ll teach you the finer points of conducting a sales presentation that seals the deal and provide useful tips for creating a presentation deck that encourages the client to take your desired action.
Key Takeaways
- A sales presentation is an opportunity to pitch your Unique Value Proposition (UVP) – the quality that makes you the best option in the market.
- The three essential components of a sales presentation are the Unique Value Proposition (UVP), the Call-to-Action (CTA), and the presentation deck.
- Keep practicing your presentation until you appear natural and comfortable to your audience.
What Is A Sales Presentation?
The term is self-descriptive, yet many people, including online resources, get the definition of a sales presentation wrong.
A sales presentation is an opportunity to persuade a second party to acquire your products or services.
Some online resources describe a sales presentation as a “talk,” a “step,” or a “process.”
The more accurate description is “opportunity.” The scheduled sales presentation date might be your only opportunity to land the client.
A sales presentation must be planned, created, and implemented with a sense of urgency.
It’s an opportunity to pitch your services and convince the client that investing in your products and services will address pain points, generate results, and accomplish business goals.
If the client is convinced and extends an offer, the arrangement could transform your business and create new growth opportunities.
3 Essential Components Of An Effective Sales Presentation
Yes, there’s a lot at stake, but don’t dread the process.
Creating a sales presentation that wins clients is easier than you think!
Let’s begin with the three essential components or the cornerstones of an effective sales presentation.
1. The UVP
The Unique Value Proposition (UVP) is sometimes called USP or Unique Selling Proposition. It defines your business and why customers should choose your product or service over others.
The UVP is the anchor of your Brand Messaging strategy. Your forthcoming campaigns must always align with your UVP.
A powerful UVP must answer the questions:
- What do we do well?
- How do our products or services solve your problems?
- What makes us better than our competitors?
The UVP must answer these three questions in one sentence.
A tough task, but not impossible.
Here are three examples of well-crafted and compelling UVPs.
- Slack: “Be more productive with less effort.”
- CrazyEgg: “Website Behavior Tracking at an unbeatable price.”
- Apple iPhone: “The Experience IS the product.”
In a future article, we’ll teach you how to craft a UVP that attracts customers.
2. The CTA
Is the Call-to-Action (CTA) an:
a. Instruction
b. Advice
c. Option
None of the above!
A CTA is a command. You’re telling the customer what you want him to do.
a. Buy now
b. Sign up
c. Start today
“Isn’t this hard selling?”
Remember, your sales presentation must create a sense of urgency. You’re competing with other companies for the client’s business.
Your CTA leaves no other option available except yours. There’s no second-guessing. It must be definitive.
3. The Presentation Deck
The presentation deck is a visual aid that articulates your pitch to the client.
You’re probably most familiar with PowerPoint as the presentation deck of choice. There are other choices when creating your presentation deck, such as Beautiful.ai, Slides.com, and Prezi.
Here are six things to remember when creating a presentation deck.
- The slides must follow the outline of your sales presentation.
- Emphasize visual/image content over text. Use infographics and include visuals for charts, spreadsheets, and calculations.
- Choose only 2 to 4 colors for your slides.
- Choose professional font styles such as Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica.
- Use visible font sizes. Larger font sizes (24 to 32) for headers and smaller font sizes (18) for text.
- Use images that are relevant to the topic.
💡Pro Tip: Include your logo on every slide to reinforce your brand message.
7 Steps to Conducting A Sales Presentation That Wins Clients
Now, let’s put everything together and create an impressive sales presentation for your prospect.
And it starts with your prospect.
1. KYC – Know Your Customer… or Client
A sales presentation is a form of content.
The Golden Rule of content writing is to write for your audience.
The prospective client IS your audience.
Tailor your sales presentation to the needs of your client.
KYC – Know Your Client by conducting research.
- Company Website: Learn about the client’s history on the About Us page. Find out their industry accomplishments. Identify their number one product and service, and uncover why and how it became their signature item.
- Google: Run a Google search by typing the client’s business name. If you can’t find anything noteworthy, add a keyword like “problems,” “issues,” or “challenges.”
Establish a date to set the search parameter. For example, “2024.” - Consumer Advocate Websites: Consumer advocate websites function as platforms for consumers to give reviews about businesses.
Likewise, community members use these websites to share experiences and air grievances. Often, you’ll read threads that feature exchanges between the company and the customer.
Consumer Report, Better Business Review, TrustPilot, Consumer Rating, and Top Consumer Reviews are among the best websites to visit.
Glassdoor can also be a good reference because you’ll read comments from former employees and partners of the client. - Social Media: Visit the client’s social media pages and find out what they’re popularly posting about. Observe the engagement between the client and community members.
What are the common issues discussed on social media? What are the client’s proposed solutions? Are these issues consistently resolved? - Contacts and Personal Network: Ask people in your contacts list or network if they’ve interacted with or have had business dealings with the prospective client.
If no one from your network has dealt with the client, perhaps they can refer you to people who have.
The client might have given you a project brief that details their requirements, or you might be invited to a preliminary interview.
The project brief and the interview are good places to start, but take the next step and dig deeper into the client’s needs.
💡Pro Tip: Take the information from consumer advocate websites, Google search, and contacts with a grain of salt. Some of the reviews or comments could be fake news manufactured by competitors.
2. Use the information as a check and balance.
Perform Comprehensive Research
It’s not enough to know your client.
You must also know the industry.
Perform comprehensive research and be more educated about the client’s industry.
- What are the current trends?
- Who are the major players?
- Where does the client rank in the industry?
- What are the common pain points in the industry?
- What are the latest developments and innovations?
- What is the growth potential in the industry for the next five years?
Use the information to cross-reference your data about the client.
- Is the client at pace with developments in the industry?
- Is the client investing in the latest technology?
- Is the client progressing according to industry growth estimates?
- Are the client’s pain points in line with the industry’s?
- Are the client’s products and services competitive?
- Are the products and services unique?
You want to create a Big Picture scenario for the client. It’s a perspective they might not have considered.
A comprehensive, all-encompassing solution could justify an investment in your company.
💡Pro Tip: The client might ask questions that can catch you off guard and create awkward silence. Industry research helps you anticipate other problems the client could be facing.
Anticipating these issues enhances your state of preparedness. You’ll be ready to answer any question the client throws at you.
3. Create a Compelling Opening Statement
A popular saying in business is “It’s not how you start but how you finish that determines the winner of the race.”
A sales presentation isn’t a race. You’re the only participant in the room with the client. How you start the sales presentation could determine whether you seal or lose the deal.
You need a compelling opening statement, a hook that catches the interest of the client.
Don’t do this…
- Don’t begin the sales presentation with a long, winding discussion about your company history and achievements.
- Don’t try to break the ice with lines such as “How are we doing today?” “Are you feeling okay?” and “We hope we got you in a good mood.”
- Don’t lighten the mood by sharing jokes or funny stories.
Instead, do this…
- Share an eye-opening statistic: “60% of businesses that get hacked shut down for good in six months. Our proposal ensures you’ll never be part of that statistic.”
- Ask a thought-provoking question: “Did you know that your unused and outdated plugins aren’t completely useless? Hackers use them to infiltrate your website.”
- Outline the client’s problem as a story: Go back to the introduction of this article.
We began with a situation the reader can relate to…
“Preparing a sales presentation can be nerve-wracking. Beautiful templates can simplify the process…”
… identified the struggle they face when creating a sales presentation…
“But an effective sales presentation isn’t about getting attention. It’s about initiating the desired action.”
… then, highlight the goal of a sales presentation.
“You want the presentee, the potential client, to BUY what you’re SELLING.”
This is a story about a day in the life of anyone preparing for a sales presentation. It’s a relatable situation to them.
Knowing we understand what they’re going through makes them feel confident they found the right resource.
A compelling opening statement will keep your audience engaged from start to finish.
4. Craft and Articulate a Persuasive UVP
Similar to your opening statement, when it comes to discussing your UVP, go straight to the point.
- Discuss the strongest benefits of your products.
- Provide statistics to back up your claim.
- Discuss one or two cases that are identical to the problem the client is currently facing.
- Clearly articulate how your products helped your previous clients solve their problems.
- Substantiate results with actual figures.
- Include client testimonials. Video testimonials are more convincing.
Here’s an example of a persuasive UVP for a pest control company:
“Our bait is made of protein, not sugar-based like other companies. The 2020 Bell-Lowery study, which covered 1,500 cases, has shown that protein-based bait attracts more than 25 varieties of ants, including Pharaoh, Pyramid, and Red Wood.
“Our client, McCondray Manufacturing, was besieged by an ant infestation. For five years, the company went through 10 different pest control companies, with zero success. Why? Because they used sugar-based bait.
“In only 15 days, we fixed McCondray Manufacturing’s ant problem. Don’t take our word for it. Here’s McCondray’s Head of Warehouse operations, Steve Locklear, to tell you about it.”
What makes this effective?
- The first paragraph outlines the UVP: “Our bait is made of protein, not sugar-based like other companies.” Most importantly, a study supports the product’s effectiveness.
- The second paragraph presents a case study and provides key details.
- The third paragraph provides a video testimonial.
Presenting your UVP in this manner will impress the client and bring you closer to sealing the deal.
5. Apply the Story Telling Technique
Everyone loves a good story!
Instead of just enumerating facts and figures, structure information as you would a story.
- Introduction: Present the problem statement. Include examples of actual situations the client has experienced and how these have impacted business performance.
- Middle: Present your solution. Explain how your products could’ve handled those problematic situations.
- Conclusion: Create foreshadowing. Discuss how acquiring our services can help the client avoid recurring situations or other potential problems.
💡Pro Tip: Cite relevant case studies and success stories to highlight how your services benefit customers in real-world situations.
6. Present Social Proof
Throughout this article, we’ve mentioned the importance of social proof in conducting a sales presentation that gets results.
Social proof includes testimonials, case studies, customer reviews, and product reviews.
Here are three essential statistics that prove social proof is a powerful influencer:
- 95% of consumers are influenced by testimonials and positive reviews.
- 92% of consumers read product reviews before purchasing.
- 90% of consumers purchase products and services that have received positive reviews.
With social proof, you have proof of concept. It validates the effectiveness of your products.
💡Pro Tip: Share actual experiences of clients who were in the same situation as your prospect.
Give a step-by-step account of how your products were used, the results, and the outcome. Substantiate the outcome with actual figures.
7. Proactively Engage the Audience
“Any questions?”
The real sales presentation begins with the open forum.
Clients will try to tear down your proposal by questioning its effectiveness, citing inherent flaws and weak points. They want to test your knowledge of their business and your proposal.
You have to be ready to face any curveball the client throws at you.
Some clients will try to discourage you by saying:
“It was a good presentation, but we’re not impressed. We’re looking for something else. We’re afraid it’s not you.”
This is your moment. Don’t let the client take it away from you.
Keep the conversation going.
“Thank you for your kind remarks. But I would like to know what exactly you are looking for? Based on the project details, our products and services provide the required solutions.
“As we’ve shown (go back to the slide), industry and performance numbers prove we offer better solutions than our competitors for businesses that are in the same situation as you.”
If you can, offer a limited free trial or include a money-back guarantee.
Show the client you mean business!
If you’ve done comprehensive research and anticipated other issues, you’ll be ready to engage the client with confidence. Maintain a professional demeanor and answer each question accurately and confidently.
Conclusion
How can you be assured of an excellent sales presentation?
Practice, practice, PRACTICE!
Practice makes you feel more confident about your proposal. You’ll appear natural and comfortable to the audience.
You will find that your understanding of your proposal improves as you practice. Don’t be surprised if you start anticipating potential questions about your proposal.
Practice in front of someone who knows nothing about the topic. If the person becomes knowledgeable about your products (possibly buys), you’re ready!
Here’s a fact you might not be aware of.
Clients will conduct due diligence on prospective partners. Due diligence includes research.
73% of businesses have websites. Your competitors have websites.
If you don’t have a website, you won’t impress the client. You might not be asked to do a sales presentation.
If your current website isn’t growing your business, get a redesign or rebuild.
Invest in a website.
Contact us, and let’s set a time for a quick call. We’ll design a website that will convince the client they’ve found the perfect business partner!
