how to create good sales presentation

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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15 Sales Presentation Techniques That Will Help You Close More Deals Today

Updated: June 01, 2022

Published: May 31, 2022

Hate the thought of doing sales presentations ? You’re not alone. But the best reps have sales presentations down pat, even if it’s not their favorite activity.

The best sales reps know that, when done right , sales presentations are a high-earning skill.

So, let’s hone that skill with simple sales presentation techniques that communicate an irresistible narrative and get buyers to close.

Sales Presentation

An effective sales presentation tells a compelling story, highlights your value proposition, and aligns with your audience's needs and desires. It ends with a strong call-to-action and leads prospects to your differentiators instead of leading with them.

As it can sometimes mean the difference between closing a deal or losing a customer, you definitely want to get your sales presentation right. There are strategies and tips you can follow to ensure your sales presentations are effective, memorable, and engaging. Let’s go over them below.

Sales Presentation Methods

1. structure your presentation. .

Guiding your prospects down a clear path is key to a successful sales presentation. You’ll follow a logical structure, and listeners will understand how each element of your presentation relates to one another, rather than them having to piece together disjointed information on their own. 

There are times when flipping the structure can add unique elements to your presentation, though, and we’ll discuss this further below. 

2. Use data visualizations. 

Using visuals, like charts and graphics, to supplement your message is a valuable way to showcase your content in an easy-to-understand format as they make your words more impactful. 

For example, if you’re selling SaaS that helps users organize their sales process for a shorter cycle, you can create a visual that displays the average length of your clients’ sales cycle vs. those using other tools. 

By doing this, you’re adding extra emphasis to your words with a visual picture, and a bonus is that visuals are more likely to stick with your audience and get them thinking versus just hearing you talk. 

3. Rely on spoken words — not text.

If your presentation slides are text-heavy, prospects may get caught up reading the words you’ve written instead of listening, causing them to miss out on the value you’re sharing. Aim to include less text by calling attention to the most significant elements with short bursts of text that you supplement with your words. 

In addition, when you have less text on your slides, you may be less inclined to just read from them, which can be a bad part of presentations. You’ll have to speak instead of relying on written content. 

Let’s go over some sales presentation techniques that, when paired with the three methods above, will help you nail it every time.

Sales Presentation Techniques

1. send your buyer the presentation deck before your call..

You might assume that sending a buyer a deck before a call is like revealing whodunnit on the cover of a murder mystery. No one will pay attention to the rest of the book, right? 

When the Gong.io team started sharing our deck before opening sales calls, we learned it was a winning move. 

If your deck is compelling, prospects will want to get into it with you, even if they know the main point. Together, you can dive in, dissect the good bits, and talk through questions. It’s going to be a juicy conversation, and they know it.

Then, you can begin the conversation during your presentation with a statement like, “Based on the information in the deck I sent, where should we start?”

2. Invoke self-discovery.

It’s tempting to stick to a positive linear story during your sales presentation. That usually invokes talking about benefits, outcomes, and desired results. But, that approach isn’t always the best. 

Before discussing solutions and results, you must understand your prospect's problem. More importantly, you have to be sure your prospects understand the problem. 

Self-discovery is the ticket that gets you there. Instead of telling the buyer what the problem is and how you’ll address it, get your buyer to connect with the problem on their own. 

3. Talk about Point A. Don’t skip to point B.

This is 100% linked to the tip above. There’s a problem (point A) and desired outcome (point B). Point A is the status quo. It’s a problem your buyer will continue to face if they don’t make a change. 

You can stand out by focusing on point A, as talking about a pain point is shockingly more effective than talking about positive outcomes. 

Make your buyer feel the pain that results from the status quo. Convince them the pain will only worsen without your solution — because you know that to be true.

You should only talk about benefits once they’re on board with that line of thinking. Urgency is what allows benefits to land. Without urgency, benefits are just happy points that hold no real meaning.

4. Insight is your #1 lead story.

Buyers are experts on their circumstances, but they want insights into their situation from you. 

You’re most likely to impress a buyer by telling them something new about themselves, as your offering is a unique insight into their problems and opportunities.

Check out this TaylorMade video. It’s a bang-on example of how to lead a presentation with insight, and then move on to your product’s strengths:

You learned how to get more distance from your golf swing (an insight into what you’re doing). Then you learned how that’s supported by the product’s particular strength.

Insight comes first. It changes how your buyers think about the problem your product solves. Only then benefits can land effectively.

5. Don’t lead with differentiators, lead to them.

At Gong.io, we’ve taught our sales reps to speak with buyers about a critical problem only we can solve. It’s the delta between top producers and the rest of the team.

• "The numbers from your top reps are fantastic."
• "The downside is they’re annulled by everyone else who’s missing their quota."
• "Your team goes from outstanding numbers to breaking even or missing quota. Both of those options are unsustainable."

We only introduce our key differentiator once the backstory is clear and the buyer gets it. Then, our reps say something like this:

"Gong is the only platform that can tell you what your top reps do differently from the rest of your team. We can tell you which questions they ask, which topics they discuss, when they talk about each one, and more."

See why we lead to our differentiator, and not with it? It just wouldn’t land the same way if we started with the differentiator. In fact, it might not land at all.

6. Focus on value, not features.

Gong.io research found that focusing on features over value is not impactful. Prospects, especially decision-makers, want value propositions about how you’ll help them solve their problems rather than an overview of the features they’ll get. 

7. Flip your presentation.

he next, eventually achieving a shiny, final outcome. This isn’t always the best strategy. 

Instead of building up to the most significant and impactful part of your demo for your prospect, begin with the most valuable part, which is how you’ll help them, and let the conversation flow from there. 

There’s one other tactic underlying it all: The best product demos start with topics the buyers highlighted on the discovery call . For example, if the buyer spends 4 minutes talking about X and 10 minutes talking about Y, you want to begin with Y, as the buyer has demonstrated that they’re heavily interested in Y. In the opening section of your presentation, address the biggest issue from discovery. Address the second biggest issue second, etc.

It’s called solution mapping, and it’s going to change your sales presentation process forever. Stop saving the big reveal for last. Stop building anticipation. Start with the good stuff. Let it rip right out of the gate.

8. Turn your presentation into a conversation.

If you sensed we were looking for a two-way dialogue during your pitch, you’re right. That’s a relief to most salespeople, especially the ones who hate delivering traditional presentations.

A two-way dialogue is going to make your pitch feel more natural. To do this, Gong.io says to get buyers to ask questions by giving them just enough info to inspire them to ask more questions and keep the conversation going. In fact, top performers ask fewer questions because they don’t bombard prospects with too much information but instead give buyers just enough information to have them ask questions. 

Long monologues won’t help you have real conversations with your buyers. Instead, aim for a great two-way conversation. 

9. Mind the 9-minute period.

This tip is crisp and clear: Don’t present for more than nine minutes. Gong.io data supports this. 

Presentations for lost deals last an average of 11.4 minutes. Why do they go so poorly? Because it’s hard to retain attention. If you do go longer than nine minutes, switch it up. 

Vary something that re-captures attention and keeps people engaged. Change channels by doing something like switching up who’s speaking in real life or on video. This can rest your clock to zero, and you’ve got nine more minutes for the next portion of the show. 

10. Be strategic with social proof. 

Social proof. Best friend or worst nightmare? It can be either one, so use it carefully. For example, generic social proof (i.e., naming impressive clients for brand power alone) is a disaster. Buyers might not identify with them. Sure, they’re dazzled, but they may not see how they relate to your current client.

An effective strategy is to reference clients similar to your buyer, with the same pain points, challenges and needs that they can relate to. You can tell an accompanying story about the client and their pain points, helping the buyer see themselves in the story you’re telling.

11. Talk price after you establish value.

Would it surprise you to know it matters when you talk about certain topics? It can actually affect whether you win or lose a deal. Pricing is a great example of this principle.

The top salespeople wait to talk about pricing. They know it’s important to demonstrate their product’s value first.

Set an agenda at the start of your call so your buyer knows when to expect a pricing discussion. They’ll be less likely to raise it early, and if they do, you can refer back to the agenda.

Open with something like, " I’d like to talk about A, B, and C on our call today. Then we can go over pricing at the end and -- if it makes sense for you -- talk about next steps. Does that work for you?"

You’re all set.

12. Reference your competitors.

Our data shows that you’re more likely to win a deal if you talk about the competition early in the sales process instead of ignoring them completely.

For best results, practice this during your first sales presentation. Waiting until the end of your sales process puts you into a dangerous red zone. Your buyers will already have formed opinions, and they’ll be harder to change.

In other words, at the end of the day, buyers will justify a decision they made early in the process, which is why it’s critical to set yourself up as the winner early on. Talk about the competition in your presentation. Put the conversation out there. Get your buyer to see you through that lens, and you’re golden.

Over To You

You now have 15 new tips and techniques to throw down this quarter. Many of these data-backed moves come from Gong.io’s own findings and have proven to be effective for us. Implement them, and I know you’ll boost your numbers.

Don't forget to share this post!

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

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15 Sales Presentation Examples to Drive Sales

By Danesh Ramuthi , Oct 31, 2023

A sales presentation is not merely a brief introduction to a product or service. It’s a meticulously constructed sales pitch tailored to showcase the unique features and key elements of what’s being offered and to resonate deeply with the prospective customers. 

But what stands out in the best sales presentation is their ability to weave an engaging story, integrating customer testimonials, success stories and sales performances to maintain the audience’s attention span and to persuade them to take action. 

The right tools, like those provided by Venngage presentation Maker and its sales presentation templates , can greatly aid in this endeavor. The aim is to have a presentation memorable enough that it lingers in the minds of potential clients long after the pitch. 

Its ultimate aim is not just to inform but to persuasively secure the audience’s commitment.

Click to jump ahead:

6 Sales presentation examples

What to include and how to create a sales presentation, sales presentation vs pitch deck.

• Final thoughts

A sales presentation can be the differentiating factor that turns a potential client into a loyal customer. The manner in which a brand or individual presents their value proposition, product, or service can significantly impact the buying decisions of their audience.

Hence, drawing inspiration from various sales presentation examples can be an instrumental step in crafting the perfect pitch.

Let’s explore a few examples of sales presentations that cater to different needs and can be highly effective when used in the right context.

Clean sales presentation examples

The concept of a “clean” sales presentation reflects more than just its visual aesthetic; it captures an ethos of straightforward, concise and effective communication. A clean presentation offers a professional and efficient way to present your sales pitch, making it especially favorable for brands or individuals looking to be perceived as trustworthy and reliable.

Every slide in such a presentation is meticulously designed to be aesthetically pleasing, balancing visuals and text in a manner that complements rather than competes.

Its visual appeal is undeniably a draw, but the real power of a clean sales presentation lies in its ability to be engaging enough to hold your audience’s attention. By minimizing distractions, the message you’re trying to convey becomes the focal point. This ensures that your audience remains engaged, absorbing the key points without being overwhelmed.

A clean design also lends itself well to integrating various elements such as graphs, charts and images, ensuring they’re presented in a clear and cohesive manner. In a business environment where attention spans are continually challenged, a clean presentation stands as an oasis of clarity, ensuring that your audience walks away with a clear understanding of what you offer and why it matters to them.

Minimalist sales presentation examples

Minimalism, as a design and communication philosophy, revolves around the principle of ‘less is more’. It’s a bold statement in restraint and purpose. In the context of sales presentations, a minimalist approach can be incredibly powerful.

It ensures that your content, stripped of any unnecessary embellishments, remains at the forefront. The primary objective is to let the core message shine, ensuring that every slide, every graphic and every word serves a precise purpose.

This design aesthetic brings with it a sense of sophistication and crispness that can be a potent tool in capturing your audience’s attention. There’s an inherent elegance in simplicity which can elevate your presentation, making it memorable.

But beyond just the visual appeal, the minimalist design is strategic. With fewer elements on a slide, the audience can focus more intently on the message, leading to better retention and engagement. It’s a brilliant way to ensure that your message doesn’t just reach your audience, but truly resonates with them.

Every slide is crafted to ensure that the audience’s focus never wavers from the central narrative, making it an excellent choice for brands or individuals seeking to create a profound impact with their pitches.

Simple sales presentation examples

A simple sales presentation provides a clear and unobstructed pathway to your main message, ensuring that the audience’s focus remains undivided. Perfect for highlighting key information, it ensures that your products or services are front and center, unobscured by excessive design elements or verbose content.

But the beauty of a simple design is in its flexibility. With platforms like Venngage , you have the freedom to customize it according to your brand voice and identity. Whether it’s adjusting text sizes, incorporating vibrant colors or selecting standout photos or icons from expansive free stock libraries, the power to enhance and personalize your presentation lies at your fingertips.

Creating your ideal design becomes a seamless process, ensuring that while the presentation remains simple, it is every bit as effective and captivating.

Professional sales presentation example

A professional sales presentation is meticulously crafted, reflecting the brand’s guidelines, voice and core values. It goes beyond just key features or product benefits; it encapsulates the brand’s ethos, presenting a cohesive narrative that resonates deeply with its target audience.

For sales professionals, it’s more than just a slide deck; it’s an embodiment of the brand’s identity, from the great cover image to the clear call to action at its conclusion.

These presentations are tailored to address potential pain points, include sales performances, and present solutions in a compelling and engaging story format. 

Integrating elements like customer success stories and key insights, ensuring that the presentation is not just good, but memorable.

Sales performance sales presentation example

A company’s sales performance presentation is vital to evaluate, refine and boost their sales process. It’s more than just numbers on a slide deck; it’s a comprehensive look into the effectiveness of sales campaigns, strategies and the sales team as a whole.

This type of sales presentation provides key insights into what’s working, what isn’t and where there’s potential for growth.

It’s an invaluable tool for sales professionals, often serving as a roadmap guiding future sales pitches and marketing campaigns.

An effective sales performance presentation might begin with a compelling cover slide, reflecting the brand’s identity, followed by a brief introduction to set the context. From there, it delves into specifics: from the sales metrics, customer feedback and more.

Ultimately, this presentation is a call to action for the sales team, ensuring they are equipped with the best tools, strategies and knowledge to convert prospective customers into paying ones, driving more deals and growing the business.

Testimonial-based sales presentation examples

Leveraging the voices of satisfied customers, a testimonial-based sales presentation seamlessly blends social proof with the brand’s value proposition. It’s a testament to the real-world impact of a product or service, often making it one of the most effective sales presentation examples. 

By centering on customer testimonials, it taps into the compelling stories of those who have experienced firsthand the benefits of what’s being offered.

As the presentation unfolds, the audience is introduced to various customer’s stories, each underscoring the product’s unique features or addressing potential pain points.

These success stories serve dual purposes: they not only captivate the audience’s attention but also preemptively handle sales objections by showcasing how other customers overcame similar challenges.

Sales professionals can further augment the presentation with key insights derived from these testimonials, tailoring their sales pitch to resonate deeply with their potential clients.

Creating a good sales presentation is like putting together a puzzle. Each piece needs to fit just right for the whole picture to make sense. 

So, what are these pieces and how do you put them together? 

Here, I’ll break down the must-have parts of a sales presentation and give you simple steps to build one. 

What to include in a sales presentation?

With so much information to convey and a limited time to engage your audience in your sales presentation, where do you start?

Here, we’re going to explore the essential components of a successful sales presentation, ensuring you craft a compelling narrative that resonates with your prospects.

• A captivating opening slide: First impressions matter. Start with a great cover image or slide that grabs your audience’s attention instantly. Your opening should set the tone, making prospects curious about what’s to come.
• Data-driven slides: Incorporate key points using charts, graphs, infographics and quotes. Instead of flooding your slides with redundant information, use them as a tool to visually represent data. Metrics from your sales dashboard or third-party sources can be particularly illuminating.
• Social proof through testimonials: Weave in testimonials and case studies from satisfied customers. These success stories, especially from those in the same industry as your prospects, act as powerful endorsements, bolstering the credibility of your claims.
• Competitive context: Being proactive is the hallmark of savvy sales professionals. Address how your product or service fares against competitors, presenting a comparative analysis. 
• Customized content: While using a foundational slide deck can be helpful, personalizing your presentation for each meeting can make all the difference. Whether it’s integrating the prospect’s brand colors, industry-specific data or referencing a past interaction, tailored content makes your audience feel acknowledged.
• Clear path to the future: End by offering a glimpse into the next steps. This can include a direct call to action or an overview of the onboarding process. Highlight the unique value your company brings post-sale, such as exceptional training or standout customer support.
• Keep it simple: Remember, simplicity is key. Avoid overcrowding your slides with excessive text. Visual data should take center stage, aiding in comprehension and retention. 

Related: 120+ Presentation Ideas, Topics & Example

How to create a sales presentation? 

Crafting a good sales presentation is an art that blends structure, content and design. 

A successful sales presentation not only tells but also sells, capturing the audience’s attention while conveying the main message effectively. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to ensure that your sales deck becomes a winning sales presentation.

1. Find out your ideal audience

The first step to any effective sales pitch is understanding your audience. Are you presenting to prospective customers, potential clients or an internet marketing agency? Recognize their pain points, buying process and interests to craft a message that resonates. This understanding ensures that your presentation is memorable and speaks directly to their unique needs.

2. Pick a platform to Use

Depending on your target audience and the complexity of your sales literature, you might opt for Venngage presentation maker, PowerPoint templates, Google Slides or any tools that you are comfortable with. Choose a tool that complements your brand identity and aids in keeping your audience’s attention span engaged.

3. Write the ‘About Us’ section

Here’s where you build trust. Give a brief introduction about your organization, its values and achievements. Highlight key elements that set you apart, be it a compelling story of your brand’s inception, a lucrative deal you managed to seal, or an instance where an internet marketing agency hired you for their needs.

4. Present facts and data

Dive deep into sales performance metrics, client satisfaction scores and feedback. Use charts, graphs and infographics to visually represent these facts. Testimonials and customer success stories provide that added layer of social proof. By showcasing concrete examples, like a customer’s story or feedback, you give your audience solid reasons to trust your product or service.

5. Finish with a memorable conclusion & CTA

Now that you’ve laid out all the information, conclude with a bang. Reiterate the value proposition and key insights you want your audience to remember. Perhaps share a compelling marketing campaign or a unique feature of your offering.

End with a clear call to action, directing your prospects on what to do next, whether it’s downloading further assistance material, getting in touch for more deals or moving further down the sales funnel .

Related: 8 Types of Presentations You Should Know [+Examples & Tips]

Sales presentation and the pitch deck may seem similar at first glance but their goals, focuses, and best-use scenarios differ considerably. Here’s a succinct breakdown of the two:

Sales Presentation:

• What is it? An in-depth dialogue designed to persuade potential clients to make a purchase.
• Focuses on: Brand identity, social proof, detailed product features, addressing customer pain points, and guiding to the buying process.
• Best for: Detailed interactions, longer meetings and thorough discussions with potential customers.
• Example: A sales rep detailing a marketing campaign to a potential client.

Pitch Deck:

• What is it? Pitch deck is a presentation to help potential investors learn more about your business. The main goal isn’t to secure funding but to pique interest for a follow-up meeting.
• Focuses on: Brand voice, key features, growth potential and an intriguing idea that captures the investor’s interest.
• Best for: Initial investor meetings, quick pitches, showcasing company potential.
• Example: A startup introducing its unique value proposition and growth trajectory to prospective investors.

Shared traits: Both aim to create interest and engagement with the audience. The primary difference lies in the intent and the audience: one is for selling a product/service and the other is for igniting investor interest.

Related: How to Create an Effective Pitch Deck Design [+Examples]

Final thoughts 

Sales presentations are the heart and soul of many businesses. They are the bridge between a potential customer’s needs and the solution your product or service offers. The examples provided—from clean, minimalist to professional styles—offer a spectrum of how you can approach your next sales presentation.

Remember, it’s not just about the aesthetics or the data; it’s about the narrative, the story you tell, and the connection you establish. And while sales presentations and pitch decks have their distinct purposes, the objective remains consistent: to engage, persuade and drive action.

If you’re gearing up for your next sales presentation, don’t start from scratch. Utilize Venngage presentation Maker and explore our comprehensive collection of sales presentation templates .

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How to Create & Deliver a Sales Presentation (+ Template)

Related articles, lead vs prospect vs opportunity: what's the difference, 52 lead generation statistics to consider in 2024, top 14 email nurture campaign best practices.

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A sales presentation is the act of verbally explaining a product or service and delivering your sales pitch to a potential buyer, usually with the assistance of a sales deck. The ultimate goal of the presentation is to convince the buyer to take next steps with you, such as accepting a proposal. To accomplish this, sales reps follow a key outline that includes sections like the prospect's pain point, how the product or service solves this problem, and a strong call-to-action.

For help crafting your presentation, hire a design expert on Fiverr to custom create an appealing slide deck and write the talking points that will present your offering in the most professional way possible. Freelance gigs start at only five dollars — take a look at your best options below:

How Do Sales Presentations Work?

Salespeople typically give a 20- to 30-minute sales presentation as a  lead nurturing  activity once a lead has been qualified as a high-value prospect — by this point, you've determined it's time to show them in detail the value of your product or service and recommend next steps. The stage of your sales pipeline in which the presentation occurs depends on your business, but it's usually done toward the end of your  sales process  as one of the final steps before deal closing.

As you build your presentation's talking points, you'll follow an outline that typically begins with small talk and introductions, then moves on to agenda-setting. The outline will then dive into the problem, your solution and the benefits that it brings, and stories about a current customer who had a similar issue before working with you. Finally, you'll end with a concrete CTA to entice your prospect to move forward with you.

Keeping this outline in mind, there are steps you can follow to first plan the sections of a general outline and then personalize them to each unique prospect, plus templates and software you can use to build a supporting sales deck. It also helps to consider tips to prepare for and deliver the presentation and take a look at examples of quality presentations to emulate.

This article addresses how to create your entire presentation, including building a visual sales deck and creating and delivering your talking points. If you’re looking specifically to learn how to craft a written slideshow, check out our article on creating a sales deck .

Free Sales Presentation Template

So that you don't necessarily need to start from scratch, we've gathered several sales presentation templates for various scenarios and created our own free general sales deck template to help you create a slideshow to complement your presentation. This deck template can act as a base for you or a Fiverr freelancer to customize into your own deck according your needs and presentation outline. It also comes with recommendations for specific written content to put on each slide.

Now that you have a template to work from, let’s look at the key elements all salespeople should use to structure their sales presentation.

Common Sections of an Effective Sales Presentation

Regardless of your business or customer, there are some common elements to include in your sales presentation to make it as effective as possible. Where in the presentation or deck you place each element is up to you, as there are slight strategic advantages to different arrangements, but the outline below is the best place to start so you can sucessfully give a presentation and communicate your sales pitch .

Here is the common structure of a sales presentation, plus how to communicate each section: 

Small Talk & Intros

Solution & benefits, social proof.

As people enter the meeting, take five minutes to build rapport and engage your prospect in light conversation by asking them personal or professional questions like “Last time we spoke, you were working on {project} . How’s that been going?” Small talk like this gets everyone comfortable and in a good mood.

After the conversation has run its course, thank your audience for attending, then briefly introduce (or reintroduce) yourself and state your company's elevator pitch . Bring up relevant credentials or experiences that will paint you as the right person or team to help them in this area. Then, ask each person in the audience (if there are five or fewer) to say their name and job title. All of this should take another 3–5 minutes.

Before you start flipping through slides, set the agenda in three sentences so the audience knows what to expect. When they know what’s coming, they're on the lookout for the elements and topics you mentioned. This increases their comprehension and engagement. Plus, stating an agenda makes you look organized and professional.

Use the "purpose, benefit, check" method when setting the agenda:

• State the Meeting’s Purpose: Preview the main topics you'll be covering. “We’re here to go over how {product or service} can help you overcome {problem or challenge} .”
• List the Benefits of Attending:  Explain how the prospect will benefit from being here. “Besides learning about our solution and how to use it to reach your goals, you’ll also come away with valuable industry insights that will change the way you think about {topic} .”
• Check for Alignment:  Make sure you’re all on the same page with a simple check. “Does that sound like a plan?”

Once your prospect agrees, you can dive into the problem.

Talk about your prospect’s problem that you found during your discovery call or another method. Mention what you believe is causing it and the negative consequences the prospect will experience if they let it remain unsolved (including any relevant statistics). Because the problem is likely why your potential customer is in the meeting, dedicate five minutes to laying out their pain point and discussing it a bit if your prospect has anything to add.

This could sound like "During our discovery call, you said you're trying to reach {goal} but you've been experiencing {challenge} . It sounded like your main concern is {implications} , and the problem is stemming from {issues/pain points} . Anything I'm missing?"

In a few sentences, tease three benefits they could enjoy if they simply solved this problem. Paint this better world as desirable and free of the pains caused by their current problem. Then, introduce your product or service and take two minutes to explain how it solves the problem and helps reach the promised land.

For example, "If you were to solve this pain point, you could {benefit 1} . {Product or service} is designed to {high-level purpose/benefit 2} for {role or company type} so they can {more impactful action/benefit 3} . Specifically, it does this by {product/service overview} ."

If you'd like to dive deeper into how your product works, you could extend this to a 15- to 20-minute product demo instead of a two-minute overview. Plan this beforehand so as not to run over the time you've allotted.

If there are specific ways in which customers similar to the prospect have used the solution to their advantage, share them in the presentation. This can include social proof like testimonials, case studies, and anecdotes to show how buyers love your solution.

A good way to state this is "One of our longest clients is {similar company} , which {brief, relevant company description} . Before working with us, they were also having {similar problem} , but they've solved it by using our {feature and brief explanation} . I could see your team loving {feature} , too."

Your relationship with the prospect, the amount of people in the room, and the price of your product or service will determine how you end your presentation and make your ask. If you're presenting a pricey B2B solution to three executives, your CTA will be different than if you’re presenting a B2C product to a 1,000-person audience.

Here are three ways to close your presentation:

• Strong CTA:  Make a direct ask like “Over 500 satisfied clients are currently using our solution to {function/benefit} . Are you ready to join them?” or “Are you ready for us to draft up a proposal so you can rid yourself of {pain point} once and for all?”
• Open-Ended Question:  Ask an open-ended question that will prompt them to think about and discuss their key takeaways. For instance, you might ask, “How did I change the way you think about {topic} ?” Higher-priced items that need further evaluation use this.
• Objection-Response Question:  If you sense any objections lurking behind their eyes, ask, “Based on what you’ve just heard, what would hold you back from buying today?” Then, you can address the concern or hesitation while you have them in the room.

In almost all cases, it makes sense to end your spoken presentation by inviting the prospect to ask questions, either before or after you give a CTA such as accepting a business proposal .

As we've shown above using bolded prompts, it's a good idea to create a standard outline of your presentation and generally what you'd like to say to every prospect, then use that as a script template and leave room for personalization to each prospect. This helps you stay on track and sound confident while making the prospect feel as if the presentation were developed just for them.

How to Create a Winning Sales Presentation

Before delivering your sales presentation to a room full of buyers, you have some preparation to do. This includes creating the bones of your presentation, personalizing it to your prospect, and designing a sales deck to support your talking points. Check out the slider below for an overview of each step, or dive right into steps and how to do each.

Craft a General Presentation

First write an outline of the sections and topics you want to cover in every presentation, including a script template to guide your words. 

Personalize the Presentation

Learn about the attendees via a discovery call and independent research, and tailor your presentation to the prospect.

Gather Supporting Materials

Gather relevant marketing messaging, photos, data, and anything else you’ll need to deliver your personalized presentation.

Create a Personalized Sales Deck

Build out the visual slideshow you’ll use during your presentation. 

1. Write Your General Presentation Outline & Script

First, incorporate the common sections of a sales presentation outline — write the main points you want to hit and a general sales script of the words you want to say, but leave room for personalization to each prospect. You can either write this outline from scratch or start with a sales presentation template .

Here is a potential outline of the spoken portion of a sales presentation: 

• Small Talk and Introductions:  Build rapport, thank your prospect for attending, and introduce yourself and your business using an elevator pitch.
• Agenda-Setting: Remind the prospect of the purpose of the meeting and why it's good they're attending. Get their buy-in to move on and talk about the problem.
• Your Prospect’s Main Problem:  Summarize the prospect's problem that you learned about during discovery, plus the implications of leaving it unsolved.
• Solution and Benefits:  Talk about a better world in which the problem is gone, using about three benefits. Reveal your product or service and pitch how it solves the problem.
• Social Proof:  Share a case study, testimonial, and/or anecdote from a company or person that's similar to your prospect to help prove you can help them.  
• Call-to-Action:  Wrap up with a closing statement that includes a CTA inviting them to begin this partnership or take another action.

The outline of a sales presentation will vary across different businesses and presentation situations. Generally, though, you’ll be presenting your product or service in front of a group of decision makers in an office room, so the above is a potential sales presentation outline of the main points to hit for this situation. You can always modify your general outline later on.

If you include some of the above elements within stories, your audience will be more engaged and interested. For example, when giving your company overview, tell a brief story about the issue or opportunity that prompted your founder to create the business and how it's changed over the years to reach its current state.

2. Personalize the Presentation

Once you've developed a general presentation structure that you can reuse for each prospect, use a discovery call and online research to learn about the specific prospect to whom you're presenting. This will help you craft a personalized presentation that captures your audience’s attention and makes them feel understood. It will also ensure the lead is qualified before you start building a presentation for them.

Research these three areas to fill in the blanks within your presentation: 

• Your Prospect’s Business:  Learn about their company size, mission, sector, and goals, plus their internal processes. This will help you plan your small talk and select relevant social proof. 
• Your Prospect’s Problem:  Learn all about their pain point and its associated consequences. If you know the specifics, you can bring up targeted problem insights and solutions. 
• Who Is Attending:  If the decision maker(s) are from high-level management, focus on how you’ll help them achieve long-term goals. If they'll use your solution day-to-day, focus on efficiencies and problem-solving.

While this is most helpful to personalize the general sections you planned out in the previous step, it can also help you to add more sections or modify your outline if needed. It'll also support the next step in which you gather relevant information that will impress your prospect and make the presentation feel even more personalized.

3. Gather Supporting Materials

Now that you’re familiar with your prospect and their needs, begin gathering the materials for the elements you want to include in your sales presentation. You can get these online, in your CRM , or directly from your data, marketing, and/or customer success team.

The best personalized presentation materials and information to gather include: 

• Case Studies or Testimonials: Find a great story or review from your current customers who are similar to the prospect.
• Client or Product Photos:  Highlight clients using the product or service by gathering photos from marketing or the client themselves.
• Data or Statistics: Collect ROI, industry trends, or other data that supports your claims about the prospect's problem or your solution.
• Marketing Messaging:  From your marketing team or your content, find the solution's benefits, unique selling proposition , and story details that will be most relevant to this prospect.
• Props or Demonstrations:  If your product lends itself to physical or virtual demonstrations, gather the required materials or set up the virtual environment. 
• Graphs:  Create graphs that back your claims, illustrate trends, and supplement your stories. If you say Facebook ad prices are trending upwards, show a graph of this. 

Because you might have to get this material from another department or person or even create it yourself, it’s best to handle this at least two or three days before you plan to begin building your sales deck so you can plug them in immediately when you create the deck.

4. Create a Personalized Sales Deck

A sales deck is the slideshow that acts as a visual backdrop and guide for your sales presentation, usually created using  sales presentation software  like PowerPoint. If you choose to use a deck with your spoken presentation, make it about 10 slides in length, light on text (fewer than 30 words per slide), heavy on images, diagrams, and other visuals, and personalized to the prospect's situation so they feel understood and can imagine how your solution will help them.

These are a few ways to personalize the sales deck for your prospect:

• Add Them to the Cover Slide: Your cover slide should include your company name and logo, but adding your prospect's will help them feel more engaged at the start of the presentation.
• Include Components of Their Current Situation: When talking about the problem and its implications, add related images and light text to your problem slide to drive the point home. 
• Highlight Specific Use Cases:  Think of ways you envision your prospect using your solution to their benefit, and add related images or videos of those features to the solution slide. 
• Add Similar Customers' Images or Logos:  When you talk about a case study or testimonial of a company like your prospect, show images of them to promote legitimacy.

Just like your presentation outline, consider creating a general version of your sales deck and leaving a few prompts that you can simply personalize for each prospect. This will help you keep the overall structure that you know to be effective while also helping the deck feel as if you crafted it especially for the prospect.

Additional Reading:

For help on creating the best sales deck for your presentation, check out our detailed article on  how to create a sales deck . There, you'll find key steps as well as templates and examples to craft the best one possible.

How to Properly Deliver Your Sales Presentation

An effective sales presentation is personalized to your prospect and makes them active participants, sparking questions from them and prompting run-off conversations about their specific interests. This helps you build a relationship. Let’s go over some key tips for delivering a sales presentation that wins over your audience.

Start With Highly Personalized Small Talk

Depending on your prospect, you may want to begin your sales presentation with a rapport-building question that asks about their personal life such as “How was the football game last weekend?,” or they may respond better to a more professional question like “I saw you opened a new office in {location} . Congrats! How's it progressing?” Starting off the presentation with the right type of small talk can help your prospect relax and drop their “No one can sell me!” attitude.

Use a Conversational Tone

Resist the urge to speak too formally. It's important to be respectful of your prospect, but positioning yourself as their peer will help them picture you as both a subject matter expert and a quality potential partner. Stick to simple language and try to sound more casual so your prospects see you as a pleasant person to work with rather than a stuffy salesperson.

Switch Speakers Often

If you’re presenting with multiple people, it makes sense to switch speakers whenever you move on to the next main point. When assigning main points to different team members, take into account their levels of expertise and enthusiasm for given topics. For example, if one of them spent days analyzing the prospect’s main problem, let them take that part. Genuine confidence is powerful. For this reason, also let your best closer make the closing statement.

Encourage Questions Throughout

Consider building in extra time so you can encourage your audience at the beginning of your presentation to ask questions and make comments while you’re presenting. This makes your presentation more of a conversation and lifts the audience's engagement level and comprehension. Say something like, “Don’t be afraid to ask questions or make comments throughout. If there’s something you want to discuss in greater detail, let me know.”

Follow Typical Presentation Best Practices

As you go through the outline and any supporting materials (e.g., a slide deck) you've created, keep in mind the communication tactics that help your presentation go smoothly. Here are some best practices for delivering your sales presentation in a way that both captivates and sells the audience:

• Leverage Body Language Tactics:  Put your shoulders back, smile, and feel free to move around naturally. Use your hands to emphasize key points or transitions. The Presentation Training Institute has additional tips on  body language for presenters . 
• Maintain Eye Contact:  Alternate eye contact between the people in the room. Try your best not to leave anyone out for too long. 
• Keep Things Moving and Changing:  Don’t spend more than a few minutes discussing a slide. When you frequently change the visual stimuli, you maintain the audience’s attention.
• Be Confident:  Avoid apologizing if you make a mistake. This indicates nervousness or discomfort. Instead, take it in stride and keep presenting with confidence.

Learning these presentation tips can also help you be a better salesperson in general since they can be applied outside of presentations, as well.

Go Off Script When Needed

The presentation outline, the sales deck, and any sort of script that you write all contribute to a well-organized presentation, but a truly professional presenter knows that it's important to be flexible throughout the presentation. If your prospect asks a question that you were planning to answer later in the presentation or not at all, consider taking a moment to address their curiosity or concern. This will help them feel more engaged and view you as a helpful potential partner.

Ultimately, go with the flow. Expect the unexpected to occur, like a confusing question from the audience. If you lack the knowledge on the specific subject, say you’ll do some research and send them the answer in a follow-up email. They’ll understand.

Top 3 Sales Presentation Software

Most of your prospects will better follow what you're saying and understand your product and what it does if they can view a visual slide deck as you speak. While there are many sales presentation software options out there, we've found Visme, Google Slides, and Prezi to be some of the best ones in terms of key factors like cost and features. We've briefly covered each platform below:

Google Slides

Visme is an online software that allows you to create, store, and share visual materials such as sales presentations and infographics. Its searchable library contains over a thousand presentation layouts and themes to get you started, and its free educational resources such as tutorials, webinars, and courses make it a great option for those new to sales presentations. Visme has a free version and available upgrades.

Google Slides is a free slideshow tool that helps you create simple, professional-looking sales decks to accompany your verbal presentation. Start with one of their templates, then invite your team members to collaborate on the slides in real time. Slides is a great option for Google Suite users since it integrates seamlessly with other Google apps.

Prezi is a highly interactive presentation builder that uses features such as zooming in and out to keep the viewer engaged. Because the zoom function is nonlinear, you can bounce between slides as your prospect asks questions, helping you to keep the conversation flowing and give the buyer more control than they'd normally have in a typical presentation. The basic platform is free, but you can upgrade for more functionality.

When choosing the right platform for you, consider factors such as your budget and any particular features you need. Also think about the number of employees who will use it, their level of experience with presentation software, and whether they'll use the software for their own individual presentations or collaborate on a presentation as a team.

For more on these platforms plus additional options, read our independent editorial review of the best presentation software available. In the article, we cover their pricing, core features, ease of use, and more, plus each option's primary use case.

3 Best Sales Presentation Examples From Top Companies

You can learn a lot about sales decks and presentation skills by reading through exceptional sales decks and watching great sales presenters. Here are example sales presentations from Facebook, Zuora, and Steve Jobs (Apple), and what makes them so successful. Click the images below to see each example presentation.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator Presentation

First off, LinkedIn does a great job of using color to create a visually appealing slideshow of their LinkedIn Sales Navigator product. As for the presentation, they begin with an elevator pitch that gives context to the prospect. Then they talk about the current environment of their customers (salespeople), emphasizing that sellers in this age need to be focused, informed, and trusted.

After backing this claim with data, they introduce their solution and describe how it can help them be more focused, informed, and trusted, dedicating one slide to each attribute. They repeat these three words throughout the presentation so that they stick in the prospect’s mind. This is a good example of using three key benefits and the power of repetition.

Zuora Sales Presentation

Zuora  does a fantastic job in this sales deck of using little text and still making a big impact. The presentation begins with an explanation of a big change (the new subscription economy) in the customer’s industry. This hooks the audience immediately, since it’s top of mind.

Zuora then goes on to explain how there will be winners and losers in this economy and offers case studies of companies who have used this change to their advantage. Then, they show how their solution can help the prospect do the same.

Steve Jobs Sales Presentation

In this presentation, Steve Jobs introduces the first  Apple  iPhone. The presentation is an illustration not only of what it means to present with confidence, wit, and charm, but also of solid presentation structure. Steve begins by building credibility, listing past successes. He then describes the problem with current smartphones — their static, plastic keyboards. After dismantling the competition, he introduces the solution to the problem and its many benefits.

Examples such as these are a great place to get inspired and think of similar ideas for your own presentation outline or presenting style. Seek out as many sales presentation examples as you need, then pick a few key tips to keep in mind as you get ready to host your next few sales presentations.

Top 4 Sales Presentation Tips

We listed best practices for delivery above, but there are also best practices for preparation that can help you get your presentation in good shape before your attendees arrive in person or virtually. These include planning a certain closing technique, rehearsing your presentation, sharing your sales deck in advance, and testing the technology. Keep these four main tips in mind, especially after you finish creating your presentation and start getting ready to deliver it.

Plan a Personalized Closing Technique

It's important to personalize your sales closing technique to your prospect. As you personalize your CTA, consider the relationship you have with the prospect plus what's realistic.

For example, if you have great rapport with them and you think they might buy soon, you can try an assumptive close, using language that assumes they'll make a purchase. If you don't know them as well or they seem like a tougher client, you may want to try using an inoffensive close to reiterate your product's benefits and ask if they'd be open to receiving a business proposal .

Rehearse Your Presentation

Practice your sales presentation at least five times all the way through. Do it alone first and then in front of others so they can spot your weak points. The reason you are rehearsing is to memorize the material enough so you can field questions and comments throughout the presentation, then easily get right back on the track.

For instance, if a CEO in the audience says “That’s a super cool idea” during your presentation, you won’t have to bulldoze to the next slide in order to keep your rhythm and memory if you’ve rehearsed properly. You can pause and discuss it before picking up where you left off.

Share Your Sales Deck Beforehand

Share your sales deck with the attendees two days before the meeting. In most cases, they will look it over and build interest. Some won’t read it, but it’s courteous to give them the option. Most importantly, emailing your deck to the attendees will also help them prepare any questions, so the discussions will be top-notch.

If you know a lot about the prospect’s current situation, day-to-day, and goals, take this approach a step further and send them a written vision statement that explains how you see this product or service changing their life or business. It can be as short as a single paragraph or as long as a page. It’s meant to show the prospect that your presentation will be personalized to their needs.

Prepare & Test the Technology

Your presentation could be in-person in an office or meeting room or virtual via a conferencing platform like Zoom. In both cases, it’s crucial to prepare the environment and smooth out any wrinkles by testing the technology. If in person, make sure your screen and projector or laptop and the necessary cords are functioning properly. If virtual, test the conferencing software, your mic, and your webcam. In both cases, ensure your slideshow is ready to go.

You'll naturally come up with additional best practices as you give more presentations, but even implementing these four can drastically change the success of your presentations.

For more information on creating and optimizing your sales presentation, check out our article on the top  sales presentation tips and ideas  from verified experts.

Bottom Line: Sales Presentation

Your audience should come out of your sales presentation different than they were at the beginning. Give them insights about their industry, a deeper understanding of their problem or challenge, and ideas about how they can reach their goals and dreams with the help of your product or service. If you follow the steps and tips we’ve presented to you today, you should be able to do just that.

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Prepare, Present, And Follow Up: How To Nail Your Best Sales Presentation

Some people find presenting easy. They seem to have an intuitive understanding of how to grab and keep the attention of everyone in the room. Meanwhile, there are those who confess presenting is stressful. What to do if you are a sales rep who belongs to this second type?

There is a piece of good news for you: you can definitely master the art too. To deliver the best sales presentation, you should learn key tips beforehand, so you’ll be ready the next time you’re done with lead generation .

In this blog post, we’ll break down the process of creating a sales presentation into steps and discuss best practices you can use at each stage.

Sales presentations — what are they?

• Why is it difficult to deliver a good sales presentation?

Step 1. Preparing for a sales presentation

Step 2. presentation, step 3. follow-up.

A sales presentation is a part of the sales process wherein a salesperson demonstrates a product/service and explains in detail how to use it with a single aim — to move a prospect further down the sales funnel , motivating them to buy it. 

The best sales presentation makes room for questions, so it becomes a genuine two-way process, in which the prospect understands the value of the sales offering, while the sales rep learns more about their target market, prospect’s real wants, and needs. 

Another significant characteristic of a successful sales presentation is that the audience will likely feature some major players, i.e., decision-makers, which definitely streamlines the sales process.

But why is it sometimes difficult to deliver a good sales presentation?

The truth is, people, in general, don’t find presentations exciting. About 79% agree that listening to others presenting them something is boring. Your goal as a salesperson is to make your sales presentation engaging so your prospects understand all the benefits of your product without being overloaded with unnecessary information. Thus, professional presentation design and limited data are key to attractive slides.

Seems like a challenge, doesn’t it? Worry not, though. This post is designed to help you prepare the sales presentation step by step. 

How to give a successful sales presentation: a step-by-step guide

We recommend that you break down the process of delivering your sales presentation into three logical steps:

• Preparation
• Presentation itself

Let’s discuss what you should do at each of these steps, so you can be forearmed with a good outline next time you present your solution to prospective customers.

Good sales presentations begin before the speaker actually enters the room or joins the call . That’s the case when success is down to preparation. 

Preparation for the sales presentation means getting knowledgeable about any details relevant to your product, prospect, and the market in general. Incorporating an AI presentation tool can enhance your preparation, providing insights for more engaging and effective communication.

This is why this first step to giving your best sales presentation should boil down to the following tasks: 

Know your product

You need to know your product features inside out. Learn this information from your team and study the questions about your product that your customers frequently ask. These issues are likely to come up during the presentation itself. 

Try to test your product features as a user on your own. This way, you’ll be well-versed in how it’s all working and better understand your solution’s benefits. Look through your product testimonials to back up your expertise with real data from the current customers who have been using your product successfully for some time. 

Now think about how to render information about your company and solution simply and clearly — prospects you’ll be presenting to may have little knowledge of what your business is doing.

Know your competitors

“Know your enemy” — a saying you’ve probably heard many times. In business, it’s not about enemies but rather competitors who may serve as a good background for your product growth. 

Look more precisely into the solutions your prospects might buy instead of yours. Identify their weaknesses, so you can shine while comparing your features to theirs. But don’t neglect to study their strengths, too, so you’re prepared to overlay them with the benefits of your product. 

On top of this, learn how your competitors give their sales presentations. If they turn up with slick visuals and the most up-to-date software , you’re going to look pretty lackluster with your ring-bound notepad. 

Research your competitors both online and using any printed materials they circulate to potential customers. Get a feel for their tone of voice and brand identity. If there are any elements of their approach you can successfully assimilate (in a fully legal fashion), do so. They’d do the same to you. After all, all’s fair in love and sales. 

Gain customer knowledge

Knowing your customers and their buyer behavior is crucial to a successful sales presentation. Always keep in mind: you’re there not just to talk about your product but to connect with your prospecting customers. For this to happen, you have to know them well and identify their needs and wants. 

Before you even start a sales process, you’ll build your ideal customer profile , which will help you target prospects who are more likely to buy your product. But it doesn’t mean they’ll all actually will. 

So, at this stage, learn more about your prospect’s buyer personas. How long have they been in the company you’re selling to? Are they experts in their field? Have they bought from your competitors before?

Study the market 

What, in essence, does the company you’re presenting your solution to is doing? What’s the nature of their market? What problems are they likely to deal with? How might your product help solve them?

It will work wonders if you show you’ve done thorough research about the market your prospects operate in and their challenges and offer ways your company can assist in healing their pain points. You’ll come across as someone who wants to make their life a little better, which is hard to resist. 

Now that you’ve worked hard to prepare for the sales presentation, let’s discuss what strategies will help you win your prospect’s heart during the sales call or meeting when you’re demonstrating your demo. 

Leverage storytelling

One of the most powerful tools while making a sales presentation is telling your prospect a good story . People like stories: we’ve been gathering around campfires to hear tales from our fellows for centuries. OK, the tribes of antiquity were probably not assembled to learn about what the newest support chatbot could do for them, but there are some constants of storytelling that pertain to marketing and sales even now. The fact is, stories can be fun, and they can be memorable. 

Tell the company’s story: why it was born, how it was born, and the dreams and ideas behind it. People love stories of struggle and eventual triumph, so stage it like this, but don’t go overboard. Something else people like about a story? Brevity. 

Tell your prospects about one of your current customers who faced a problem your product could alleviate, propelling the company to succeed. Testimonials you’ve prepared at the first stage will be pretty helpful here 🙂 

Emphasize the value of your solution by painting a picture of what might be achievable when all obstacles are overcome. Once your prospect can envisage this promised land, you can tell them how your product will get them there, faster than other alternatives (aka your competitors). 

Use technology

You can’t rely solely on your magnetism and storytelling while giving a sales presentation. The modern audience expects a little more of an audio-visual feast than a salesman with a clipboard. They expect a digital pitch . 

Any technology like PowerPoint is a great way to get information across in a manner pleasant to your prospect’s eye. Well-crafted PowerPoint templates will allow you to visualize your product features, while a nicely laid out infographic will make the information you’ll be telling your prospect not tedious to hear. Look at the example:

If an image can somehow put what you’re saying in a better way, do use it in your sales presentation. 

In addition, you can use video content to present your solution. Short videos work miracles — not a surprise, about 94% of marketers say video has helped them increase user understanding of a product/service.

Include social proof

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon that consists in people mimicking the actions of others when faced with uncertainty. In marketing and sales, you can use social proof in a variety of forms:

• Customer reviews
• Testimonials
• Certifications and awards
• Influencers
• Press features
• Endorsements from experts in your industry

Social proof greatly influences decision-making: 2 out of 3 people say they’d be more likely to make a purchase after watching a testimonial video demonstrating how a business, product, or service had helped another person like them. 

You can learn who to ask for social proof professionally in our post about customer referrals . 

Demonstrate your product functionality

Don’t forget to bring the product in with you, of course.

If your product is digital, like an application or other software, have it installed and ready for work in real-time. 

Say, if your company is offering a CRM solution , show how all of its features work as soon as your prospect onboards. You can even let them try it on their own, under your caring guidance. This way, prospects will test it beforehand – the experience that will be more likely to result in their decision to buy it. 

End your presentation with a call to action

Your sales presentation can’t be just a one-way conversation. You should aim at building relationships with your prospect. A call to action (CTA) actually extends the life of your sales presentation, whereby you give them something to think about…and come back. 

In your call to action, offer your prospect one or two next steps. Just ensure it is short, straightforward, and personal. For example, instead of using something generic like ‘Download the guide,’ try something like ‘Become a pro with this short guide.’ The second option highlights the benefits and sounds more buddy-like, doesn’t it?

A sales presentation doesn’t end at the last slide and a polite ‘Goodbye.’ You should be sure your prospect has got the idea right, has no questions to ask, and is satisfied with how a presentation went. So, at this final step, we recommend that you do the following:

Ask yourself a series of questions about your performance. These could include:

• ‘Have I identified my prospect’s problem and offered solutions?’ 
• ‘Have I made sure the prospect knew how much I appreciated the chance to present to them?’
• ‘Have I encouraged a dialogue?’
• ‘Have I kept my comments relevant and engaging?’

Then rate your performance on each of these aspects out of 10. Doing this exercise immediately after the presentation will give you a good idea of how you performed.

Approach the prospect for feedback

If the call to action doesn’t seem to have worked, and the prospect isn’t hurrying up to order from you, there’s nothing wrong with approaching them and asking (but briefly) what feelings they have after the demo and what they think about your solution.  

Any customer retention guide will tell you about the importance of making a customer feel valued, and following up is an aspect of that. Ask if they’ve had time to think about what you had discussed and see if there’s anything you can do for them to seal the deal. This way, you’ll demonstrate that you care about your prospect’s feelings.

Quite often, the prospect may have loved the product but hasn’t had time to mull over how best to implement it. You can assist by suggesting ways your product might be integrated into their company and emphasizing how much time will be saved once the product is in place. 

Some basics to end with

To crown it all, we’ve gathered several simple tips to help you deliver effective sales presentations. Here are a few of them:

• Make eye contact. Sales professionals know this is one of the most important sales techniques. If you aren’t afraid to look directly in the eyes of your prospect, you come across as honest. In addition, this allows you to notice how they feel when you’re saying something and adjust your speech accordingly.  
• Relax. Your behavior at the sales presentation should convey calmness and confidence, so even if it’s your first demo in life, try to be relaxed. You’re an expert, and your knowledge of the subject is enough not to worry.  
• Listen. Though a sales presentation seems your moment to speak, remember to make contact with the prospect. Be attentive to what they’re asking and telling you. That’ll prove you really care.  
• Learn from the best. You don’t have to come across like Cirque du Soleil or PT Barnum, but it can help if you demonstrate a little showmanship. Watch some videos of great orators (from Martin Luther King to Jerry Seinfeld), but do bear in mind your capabilities. If you want to improve in this area, consider a public speaking course. 
• Practice, especially if you’re part of a sales team making the presentation. The more people there are, the greater the potential for mess-ups, so get that presentation nailed. You’ll all feel much more confident, which will be visible to your prospects. 

Wrapping up

The key to your best sales presentation, like any other business communication , is your knowledge and understanding of the interlocutor. Have a clear message, ensure you’re using all the tricks to get it across and practice until you know your pitch inside out. When you deliver your demo, be mindful of your prospect’s needs and ensure they get a chance to express them. 

Whatever sales presentation ideas you use, if you treat your audience with respect and look like you genuinely want to be there with them, you’ll give yourself the best chance of success. And if you need a single platform for all your sales activities, Snov.io is always here for you.

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How to create an effective Sales Presentation

Sales presentations are one of the most effective tools to increase sales. Here’s everything you need to know to create a powerful one

If you are a salesperson, you are likely to be constantly thinking about how to increase sales. You may wonder what are the ideas, concepts or tools that could help you do that.

What if I tell you that there is one magical tool you can use to increase sales?

This is my number one tool to increase B2B sales. I have used it in multiple organisations as well as in channel & reseller sales with fantastic success – great sales and revenue results.

This magical tool is: The Sales Presentation . 

In this article, I will in detail share everything I know about this tool. I will discuss the following topics:

Why the sales presentation is important

• What are the components of a great sales presentation

How do you create a really good sales story? 

An example of a successful sales story , five steps to build the perfect pitch, what presentations often do wrong, you need to transfer knowledge .

While working with your sales team, it is important to transfer information and knowledge to them as efficiently as possible. If you can educate your sales persons about your product or solution and train them to present it at the same time, they can start selling it immediately, saving valuable time.

All salespersons need to learn a sales pitch 

To grow your business to increase sales, you need a sales pitch. All salespeople should have a consistent sales pitch. It is best if the sales leadership creates the best sales pitch they possibly can and then trains every sales person to present that pitch to your end customers. In doing this, you ensure that you make the sales person’s job easier, enabling them to make more sales.

A presentation is easy to consume 

A sales presentation made using PowerPoint or Google slides is fantastic because if done well, it allows the receiver to easily understand the story you are telling. It is easier for a person to comprehend information presented slide-by-slide than to process a mass of text contained in a brochure or email. Once your sales person understands your story, it’s not only easier for them to tell the story to others, they will also be hugely motivated to do so.

A presentation is easy to update 

Products change, offerings change, we make things better, and with all this we must update our sales presentation and sales materials. Presentations are way easier to change than, say, brochures. We can quickly add a slide, remove a slide, change some text or replace a graphic.

Presentations are easy to send to prospects 

After sales people hold a call or a meeting with a prospect, presentations are great to send as follow up material. If you want to be extra helpful you can provide the deck in original PPT format via a link so the prospect can use your slides when creating internal presentations about your solution. 

Prospects can share presentations internally  

When sales people have meetings with prospective customers, many times there are people such as colleagues or decision-makers who cannot attend the meeting, and it might be difficult or time-consuming for you to deliver the sales pitch to them at another time. A really well-done presentation that you send your prospect via email is easily shared with bosses, colleagues or senior company leadership. That way, your sales pitch can reach them without you even being present.

What are the components of a great sales presentation?

I believe a great presentation is all about the story. Looking at it technically, however, a great sales presentation comprises two main parts – the core pitch and the appendix.

‍Part 1: THE CORE PITCH – A great core pitch must tell a great and focused story. To tell a great story, you will need to understand your B2B customer, your end customer and your product or solution really well. For this, you will need to create detailed customer profiles , build a proper value proposition and do your research on the market.

PART 2: THE APPENDIX –  Because the core pitch must be focused on the story you are telling, any other information (which is important but doesn’t really contribute to the story) must go in the appendix.

‍ Why a great story makes a great presentation

So here’s the thing, if you are selling a B2B solution, you are probably spending a lot of time getting that one meeting with a prospective customer where you can explain what value you can deliver to them. But the prospect is probably meeting several of your competitors too, so you need to think of what you can do to stand out.

The presentation is the number one factor as to why a customer chooses one vendor over others , says a Gartner research report.

So, if you want to stand out, you must have a presentation that stands head and shoulders above that presented by your competitors.

‍How do you ensure your presentation stands out from that of your competitors?

You create an amazing sales story that focuses on value propositions. 

Creating a really good sales story is an art form and takes time and energy. One of the best presentations I ever made was developed over 45 iterations.

It led to fantastic results – the company managed to find partners all over the world for a new product and closed deals with over 100 of the world’s biggest telecom operators – with a minimal budget. But that’s not all, our partners were willing to pay our company a $20,000 recoupable guarantee to close a deal. I wrote this article on that project: How I built a hugely successful partner program and you can too (in-depth).

When I am building my sales story, I work with the following outline:

BUILD THE FOUNDATION

• Agree: One or several slides that state something we can all agree on. This could be something about the field of business you are in, the industry, a problem or something else that is connected to what you do.
• Explain the problem: In a few slides, explain the problem without mentioning or discussing your product or solution. The problem description should be high level. 
• What could be a solution: One slide where you explain what the solution could be without mentioning your product or service. 

EXPLAIN YOUR SOLUTION AND VALUE PROPOSITION 

• Your offering: One slide with text and an image that explains your offering in one sentence.
• Value proposition: Next, explain your value proposition in several slides. While you draft it, remind yourself that you are explaining your product or solution’s value proposition – that is the value it brings to the customer – and NOT its features and functions. 
• Explanations: It all depends on your offering, but make sure you subsequently add explanations about the features or functions of your product or service. 
• Why choose us? Answer this question here. Create one or several slides that explain how you are different and why you should be the chosen vendor.
• The value we offer you: Conclude by reiterating the value you offer the prospect. 
• Company info: Add some slides with information about your company.
• Case studies: It’s always great to add examples of how you delivered value to customers.
• Typical questions: Create slides that answer the most common questions you get from prospects. Preferably address one question in each slide. 

I also think you should read this article that really helped me polish my sales pitches: The Greatest Sales Pitch I’ve Seen All Year – The Mission – Medium .

I created a sales story for Appland , a company that offers a mobile games subscription service. The B2B customers in this case were telecom operators around the world, and mobile phone users were the end customers. 

Appland built a channel partner program so that its partners could help them sell its Games Clubs to mobile phone operators in their countries who would include the product in their offerings to their customers. The program was so successful that in just three years, the Sweden-based company had signed on over 100 of the world’s biggest telecom operators as its customers.

This was how I structured the story for Appland’s channel partners according to the pointers I gave in the previous section: 

• Slide 1 (Agree): We all want quality content. Subscription streaming services like Spotify, Netflix and HBO show us that people want really good content and are prepared to pay for it. 
• Slide 2 (Agree): People love to play mobile phone games. 82% of all apps sold in Google Play and Apple App Store are games. Revenue generated by mobile games is an astonishing $40 billion per year. 
• Slide 3 (Agree): Over 1.8 billion people on the planet play mobile phone games. 
• Slide 4 (Problem): But you know what? These games have become boring. 
• Slide 5 (Problem): If you get a free mobile game it will nag you to buy coins and berries. You see advertisements on it all the time. Some games suddenly stop and make you wait three days before you can play them again. Some games implement a type of gameplay where you have to constantly wait for stuff. 
• Slide 6 (Problem): This “harassment” happens because it is the only way for a game developer to make money. 
• Slide 7 (Solution): We need to bring back the fun in games. 
• Slide 8 (Solution): We can do this by creating a business model that makes it easier for developers to make money and for consumers to get amazing content so that they can play without being nagged to buy things.

EXPLAINING THE SOLUTION 

• Slide 9 (Our offering): Let us introduce the Games Club – a service that offers subscribers 400 of the world’s best games.
• Slide 10 (Value proposition): The games are the absolute best of the millions on offer. Users get free in-app purchases and the service lets users play games for as long as they like. Customers are offered a free trial and there are no advertisements or interruptions.
• Slide 11-16 (Value proposition): Details of the super popular games that billions of people are playing, all of which are included in the Games Club subscription.
• Slide 17 (Explanation): A summary of all the content of the games on offer and also data on how popular the games are.

CONCLUSION 

• Slide 18 (Our Secret Sauce): Consumers can play games offline in a model where they pay a low price and can play as much as they like. In addition, there is a digital rights management system that will lock all games installed when users unsubscribe to the service. 
• Slide 19 (Conclusion/The value we offer you): The Games Club is a high-quality service and together we can launch and market the solution to your customers. The value you get is a revenue share of the service, your branding and you will have an amazing offering for your consumers. 

This summary is slightly simplified but I hope it still works as a good example of how we can build a story. As you see, I did not talk about the features and functions of the service. I discussed value for users and values for the prospect Appland wanted to work together with. 

You now know how to create a really good sales story. Next, you need to put together a convincing pitch. How do you do that?

My approach to create the perfect pitch are these five steps.

Step 1: Create detailed customer profiles

If you don’t understand your customers well – B2B as well as end customers – you will never be able to craft a good message and presentation to attract them to your product or solution. Click here to learn How to create customer profiles / buyer personas for B2B Sales .

Step 2: Build a proper Value Proposition

You need to create a really good value proposition for your product or service. Click here to learn How to Create a Strong Value Proposition for B2B .

Step 3: Do research 

To find a really good story you need to do research. You need to understand the industry, the problems there and how you can connect this to your product or service. You need to dig and find that story. 

Step 4: Build an outstanding presentation 

I think there are many ways to design a good sales presentation. It all depends on how it will be used. Will it only be used for presentations or will it be sent to clients via email? Do you think the prospect will forward the presentation to colleagues? All these questions need to be considered when you draft your presentation.

As I mentioned earlier, I design presentations with two major sections. The first section contains my “Core pitch”, which can be between 10-45 slides. (I try to restrict the presentation to a maximum of 25 slides). The second section is the “Appendix” where I put all other slides.

Here are my general rules when I work on each slide:

• Only one message or story per slide.
• A super headline, sub headline, additional mini headlines and possibly a little text. You can see an example below. In this slide, you can quickly read and understand the consumer value proposition of the Games Subscription Club I wrote about earlier. 

• A slide can also only have an image and a little bit of text.

• It is ok to be succinct and not give out all details. If information is missing, the prospect will ask for it. 
• I always make sure to use standard fonts in presentations. Many people will use your presentation to present your pitch to their colleagues or customers and missing fonts can complicate matters.
• It should be easy for both internal and external personnel to make changes in the text.
• There should be “master slides” that make it easy for any channel partners to change the company logo and so on.
• The end slide should have contact information.
• The presentation should have divider slides so it is easy for the prospect to understand when you move to another section.
• Create BIG message slides for important conclusions.

• Make sure the design of the slides changes constantly so the prospect stays active and interested. 
• I add page numbers to the slides so it is easy to reference in discussions. 

Step 5: Continue to improve 

Version 1 of your presentation will not be perfect. Continue to improve your presentation as you learn new things. The sales presentation I created for Appland was on version 45 when I left the company. To create a really good story we need to test, evaluate and improve and this process never ends. 

So, you now know how to create a compelling sales story that will form a part of your presentation’s pitch.

Before we conclude, let’s talk about what people often do wrong while drafting their presentations.

I have seen a lot of sales presentations over the last 20 years and there is always room for improvement. Here are the most common mistakes I see:

• Egocentric: Presentations are often egocentric and all about the company and your product. The problem with this is that the customer doesn’t really care about you or your product or service. Customers care about themselves and they want you to tell them how you can make their lives better.
• Too much text: No one wants to read a mass of text. A presentation should be as succinct as possible or it will risk confusing people. Each slide should address one idea or point. When you have too many ideas on one slide, instead of paying attention to your next point, people are more likely to be distracted trying to digest what you said in your previous one.
• No storytelling: Humans love to be told stories. Presentations that are only a list of features and functions don’t command as much interest as those that tell a story of how the product or solution can add value to a customer’s life.
• Lack of value propositions: A presentation should be about the values that you offer to the customer. 
• Bad and ugly design: People like to look at things that attract them, and those things are usually well designed. You may not be an ace designer but there are plenty of designers you can find on freelancing platforms such as Upwork who will help make your presentation look professional.
• Difficult to understand: Some presentations use difficult language and also lack a structure, which makes them difficult to understand. 

You now know why the sales presentation is important, what makes a great sales presentation, five steps to build the perfect pitch and what sales presentations often do wrong.

I hope this article has given you the inspiration to create your own storytelling-based sales presentation that you can share with your sales team as one of the best sales tools you ever created. Go ahead and do it. Good luck!

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Four Tips to Make Your Sales Presentation a Winner

Being prepared and not being boring can go a long way toward persuading a potential customer to buy into what you’re offering.

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“I am CEO of an educational sales organization, and we need to transform our telemarketing staff into salespeople who go out into the field, make presentations and do lunch-and-learn new product seminars with potential customers. May I legally change their job duties? Would I be required to provide training for them, and if so, what type? Thanks, ‘Walter.’”

“Yes to both questions,” says Southern California labor lawyer Daniel Klingenberger . “If employers prefer sales presentations face-to-face with existing or prospective customers, they can establish those job requirements. They would be well advised to provide appropriate sales or presentation skills training to these employees.”

I also consulted on this topic with Terri Sjodin , principal and founder of Sjodin Communications in Newport Beach, Calif. “Dennis,” she says, “you would be surprised at how often these same issues come up as employees have gone from home-based to virtual and now are sent out into the field.”

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Sjodin, a New York Times bestselling author and a frequent guest on radio and television talk shows, has dedicated her professional life to helping people become effective speakers. Her most recent book is Presentation Ready: Improve Your Sales Presentation Outcomes and Avoid the Twelve Most Common Mistakes .

How to build presentation skills

“Most people want to improve their presentations,” she says, “but don’t know where to start. Understanding the most common mistakes — and figuring out how to avoid them — is critical because you can’t course-correct what you don’t recognize as a problem.”

She provided some confidence-boosting insights to help Walter’s sales professionals get started on learning good presentation skills.

Don’t wing it. Failing to prepare reveals a lack of product knowledge.

Winging it is improvising, ad-libbing or generally conducting a presentation without much preparation. It is among the top mistakes salespeople reported making that had likely ruined transactions.

Goal-oriented, persuasive presentations that need a customer’s buy-in risk failure if you are not well prepared, if you haven’t done your homework and if you don’t know your company’s product or service well. Listeners easily sense a lack of preparation where the speaker appears disorganized, unskilled and distracted.

This can have a greater cost than one lost sale; it puts the employer’s reputation at risk.

Don’t be boring. Being informative has its limits.

The 2023 State of Sales Presentations Research Study from Sjodin’s company revealed that being boring is the most common mistake presenters recognized in others. This can happen for a host of reasons, including sharing too many facts and figures.

A good presentation is much more than just delivering information; you need your message to land, to create a connection with the listener.

This is accomplished by crafting a message that is engaging, interesting and amplified by stories listeners will tune in to emotionally, making the product or service relevant — something they can visualize owning or using. “Your enthusiasm is vital!” Sjodin says.

While it is important to provide a factual basis for why someone should purchase your product, you don’t want customers to feel as if they are being asked to drink from a fire hydrant. “Buying decisions are seldom based on a massive amount of detail but are strongly linked to positive feelings the audience has about the speaker,” Sjodin points out.

Do be the first person in the room and know who your audience is.

“Audience analysis refers to knowing who will be in the audience,” Sjodin notes. “This intelligence is golden, as the more you know about your listeners, the better able you should be to fine-tune the presentation. But sometimes you will have no idea who will be present, and they might have no idea who you are.”

The solution is to be the first person in the room. By greeting listeners as they come in, you can exchange a few words and, time permitting, ask them what they might like to know about your product or service. “In so doing, your presentation has already begun, and you have likely won a friend,” Sjodin says.

Keep in mind that for a lunch-and-learn seminar, the food is important.

Lunch-and-learn seminars are popular in the investment world. “A common mistake,” Sjodin says, “is for the financial adviser to lecture while guests are eating. Few will pay attention!”

Sjodin recommends that, prior to lunch, open the session with a few welcoming remarks, advising that lunch will be served in a moment and that afterward the presentation will begin.

“In summary,” Sjodin notes, “providing your team with presentation skills training will

boost their comfort with the new job responsibilities and help them to succeed.”

In Presentation Ready , Sjodin puts her all into helping readers become more effective in the world of sales. It is a shot of confidence-building Vitamin B-12 and the ideal gift for employees preparing for a required change in performance skills.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield, Calif., and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to [email protected] . And be sure to visit dennisbeaver.com .

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After attending Loyola University School of Law, H. Dennis Beaver joined California's Kern County District Attorney's Office, where he established a Consumer Fraud section. He is in the general practice of law and writes a syndicated newspaper column, " You and the Law ." Through his column he offers readers in need of down-to-earth advice his help free of charge. "I know it sounds corny, but I just love to be able to use my education and experience to help, simply to help. When a reader contacts me, it is a gift." 

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8 Skills You'll Need to Become a Sales Manager

So you want to become a sales manager ? First you’ll need to make sure you’ve got the right skills, experience, drive and track record at the helm in both selling and at managing others—in order to back yourself up.

Making the leap from sales practitioner to sales manager doesn’t have as much to do with being a rock star that boasts the highest close rate so much as your ability to motivate, lead, and elevate others to achieve more.

While all sales managers undoubtedly need hands-on experience converting prospects into customers themselves, there are a wide range of other (equally important) sales manager skills you’ll need to command to excel in this role.

Want to get a ready-made set of resources to manage a sales team effectively? Download our sales management toolkit, which contains checklists, templates, scripts, and more .

First and Foremost, What Exactly is a Sales Manager?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the sales managers industry is expected to grow around 5 percent between 2021 and 2031 , which means its a pretty good time to move up the ladder.

What does a sales manager's day look like? Their day-to-day schedule includes activities like:

• Setting sales goals
• Managing individual and team quotas
• Creating a sales plan and proactively experimenting to improve execution
• Monitoring progress in real-time and analyzing data
• Overseeing the organization’s sales training
• Keeping an active watch over (and involvement in) key accounts
• Mentoring individual sales reps and administering incentive programs
• Recruitment, hiring, and firing of sales reps
• Managing budgets for things like travel, hiring, and training programs

Some of these sales manager responsibilities can overlap with those of other related roles, depending on your organization's size and internal structure.

Especially when it comes to titles like Sales Director or Head of Sales positions, which tend to be more senior and concerned with organizational strategy than the average sales manager role.

Check out this side-by-side comparison between an open sales manager role and an open head of sales role to see the subtle (and not so subtle) differences:

While there are a lot of similarities between two roles—like developing and supporting revenue targets, overseeing the sales process for your team, setting trends and monitoring projections—it’s also clear that the head of sales role is much more senior than that of the sales manager. A head of sales reports directly to the CEO and keeps the company on track for internal growth projections.

On the other hand, a sales manager spends most of their day working directly with sales reps, helping them close more deals and achieve revenue targets.

So once you know exactly what type of role you’re going after and the corresponding title that best fits, you can begin positioning yourself to stand out from the crowd and make a powerful first impression on hiring managers.

Now, let’s talk about the eight most important skills you’ll need to take on a sales manager position.

Hey there! Wanna know the secrets of effective sales manager training ? Check out my article all about it!

8 Required Skills to Become a Sales Manager

On average, a sales manager has a bachelor's degree and at least five years of experience as a sales rep. But, that's not to say a degree is required. If you want to become a sales manager, start with perfecting and then showcasing these key skill sets throughout your interview process.

1. Interviewing and Hiring Talented Sales Reps

While much of your job as a sales manager will be focused on enabling your existing team to continue performing better over time, keeping new candidates coming in the front door to replace those that either move up or out—and add to the strength of your sales team—is just as important.

Like a fine wine, you’ll get better over time as you recruit new reps. Start today, and you’ll be an expert sooner.

Take the initiative to form a more active part of your company’s sales hiring process . Sit in on interviews with your manager. Reach out to potential candidates. Take an interest and predict which people make it the furthest in the interview process. Who goes on to become a top-performing rep? Which qualities, traits, characteristics, and motivations contribute to their success?

When sourcing candidates for internal sales jobs , keep these factors in mind:

• Real-world results reign supreme. If a candidate you’re interviewing for a sales role can’t clearly articulate a tangible result they’ve achieved at a current or previous sales job, that’s a major red flag. Certifications and degrees are great, but real-world experience can trump education.
• Preparation and organization are key. Another mark of a strong salesperson is their level of organization and how prepared they are when showing up for a presentation, sales call, or meeting—and an interview is the perfect testing ground to gauge this critical quality.
• They’ve been tested and challenged. Don’t hire the person with the perfect record who’s never been through failure before. Rejection is painful , and it comes with the territory in sales—which is why you’re doing yourself no favor when choosing someone who’s constantly sold products that are excessively easy to move.

The more you can work collaboratively with internal hiring managers during the sales rep recruitment process, the more (and faster) you’ll begin to learn what makes for strong hires.

2. Being a Real Leader, Not Just a Boss

Ah, to be a leader … simply don a fancy hat, grab a microphone, display some swagger, and you’re a leader, right?

The act of proudly standing at the front of your ship doesn’t have any bearing on your ability to empower, motivate, or manage your crew. And that’s what true leadership entails.

True leadership requires managing, motivating, incentivizing, and empowering your sales team.

If your reps are underperforming or unhappy with their work, that’s on you. As a sales manager, it’s your job to be occupied with doing everything you can to make each individual member of your team successful.

Want to demonstrate your leadership skills ? Try mentoring another sales professional on your team with less sales experience. Start a purpose-driven club for entry-level team members or organize events that get other employees to take action. Experiment within your own role with ideas to spearhead positive change, rather than waiting for top-down change to come your way.

Remember, once you become a sales manager, your voyage won’t always go exactly according to plan (OK, that’s enough sailing metaphors) . Rather, it’s in remaining humble and showing you’re human, too , that will help you build rapport and maintain healthy relationships with your team.

The best salespeople are often competitive by nature, and a great way of channeling their competitive energy into productive activities is to have a sales leaderboard reps can use to keep score.

One tip to get the most out of sales leaderboards: Don't just track results (deals closed, revenue generated, etc.).

Instead, also track activities that drive results: Number of calls made, number of emails sent, number of opportunities a sales rep created, and so on. The purpose of a leaderboard is not just to celebrate your top performers, but also to acknowledge those who are putting in the extra effort.

Your job isn’t to do everything for your team, but to build the right team that can excel when given useful tools, guidance, and incentives. That’s what leadership is.

3. Training and Coaching Your Team

Beyond just leading your team, it’s your job as a sales manager to effectively train your team members and continue helping them grow professionally.

Do you have personal experience developing or improving upon your current organization’s sales process? How about coaching fellow reps through a particularly challenging deal?

Great sales managers can easily toggle between zooming in (to work in a rep’s world) and back out to see the bigger picture of how things are going more broadly on your team.

Are multiple reps experiencing the same challenges? What kinds of blockers are standing in the way of hitting quarterly targets? Grow in your ability to not only identify but answer these kinds of questions, and your value as a sales manager will be all but proven already.

Another skill you can start working on today is the ability to help out individual reps when they need it. Look for someone on your team that’s either new to the company, going through a rough quarter, or less experienced in sales. Or, maybe someone who needs help troubleshooting the best way to negotiate around an objection.

Ask if they’re up for you to partner with them and start listening to their call recordings in order to provide constructive feedback and finesse their pitch, rebuild their cold outreach emails , and help weigh in with advice, routines, tactics, and habits that help you perform better.

It doesn’t matter how much you consistently beat quota in your current position if you can’t make the jump up to also help other people to increase their sales performance, crucial for effective sales performance management .

Remember—as a sales manager, you’ll need to be OK with stepping out of an active selling role. Your primary mission will be helping others sell.

4. Creating (and Implementing) Sales Plans

Like it or not, implementing processes and regular planning are both essential to maintaining a successful business model as your sales team grows and the company scales over time.

When I ran a sales team for the first time, I was admittedly a pretty lousy sales manager. I was a talented salesperson myself, but I couldn’t translate that skill into training others.

I learned that it was more important to have everybody do a really good (consistent) job than to just have a couple of sales rock stars while everyone else falls behind. My reps were failing because they couldn’t replicate what I did—and what I did was unique to me.

Having an easy-to-follow sales plan, packed with process documentation , scripts, templates, and ongoing training ensures your team members are all on the same level, makes sure your team performs consistently (and hedges against the likelihood of some reps falling behind others).

No matter how hard you hope, wish or pray, a sales plan will never be one of those set-it-and-forget-it organizational documents. A sales plan is a living instrument that’s actively shaped in real-time as your organization grows, changes, and learns.

At their core, all good sales plans are comprised of three distinct sections:

• Sales forecasting and goal-setting
• Market and customer research
• Prospecting and partnerships

Each aspect of your plan naturally works itself into the next, starting with the team’s high-level sales targets, then taking into consideration market factors, and finally looking at who you know, and how to find more prospects to help hit your sales goals .

As a sales manager, it’ll be your job to maintain, update, and enforce your team’s go-to-market plan. You’ll need to analyze the metrics and see whether your team is on track regarding sales quotas and company goals.

5. Communicating Successfully Both Up and Down the Ladder

Most sales manager job postings today clearly highlight just how much you’ll have to hop on the phone, show up for presentations, dive into partnership development, and otherwise be involved in the sales process and problem-solving with key accounts from start to finish.

Therefore, strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential. Though that doesn’t mean we’re all very good at these skills.

Often, the more skilled you are as a salesperson, the more difficult it can be to put yourself back in the beginner’s mindset. making it more difficult to effectively communicate with reps who aren’t quite on your level yet. Known in academia as the curse of knowledge , this cognitive bias can make it more difficult to effectively communicate with reps who aren’t quite on your level yet.

If this kind of communication isn’t a strong suit of yours, fear not. You can start flexing that muscle today by purposefully going out of your way to over-communicate (within reason) with your fellow co-workers.

When mentoring a rep going through challenges, make it a point not to assume they have the same base of knowledge and experience you have. Start further back than you normally would, verbally express what’s happening inside your head, and explain the logic and reasoning behind the troubleshooting steps you take.

Take the time to build a stronger relationship with the marketing manager--maybe discuss sales data or share areas where sales and marketing could align better.

6. Organizing Your Tasks & Sales Team

Once you become a sales manager, there will be a lot of demands on your time throughout the day. That means you can’t always fly by the seat of your pants, accepting every meeting request that comes your way, right there on the spot.

While your role (and daily activities) have completely changed as a sales manager, it’s also easy to default to going about your day with the same routine as when you were still an individual contributor.

Take a step back every Monday morning to thoughtfully plan out your schedule. Leave time to interact with your team members. Block out the space you need to work on other key activities like forecasting, planning, experimenting, and training.

If your reps aren’t organized and staying on-task, you can’t expect them to always perform at peak capacity and hit their numbers ( sales management tools like Close can help with that). If you’re not organized, can you really expect your reps to be?

Part of being an effective sales manager—and leader—is showcasing your values and clearly articulating your priorities to your team members. Share exactly what’s expected of them, how you’ll be measuring their performance, and rewarding them.

Equally important is establishing how you want your team to work. Don’t assume everything will just fall into place and you’ll magically hit your targets. Going back to communication here, take the time to explain in detail how you want your team to work. Set the right expectations and enforce your sales process .

Becoming more organized at work starts with your physical space. Keep your desk area uncluttered, have everything you need within reach, maintain control of your email inbox , start your day with a list of your top priorities, and try to avoid the mania of multitasking.

7. Forecasting Sales Results (Within a Reasonable Margin of Error)

Be transparent and specific when communicating the direction your team is going in and what needs to be done on an individual level.

Showing your higher-ups that your team can reliably perform based on those expectations and predictably hit goals is equally important to your success as a sales manager.

While there are a lot of different sales forecasting strategies you can adhere to depending upon your type of business model, industry, length of sales cycle, and otherwise, here are a few of the most common:

• Lead-driven forecasting: The lead-driven method relies on understanding the relationship your leads have with your company, and what they’re likely to do based on that relationship. Here, you’re analyzing each lead source and assigning a value to that source based on what similar leads have done in the past.
• Opportunity stage forecasting: This method takes your sales pipeline, chops it up, and assigns a percentage value to each one based on how likely a lead is to close . So, a new prospect might have a 10% potential close rate, whereas someone who has gone through a product demo might be at 80%.
• Multivariable forecasting: This method takes the best aspects of most forecasting methods, and puts them together into one complex, analytics-driven system. Let’s say you’ve got two reps hustling similar accounts. The first one is working a $10,000 deal and has just finished a successful product demo. Based on your rep’s individual win rate for this stage of the deal, your multivariable analysis says he’s 40% likely to close the deal this quarter, giving you a sales forecast of $4,000. Your second rep is selling a smaller, $2,000 deal and is earlier in the process, yet their win rate is through the roof, also giving them a 40% chance of closing the deal this quarter and a forecast of $800. Your total sales forecast at this point for the quarter would be $4,800.

Even if you’re not great at forecasting sales today, there’s still hope for you yet.

Hands down, the best way to get better at forecasting your own monthly and quarterly results is to dig deep into the numbers—take a look at results from previous periods, calculate win rates, develop and refine your own multivariable forecasting model to see how accurate it can become at predicting your own results.

Over time, you’ll improve and can continue refining your model by testing it out with other members on your team, presenting it to management, and getting feedback.

8. Managing Your Time + Helping Your Team Do the Same

Time management is one of the most crucial sales manager skills, because without it, you won’t be able to effectively address points 1-7. Here are some of the most important time management strategies to employ today.

• Set and maintain boundaries: Other people don’t like boundaries, because it means they get less of what they “need” in the moment. Too bad, though. If you want to be a good manager, you need to learn to set your boundaries and then hold them unless there’s a true fire. That means don’t schedule extra meetings, don’t allow anyone to barge through your door all day, and never miss client-facing obligations unless you truly can’t help it.
• Block out time for day-to-day tasks: Most of us find that once the day begins, there’s a good chance it will get away from us. That’s why it’s important to prioritize and do the hardest tasks first. If you plan to get one big thing done in the morning and one big thing done after lunch, then you’ll have a pretty good day - even if everything else goes to pot.
• Do advanced diary planning: Knowing what’s coming down the pike will make the above much easier, so always look through your calendar the day before.
• Avoid multitasking: Multitasking is a myth . Your brain is not capable of doing two things at once; it is merely capable of making you think it can by switching between them really, really fast. However, that time it takes to switch is time you could be using on just one task, if you keep your calendar simple and complete things one at a time. Let go of the myth.

A sales manager who can show these time management principles in action will inspire sales representatives and increase overall team efficiency, so hone these sales skills today.

Qualities of a Good Sales Manager

Wondering what qualities you’ll need to succeed as a sales manager? Both interpersonal skills and soft skills come into play, including:

• Active listening and strong communication skills
• Customer relationship management skills using a high-quality CRM
• Strategic planning and analysis skills
• Proactive lead generation and prospecting skills
• Ability to develop new sales strategies and implement them
• Willingness to take feedback and use others’ ideas
• Collaboration and delegation skills
• Analytical skills and attention to the bottom line

Keep in mind that a successful sales manager may need to spend some time developing some of these qualities. Not all sales leaders will perform perfectly in each of these, especially if you’re are newer to the field.

Do You Have What It Takes to Become a Sales Manager?

You don't need a master's degree to become a successful sales manager.

What you do need are the right skills and base of experience and the ability to position yourself as the perfect candidate.

As Professor Emeritus Andris A. Zoltners explained in a 2019 article , even sales managers need more training to develop the skills required to lead sales teams effectively.

When you’re moving from sales rep to sales manager, you probably don’t have the ability to talk about your experience managing a sales team (unless you’ve taken on interim management roles in the past). So, what’s the next best thing?

While you’re not yet a sales manager in title, you can still show you’re performing many of those activities at work.

Remember all of the sales manager skills we just talked about here? You can start sharpening them and putting each of them into practice, even in subtle ways, at your job today.

Is your company’s go-to-market plan due for a refresh? Show your initiative by taking a pass at updating some of your process documents based on the situation on the ground today.

Build a forecasting model to start predicting your team’s results out into the future. Refer high-quality candidates for new sales roles to your hiring managers. Get more organized. Keep improving with communication.

What's more, you want the right sales management software to help you accomplish all this! In an ideal world, the tool you use to manage your sales team is the same tool your sales team uses to sell.

Most importantly, it’s crucial to document all of the changes you’re creating. Keep track of all the different ways you’re practically a sales manager already, and you’ll build a compelling case for why you deserve a promotion—or the leveled-up title at a different company.

The next step to becoming a sales manager? Download our ready-made set of resources to manage a sales team effectively:

ACCESS YOUR SALES MANAGEMENT TOOLKIT

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