The best sales presentation isn’t really a presentation.

It’s a great conversation that converts a prospect into a customer. Providing a professional sales deck for your marketing team offers comfort, consistency, and flexibility during the pre-presentation stages. A great sales deck serves as a great tool for boosting your brand and facilitating communication with clients. Customize your sales deck according to each client. Sales presentations should solve a problem for prospects in under five minutes. A well-crafted sales deck is supported by real data and represents a form of art. The best sales presentations work because they combine these two characteristics.

How do you stop presenting and start connecting? 

When prepping your sales deck for the next great opportunity, focus on creating a genuine connection with the prospect. The best sales presentation engages prospects through conversation and storytelling.

Creating a compelling sales deck to inspire a productive conversation requires your team to make it relevant to your prospect. The same content does not work for every prospect. Each of your sales presentations needs to be customized. Do your research, plan conversation guides to draw out specific pain points, and identify where your potential client needs help. This will help you determine the best solution and address their problem.

Presenting is a one-way street and your audience knows it. Even the best sales “presentation” can result in a daydreaming audience. With virtual meetings, it’s easier for prospects to zone out, check their emails, and do anything except focus on what you’re saying.

At id8, we start by making a sales presentation that is compelling to your audience. We leave spaces to give your team the ability to customize each presentation. Your prospect will feel like your presentation was made for them, rather than a basic template copied from previous sales presentations.

We review your past presentations to gain insight into how your team operates and what does or does not work in your current setting. Then, we listen and ask questions to understand your goals in designing the best sales presentation.

The Best Sales Presentation Deck: What is the magic number of slides for success?

PowerPoint has received a bad reputation over the years, for delivering boring and unstimulating presentations. Yet, it’s still a great tool for sales presentations, when used correctly. The words and images on your slides should support what you’re saying. People can read slides, but you’re there to draw them in with an engaging story. Slides with a lot of detail are too constricting. It’s important to stay agile and responsive. Remember, you’re not reading to kindergarteners, you’re striking up a conversation with a prospective client.

We design presentations in PowerPoint as well as other popular programs like Prezi, Google Slides, and Keynote. If you prefer to use another platform, contact us and ask about our experience with this platform. We’ll be honest and let you know if we have experience with it and feel comfortable using it.

Guy Kawasaki, the creator of the 10/20/30 Rule for PowerPoint, describes a guideline that you can apply to your sales deck to create the most successful sale presentations for your prospects. Here’s what you should remember. 10 represents the optimal number of slides. 20 stands for the number of minutes and the longest amount of time that you should speak. 30 represents the font size and the smallest font point you should use on your slides.

Other experts draw a firm line at nine minutes. These experts cite data that supports the research findings that say the human brain times out on average, at the nine-minute mark. In these studies, the sales presentations that result in lost deals lasted an average of 11.4 minutes.

The id8 Approach

At id8, we curate the words and images on the slides to support what you are saying. Keep in mind, during a presentation you are not reading the slide word for word. Our design and layout will help you maintain agility because the best sales presentation is different each time. Interactivity, motion graphics, and transitions keep the experience interesting. We recommend that you condense and trim long content to allow for flexibility and movement between slides.

Read the room and embrace flexibility. If you’ve done a good job with your sales deck, your prospect will engage in conversation. If they continue to talk and ask questions, stay agile, and listen with intent. Illustrate answers with captivating anecdotes. Weave in as many stories as possible. Keep in mind, the slides on a PowerPoint serve as a guide. It’s OK to skip slides, move around, and follow a path set by your prospect. The best sales presentation will feel like a great conversation with information leading to actionable responses.

The Best Sales Presentation: Why are stories essential for success?

You’ve done your homework and researched the client. You understand how you need to make your approach. Now, it’s time to think ahead. Have a cache of stories in mind that you can share. Keep these stories short, but colorful in detail.

For example, if deadlines are a primary concern of your prospective client and meeting deadlines is one of your company’s strengths, tell a short story that illustrates why and how you’re a good fit. Another suggestion is to talk about how your team routinely pulls together by getting all hands on deck to meet client deadlines. Think about what your team has done to meet deadlines. What actions demonstrate your dedication to working around the clock? Share this insight with your clients in the form of a story.

Once you’ve used a memorable story to illustrate how your strengths align with your prospect’s goals and values, it’ll be easy for them to associate your presentation with the best sales presentation they have. Prospects will remember your energetic team as poised, prepared, and eager to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Finding and telling stories that align your brand with your prospects’ brands is the key to creating strong connections.

The Best Sales Presentation: Once you’ve prepared your slides and stories, what else do you need to consider? 

You’ve got a great conversation going. It sounds like you and your prospect fit together perfectly. So, what’s next?

When closing, the best sales presentation should end with you asking for the sale. It doesn’t need to be a cheesy line. Recap why you are an excellent fit and what makes you a great match. Show genuine enthusiasm for the project. Give your prospects the confidence to trust you. How do they know that you understand their challenges? Do your strengths come across in your sales deck? If you’re easy to work with, remind them of this benefit. Emphasize your aspects that would strengthen this client relationship. If you’ll get the job done with minimal hassle, make sure they know this. It’s reiterating straight-forward honest, reasons why you should work together.

Other presentation alternatives and special features can also be considered and incorporated into your sales presentations. iPad and tablet sales presentations are interactive and not browser limited. When presenting new information to an innovative client, it’s important to show them that you are current and up-to-date with technology. iPad and tablet presentations create a unique experience. They offer flexibility and versatility when it comes to customization. This is perfect for businesses that seek to wow their clients during sales presentations.

id8 Creates Compelling Presentations

We come up with creative and compelling ways to share our clients’ brand stories with their prospects. If you are looking to enhance your current presentation, let us know. We can build and design custom presentations for your brand that will set your company apart from your competitors. Leaving a lasting impression on your clients is something that we can help you accomplish.

Ask yourself these questions: Have sales presentations turned into a routine monologue for your sales team? Are you closing as many deals as you’d like?

At id8, our experts design inspiring sales tools for you to provide to your team. How do you create the best sales presentation that boasts a 60 percent close rate? Contact us today because these tools will help you and your team engage prospects and get results. You’ll see a positive change in your close rate, using our sales presentation tools. Let’s talk about how we can help you share your stories and get your clients talking.