How to Prepare a Powerful & Effective Sales Presentation

Let’s assume you have a great idea, a great product, or a great service. You are honest and can deliver what you promise. 

Let’s walk you through the basics of making effective sales presentations. These are the minimum points that you need to keep in mind while preparing a draft of your presentation.

1. A good presentation isn’t abnormally long!

The minute you open your PowerPoint presentation, your audience is going to look for cues regarding how many slides are going to come up. You’ve already lost them if they think it’s going to way beyond their patience span.

2. A good presentation begins with something relatable.

It can be a question, a situation, a scenario, a quote – it all depends on the industry you are in and the background of your audience. A quote might work very well if you are presenting to a principal of a school. A scenario might work if you are trying to get the attention of a procurement officer in a corporation.

3. A good presentation prepares for responses to audience questions.

Normally, “questions please” is attached at the end. But a good presentation does not work on the logic of giving your one-sided view of your sale. 

4. A good presentation balances images with textual content.

A lot of PowerPoint presentations bombard the slides with many bullet points. It looks heavy and tiresome. For some people, the ideal amount of text that should go on a slide is not beyond 6 bullet points, in font size 30 – at least.

5. A good presentation has a clear indication of follow up and further action for the audience.

Only the features and benefits of working with you are not enough. The audience should have a clear understanding of what to do with all the information you’ve provided them in the presentation. Should they call you? Or do you have an offer they should avail of right away? Or should they get in touch with a dedicated person to know more details?

6. A good presentation communicates with the help of images, demonstrations, and videos.

Go beyond static content. Include videos, especially of how the product works. If videos are too difficult, show images of the product in work.

7. A good presentation establishes the speaker and the listener very clearly.

If your audience is not familiar with you already, they may not be already open to your presentation. To break the ice, start with an interesting insight into why are worth your audience’s time. Talk about your background or how you are invested in the deal to help people understand why you are the best person to hear from regarding the problem/situation at hand.

8. A good presentation creatively incorporates reviews from previous customers.

Flash actual screenshots of brand mention on Google reviews or the social media or e-commerce websites, rather than quoting as a paragraph with a name. If your customer has consented to share his/her pic along with the review, do go ahead. Putting pictures make reviews more believable.

Actual sales presentation will end up looking different depending on the industry they are talking about. But that’s no excuse for them to be boring and tedious. 

Moreover, as you evolve, your presentation will also evolve. You’ll get better at addressing questions and learn from what worked in your previous presentation. The point is to begin somewhere.

Do share your challenges about crafting your presentations or resources that have helped you in the past.