In part 1 of the Sales Presentation 101 series, we shared valuable insights on how to create a Unique Value Proposition. This time we show how you can supercharge your sales deck with powerful storytelling.
Does your current sales deck
- List out product features instead of telling a story?
- Bombard the customer with too much or irrelevant information?
- Does not emotionally drive the customer?
If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, you need to make some major changes asap. You can have a killer demo and a great verbal description, but all that falls flat if it isn’t backed with equally killer slides. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Just follow the 4 rules:
- “Start With Why”
- Capture attention
- Engage your audience
- Drive action
Answer the Why?
You just have 5 to 10 min to make a lasting impression. What your contact actually wants to know is:
Why are you in the universe and why should I care?
As a company, you should really try to answer that question and think about a purpose. You don’t need to write it black on white on your sales presentation, but people should understand it through the vocabulary and the visuals you use. To go deeper, we strongly recommend you to watch Simon Sinek Ted Talk “Start with Why”
Capture attention
In order to capture attention, you must know who you are talking to. Adapt your presentation based on the homework you have done. What can they get from you? What can you get from them?
Then before starting your presentation, ask questions and listen, reformulate. Show that you understand their problems and that you care. This is the best way to capture their attention. Actually if they talk 80% of the time, it means you had a great discussion. If you do all the talking, not so good! Resonate with your audience. Let them know/ feel/ be convinced about the problem before explaining the solution. The stronger the connection, the more attention.
Engage
The “secret” to sales content that closes more deals? A powerful story. A simple trick is to define a beginning, a crisis, and then finally the solution. And when you present the solution, please FOCUS! Tease them with the main features of your product but don’t do a laundry list! Remember, Americans are not impressed by the complexity of a solution, or the breakthrough of innovation but only by its ability to solve their problems.
Same with your document: less text is more. Write only the important words. Maintain the right mix between text, videos, and pictures. Wow your audience with visuals and keep them hooked.
A good story depends on the storyteller skillset but also preparation. You are probably doing videoconference calls right now. Make sure you have a good internet connection, a working camera, mic and speaker, and no background noise.
- Put the camera on even if just briefly at the beginning of the call
- Look at the camera to engage your audience
- Speak slowly and use words you know how to pronounce (Americans have a hard time understanding French accent even if they find it charming!)
Drive action
Your sales deck, just like all of your marketing and sales collateral, is a direct implementation of your sales narrative, so keep the momentum throughout the presentation.
The 5-7 last minutes are crucial to drive action. A few tips being ghosted:
- Ask your contact what he/she thinks about your solution.
- Reformulate your contact’s input including the objection to show that you care and that you are going to work on it
- Decide with your contact what the next step will be, the best obviously being to organize the next meeting before hanging up
Final Thoughts
There’s no universal solution for crafting and delivering a great sales deck. And like any other aspect of the sales process, the sales deck is a constant work in progress. You simply need to build a modular presentation that keeps up with the time, context, and your audience. This way you can make presentations a more powerful asset in the sales process.
If you’re looking for a second opinion on your sales deck contact us now and we can provide you a free mentoring session.