10 Best Sales Presentations To Inspire Your Sales Deck [+ 5 Tips]

Meredith Hart

Published: August 17, 2022

While many salespeople focus on making their sales decks flashy, fun, and exciting, they do little to ensure that their presentations address the prospect's top concerns and offer an irresistible solution.

sales rep uses sales deck during presentation with prospects

As a result, many presentations are met with wishy-washy responses that drag along the sales process and waste valuable time.

Download Now: How to Perfect Your Sales Pitch

What does a great sales deck look like? We'll take a look at some of the best, and provide tips for creating your own stellar sales deck and presentation.

What is a sales deck?

A sales deck is a slide presentation (e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.) used to supplement a sales pitch. The sales pitch, given by a salesperson to a prospect, often includes an overview of the product or service, offers a value proposition and solution for the prospect, and includes examples of success stories from other clients.

The primary purpose of a sales deck and presentation is to introduce a solution (ie, your pitch ) that ultimately leads the prospect to purchase from your company.

If you've done everything right during the discovery process — digging deep into your prospect's challenges and understanding exactly what they need — only to get a noncommittal response, then your presentation needs some major adjusting.

personal sales presentation

10 Free PowerPoint Templates

Download ten free PowerPoint templates for a better presentation.

  • Creative templates.
  • Data-driven templates.
  • Professional templates.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Sales Deck vs Pitch Deck

A sales deck is a pitch meant to convince a prospect to make a purchase by showcasing your product features, benefits, and value proposition.

A pitch deck , on the other hand, is usually created for investors who want to learn more about your company, vision, products, financials, and target audience. Think of the pitch deck more like a synthesized version of your business plan.

Ready to see some sales deck examples? Here are a few of the best, in no particular order.

Sales Deck Examples

  • UpstartWorks
  • Attention Media
  • Leadgeeks.io

1. Leadnomics Sales Deck by Katya Kovalenko

sales deck examples: leadnomics

Leadnomics has done something few companies successfully do in presentations: Showcase their brand identity.

The internet marketing agency hired a designer to create a sales deck that reflected their sleek, techie brand.

So while prospects learn about Leadnomics and what it offers, they can also get a peek into what it represents as a brand.

2. UpstartWorks Sales Deck by BrightCarbon

This slide deck for UpstartWorks starts with an image of the road to success, followed by a value proposition and a list of benefits buyers can enjoy from working with the company. They provide an overview of what they deliver to customers, who their clients are, and the results their customer base has seen.

The sales deck touches on all the key points a sales presentation should cover. And when it includes graphics and logos, they are clearly organized and not cluttered.

3. QS Sales Deck by BrightCarbon

QS , a platform that ranks colleges and universities, effectively uses icons and visuals throughout its sales deck to communicate its messages. At just a few slides, this is one of the shortest sales decks featured on this list.

If you’re going to make your sales deck short, make sure the information you include gets straight to the point, and be sure to front-load the most important information.

In terms of content, QS showcases its features, value proposition, and client impact.

4. Attention Media Sales Deck by Slides

Attention Media , a B2B creative agency, hired a presentation design agency to create a sales deck that features statistics and reasons businesses should work with them.

Key figures and messages are either in a bold, large, or bright font to make them stand out from the rest of the text.

While their slide deck is on the shorter side (the typical presentation is around 10 to 15 slides ), they include intriguing visuals and statistics that grab attention and keep viewers interested.

5. Freshworks Sales Deck by BrightCarbon

Freshworks is a B2B software platform that promises an all-in-one package for businesses. Its sales deck emphasizes simple text and organization. The problem and solution are introduced using graphics, which makes the text easier for readers to prioritize.

They include a dedicated slide to their mobile app, one of the product’s key differentiators and most salient benefits. The following slides provide a step-by-step walkthrough of how customers are onboarded and what they can expect on a regular basis.

Since the slides aren’t text-heavy, the salesperson can easily elaborate and answer any questions the prospect might have.

6. Soraa Sales Deck by BrightCarbon

Soraa , a lighting company, starts its sales deck with a visually appealing table of contents that contains three items: “Quality of light,” “Simply perfect light,” and “Why Soraa?”

The brand then dives into what its prospects care about most: How the light will look in their spaces and how they can apply Soraa’s offerings to their specific use case. It sprinkles in the benefits of using Soraaa as a lighting supplier. And it does this all while maintaining its strong branding.

7. Planetly Sales Deck by OCHI Design

The first thing Planetly does in its sales presentation is present an eye-catching statistic about customers wanting more eco-friendly brands. Then, they present the reasons behind that data.

The deck doesn't overwhelm prospects with too much text, opting for more graphics and visuals instead. It introduces a hard-hitting stat about the problem their prospect is facing, engages them by asking a question, and provides a solution to the issue.

The slide deck continues to outline specific product details and what sets the solution apart from others, ultimately leading to a slide that represents the expected outcome for the prospect.

8. MEOM Sales Deck by Katya Kovalenko

What you’ll first notice when scrolling through MEOM's sales deck is that it’s straightforward and easy to scan.

The brand kept it simple with their deck, making it easier for consumers to take in the information. Too often, companies overload their decks with information, and by the end of the presentation, consumers can’t remember anything.

On every slide, MEOM has one main message with supporting information in smaller font. In addition, the brand incorporates a detailed look at one of its staff members — a powerful tool when trying to attract consumers.

9. Leadgeeks.io Sales Deck by Paweł Mikołajek

Sometimes, the best way to explain a concept is through a series of process maps and timelines. In this sales deck, Leadgeeks.io takes this approach to explain its product process and onboarding process.

This method helps consumers visualize how this software will help them reach their goals and how they can adopt it at their business.

10. Accern Sales Deck by Katya Kovalenko

Similar to Leadnomics, software company Accern puts its branding at the forefront of the sales deck.

In addition to the use of design to make the sales deck stand out, Accern also highlights customer case studies in its deck, another form of social proof that shows the success other customers have found with this tool.

Each of these presentations provides a general overview of the products, problems, and solutions, and they can easily be tailored and customized to each prospective company. A custom presentation not only piques the prospect's interest but also increases the likelihood that they'll buy from you.

Curious as to how you can word your presentation during your meeting with prospects? Below, we go over the best examples we’ve seen so far.

personal sales presentation

Download Now: Free Elevator Pitch Templates

E-pitch templates to better sell your product, fund your business, or network.

  • 4 Fundraising Pitch Templates
  • 2 Networking Pitch Templates
  • 2 Sales Pitch Templates

Example Sales Presentation

While there are plenty of videos online on how to deliver a sales presentation, there aren’t quite as many live sales presentations to watch.

That’s because sales presentations are delivered in the privacy of a meeting between the sales rep and the prospect, and are often not recorded with the intention of sharing online.

As a sales rep, though, you have an excellent resource for inspiration: explainer videos. Companies publish explainer videos to pitch their products to qualified leads. (Sound familiar?) Use the below examples to hone your own pitch to buyers, and pay close attention to the structure of each video.

This explainer video for Leadjet starts with an urgent problem: Finding leads on LinkedIn and moving them to a CRM loses valuable time and minimizes lead opportunities. Leadjet then presents its product as the solution.

The video jumps into the benefits users can enjoy, such as synchronizing conversations over both your CRM and LinkedIn, keeping the lead status updated, and adding custom details. In this video, Leadjet follows the ideal sales presentation structure: problem, solution, and benefits.

2. Node Influencer App

The Node influencer app allows small business owners to connect with influencers on social media. It starts its video with a simple question: “Looking to promote your brand with social influencers?” The presentation effectively identifies and addresses the target market before pitching the product to viewers.

This presentation is more tutorial-based, making it ideal inspiration if you’re creating a sales deck for someone who’s closer to making a decision. People most often want to see actionable demos when they’re ready to choose a provider.

This explainer video from Upsend, a former customer service software, begins with a problem: Most customers want instant responses to their queries, but customer service systems can be expensive for new companies. Enter Upsend.

The presenter addresses the target market — startups and small businesses — while assuaging their concerns about budget. In addition, it covers the most important features of the platform and the end result for the user. If Upsend were still available, this would be a product a new business would immediately want to add to their tech stack.

4. Algoplanner

Within a few seconds of the start of this presentation, Algoplanner drives home the critical urgency of adopting a supply chain software. It uses a scary number to pull your attention, citing a possible “loss of millions of dollars” if you fail to adopt the right tool.

It then introduces its product with a breakdown of what the software can do for users. Plus, it provides powerful stats to back up its claims, including that users can reduce automation development costs by 80%. The call to action at the end is powerful and simple, telling viewers to schedule a demo.

Sales Deck Presentation Tips

Ready for your presentation? Sticking to these five simple sales presentation guidelines, recommended by Marc Wayshak , will help you blow your competition away while dramatically increasing your chances of closing the sale.

1. Lead with solutions.

Have you ever met with a prospect who was excited about your product or service – and used your presentation to keep on selling? This is called over-selling, and it's the leading cause of death for sales presentations.

When you start your presentation, first lead with solutions. Don't talk about the benefits of your product's features or tell the prospect how great your company is.

Simply dive into how you're going to solve the deepest frustration your prospect is facing right now.

2. Incorporate case studies.

Once you've addressed the specific solutions you can provide to the prospect, it's time to add some color to your presentation.

Turn your sales presentation into an engaging story by sharing case studies of similar prospects and the results they've achieved with your help.

This step is important for building trust and credibility with the prospect. At the same time, case studies bring your solutions to life in the real world, making your presentation more engaging.

3. Ask for feedback throughout.

Most presentations are a one-way monologue by the salesperson. This approach is boring – and it's certainly no way to connect with a prospect.

Instead, ask short questions throughout your presentation like "Does that make sense?" or "Can you see how this would work for you?" Asking for feedback periodically ensures your prospect stays on the same page.

4. Welcome interruptions.

If you want to close more sales, you have to care about what your prospect is thinking throughout your presentation.

Any interruption is the perfect opportunity to find out. Whenever a prospect interrupts you – either with a verbal remark or subtle shift in their facial expression or posture – stop immediately.

Acknowledge the interruption, and welcome the opportunity to explore it with the prospect. Never ignore signals just to stay on a roll and conclude your point. Invite prospects to ask their questions or share their concerns.

The opportunity to respond to those concerns is always more valuable than whatever you were about to say.

5. Wrap it up quickly.

Your presentation should be ASAP: as short as possible.

It's natural for salespeople to get excited about what they have to share, but this causes most of them to ramble on for far too long.

Prospects only care about themselves and their challenges. Present the information they'll be interested in and nothing more.

Practice your next sales presentation with a colleague or friend and ask for their honest feedback on its length.

Sales Deck Template

Ready to start creating your own sales deck? Get started with these free templates .

It includes ten Powerpoint templates, each with a different focus.

sales presentation template by HubSpot

hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(53, '2d0b5298-2daa-4812-b2d4-fa65cd354a8e', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"});

How to find a sales deck template.

Haven’t found what you’re looking for? Here are additional resources to find a sales deck.

This presentation platform allows you to pick from hundreds of templates and fully customize the template you choose. The best part? It’s free and offers premium packages for teams who want analytics, multiple users, and live video collaboration.

On this graphic design platform, you can search through countless presentation templates and customize them. Canva also offers extensive collaboration features, such as file sharing and commenting.

Get Inspired With These Sales Presentations

When delivering a sales presentation to a prospect, you can do so with the knowledge that thousands and millions of others have been in the same position as you. Luckily, we can see their work online to guide our sales deck creation process. Use these decks to structure your own, and you’ll be well on the road to closing more deals and exceeding your quota.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Sales Pitch

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

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

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

9 Ways to End Your Sales Presentation With a Bang

9 Ways to End Your Sales Presentation With a Bang

7 Apps That Help Salespeople Become Even Better Speakers

7 Apps That Help Salespeople Become Even Better Speakers

7 Secrets of a Winning Capabilities Presentation

7 Secrets of a Winning Capabilities Presentation

Insight Selling: The 8-Slide Framework for a Better Pitch

Insight Selling: The 8-Slide Framework for a Better Pitch

The Best Work-Appropriate GIFs to Use in Your Next Sales Slide Deck

The Best Work-Appropriate GIFs to Use in Your Next Sales Slide Deck

How to Make a Business Presentation in 7 Easy Steps [Free Business Presentation Templates]

How to Make a Business Presentation in 7 Easy Steps [Free Business Presentation Templates]

The 8 Types of Presentation Styles: Which Category Do You Fall Into?

The 8 Types of Presentation Styles: Which Category Do You Fall Into?

How to Handle Difficult Sales Calls Like a Pro

How to Handle Difficult Sales Calls Like a Pro

Technology Give You the Middle Finger in a Demo? 7 Reactions to Avoid

Technology Give You the Middle Finger in a Demo? 7 Reactions to Avoid

Pro Tactics For Mastering Every Type of Sales Deal

Powerful and easy-to-use sales software that drives productivity, enables customer connection, and supports growing sales orgs

7 Amazing Sales Presentation Examples (And How to Make Them Your Own)

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.

the psychology behind a sales presentation

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.

sales presentation

They then drive home the Before-After-Bridge Formula further with case studies:

sales presentation

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:

sales presentation

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.

sales presentation

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.”

sales presentation

Slides 11-13 then continue touching on “Before” problems tangentially with customer quotes:

sales presentation

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:

sales presentation example

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.

commonthread

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:

red

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:

canvaimage

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.

sales presentation pitfalls

What are the sales presentation strategies that work best for your industry and customers? Tweet us:  @Yesware .

Get sales tips and strategies delivered straight to your inbox.

Yesware will help you generate more sales right from your inbox. Try our Outlook add-on or Gmail Chrome extension for free, forever!

Hit your number every month

Works on Outlook or Gmail (+ many more integrations)

Related Articles

10 Best Persuasive Techniques for Sales and Marketing [2022]

10 Best Persuasive Techniques for Sales and Marketing [2022]

personal sales presentation

Melissa Williams

SPIN Selling: All-In-One Guide for 2022

SPIN Selling: All-In-One Guide for 2022

High-Ticket Sales: How to Sell High-Ticket Products and Services

High-Ticket Sales: How to Sell High-Ticket Products and Services

personal sales presentation

Casey O'Connor

Sales, deal management, and communication tips for your inbox

We're on a mission to help you build lasting business relationships.

75 Kneeland Street, Floor 15 Boston, MA 02111

[email protected]

personal sales presentation

We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Manage Cookies

Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.

Show cookie providers

  • Google Login

Functionality Cookies

These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.

  • Google Analytics

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.

  • Google Tag Manager
  • Infographics
  • Daily Infographics
  • Template Lists
  • Graphic Design
  • Graphs and Charts
  • Data Visualization
  • Human Resources
  • Beginner Guides

Blog Marketing

15 Sales Presentation Examples to Drive Sales

By Danesh Ramuthi , Oct 31, 2023

Sales Presentation Examples

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.

Black And Brown Clean Sales Presentation

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.

White And Yellow Clean Sales Presentation

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.

Green Minimalist Sales Presentation

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.

White And Orange Minimalist Business Sales Presentation

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.

Grey And Blue Minimalist Sales Presentation

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.

Cream Neutral Minimalist Sales Presentation

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.

Simple White And Green Sales Presentation

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.

Beige And Red Sales Presentation

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. 

Red And Cream Sales Presentation

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

White And Orange Sales Presentation

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.

Light Green Gradient And Dark Blue Sales Presentation

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.

Red Orange And Purple Blue Sales Presentation

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.

Brown And Cream Sales Presentation

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. 

Dark Blue Orange And Pink Sales Presentation

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.

Blue And Orange Sales Presentation

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 .

personal sales presentation

Close more deals with the latest sales trends and tips from Salesblazers.

Prep, Present, and Follow Through: How To Nail Your Next Sales Presentation

personal sales presentation

Audrey Harris

Share article.

When it comes to building an effective sales presentation, no one-size-fits-all sales deck exists.

Every sales presentation you deliver to a prospect should be personalized and tailored just for them. Successful selling today is about establishing yourself as a trusted advisor. Cookie-cutter messages won’t do that. So how should you get started?

High-performing sellers close more deals by focusing on their prospects, rather than their products. Follow these sales presentation tips before, during, and after your next meeting to make it more resonant (and hopefully, more lucrative). These tips work whether you’re building customer relationships remotely or in person.

Deliver polished presentations that address your prospect’s biggest pain points

Use generative AI, powered by Einstein, to help you draft an engaging, tailored talk track for your next sales presentation, perfectly aligning product value to specific prospect needs.

personal sales presentation

Step 1: Research the company and your contact

An effective sales presentation starts long before the actual presentation. The first step is to learn who your prospect is and the challenges they face; then you can use those insights to show how you can help them succeed.

In particular, you should research the company, the challenges it faces, and the contacts who will hear your presentation.

Learn more about the company’s past, present, and future

First, consult your CRM platform. Find other accounts from the prospect’s industry and see what their customer journeys looked like. Their client information and case history will help you learn what products and services they use most and how your company serves them well. The information in your CRM platform can give you insights and tips that will help you win deals like the one you’re currently working on. Take a look, too, at the sales pipeline for that particular industry. Your CRM system is a tool specifically used to help you sell successfully and should be used throughout the sales process.

Once you have that preliminary information, head to the company website and research what the prospect’s company does, how big it is, and what products or services it offers. Then, dig deeper. Make a note of their mission, values, and corporate culture. Also try to learn more about the company’s history and any news items involving the company. Look into the company’s annual report to get a good idea of where it might be headed in the future.

Your presentation should focus on using insights from your research to show a deep understanding of the company and why your product or service can help it grow.

Consider the company’s challenges

As you learn about the company, pay special attention to the challenges it faces that are relevant to your product or service offerings. Remember these issues so you can use them as conversation starters during your sales presentation. Then you can offer advice — or insights — about how they could better face those challenges.

This type of approach is called insight selling : You as a salesperson bring unique, tailored insights to a prospect to solve their problems.

For example, if you sell a marketing tool, you may notice in your research that your lead is currently using the same ads across social media, search, and display networks. Your insight might be, “I see that your company is using the same ad copy across several platforms. How have those ads been performing for you? Have you been able to reach your sales or traffic goals?” Their answer may change aspects of your sales presentation or may make it even stronger.

Learn more about your audience

When it comes to communication, knowing who will be in the room is critical. If your prospect is the Director of Production, your most effective sales presentation may focus on metrics that can determine how to improve output. If your prospect will be presenting the information to a decision maker, offer resources to help make it easier for them.

Step 2: Prepare for your sales presentation

After gathering insights about the company and your contacts, you are ready to put together your presentation. Whether you use a sales presentation template that your workplace provides or you start from scratch, use these sales presentation tips to build a more compelling pitch.

Focus on the challenges your prospects face, not just your benefits

Salespeople should present themselves as a trusted advisor, not just a company representative. Look for ways to create a dialogue with the prospect and share how you can help their company work more efficiently, provide better service, or solve the challenges holding them back.

Keep your presentation simple

Sales template decks can be useful, but they can also overwhelm prospects if they’re too long. Instead of a 50-slide canned presentation, focus on keeping the slide deck relatively simple and highlighting engaging images and key statistics. This will make it easier to use a storytelling approach, rather than just reading off a slide.

Practice your presentation

You want to prepare, but you don’t want to come across as robotic or scripted. Practice what you’ll say and how you’ll answer questions, and make sure you’ve memorized important statistics or metrics. Build time into the presentation so you can share personal anecdotes or pause for questions.

Keep your delivery style confident, but agile. You may find that one point you thought would be critical doesn’t have as much impact with your prospect as you’d hoped, but a different point unexpectedly piques their interest. Keeping your talk track fluid will make it easier to shift gears if you need to.

Step 3: Nail your sales presentation

Presentation day has arrived. You’ve done your research, nailed the perfect storytelling approach, and trimmed down your slide deck. Now is your time to shine. Here are a few sales presentation tips to help your pitch end in a sale.

End the meeting with your presentation; don’t begin with it

You’ve likely had conversations with your contact and know them well enough, but in this presentation you’ll potentially meet additional people who make decisions. Take the time to get to know each attendee.

Building a rapport with your audience before pitching is a no-brainer. But avoid too much small talk; it can come across as inauthentic or like a waste of the customer’s time. Instead, time permitting, try to use the beginning of the meeting asking questions about day-to-day operations and goals. Ask specific questions that demonstrate your knowledge of their company and industry, and use the answers to shape your narrative. Then, during your presentation, tie back to topics the prospect brought up and focus on how you, the trusted advisor, can help.

Ask questions during the presentation to encourage a dialogue

Getting feedback from your prospect during the actual presentation is the best sales presentation technique of all. This allows you to change your focus in the moment, rather than spending your presentation talking about challenges and solutions that might be unimportant to your prospect.

After you make a key point, ask your prospect a question like, “Does this make sense in your industry?” or “Can you see this applying to your company?” This prompts the prospect to either agree or start a dialogue about pain points and how your products and services can better serve them.

If they agree with you, then you know you’re on the right track and that your suggestions are up to date. On the other hand, if they have clarifications, this lets you adjust your presentation — and follow-up efforts — to better fit their position.

Include proof that shows how your products and services have helped others

personal sales presentation

Step 4: Prioritize the follow-up just as much as the presentation

The actual sales presentation is just one part of your sales process, and it doesn’t guarantee a signed contract or even further contact with you. The final piece of your sales presentation is a well-planned follow-up, and it’s just as important as the presentation itself.

The most effective follow-up format will depend on your prospect, their needs, and how they best retain information. For example, you may follow up by:

  • Emailing your slide deck and asking to schedule a follow-up call. Just remember to avoid the “Just following up” email and make sure your email offers the recipient value.
  • Scheduling follow-up emails to reiterate key points in your presentation. A sales automation tool automates emails to share product information and set reminders for you to connect. It helps make sure no prospects fall through the cracks.
  • Preparing personalized content that highlights the main points from your sales presentation and includes videos of products in action, testimonials, or other helpful collateral.
  • Sending an additional resource about a topic they mentioned during your meeting, whether it pertained to your presentation or not.

Your sales presentation doesn’t end when you walk out the door or end the meeting. As you research and present your pitch, consider what the best follow-up approach will be. Then, take the time to create a well-considered follow-up strategy.

You can make your next sales presentation your best

Preparation and practice are key to successful sales presentations. But there’s so much more to a great presentation than well-designed slides or new research. The heart of a great sales presentation is the relationship between you and your customer, and that’s built on unique insights focused on your potential customer’s challenges and needs.

When you focus on helping, rather than pitching, your sales presentation is more likely to be a hit. That’s a win-win for you and your customer.

Just For You

Chart and arrow representing sales rep's skill vs will

Skill vs. Will: When How-To Just Isn’t Enough in Sales

Four different levels of a tiered commission plan

A Beginner’s Guide to Tiered Commission Structures

personal sales presentation

Explore related content by topic

  • Sales Representative
  • Sales Strategy
  • Personalization
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Business as a Platform for Change
  • Customer Relationships

personal sales presentation

Audrey is a senior product marketer for Core Sales Cloud (Salesforce Automation), and a customer advocate who has spent her career delivering B2B technology. An engineer turned marketer, she is passionate about business efficiency, philanthropy, and mentorship.

Get the latest articles in your inbox.

personal sales presentation

Why a Sales Leaderboard Is the Key to Team Motivation — and How to Use it Effectively

AI glossary

AI From A to Z: The Generative AI Glossary for Business Leaders

An illustration of four sellers reading sales books.

Chicken Soup for the Quota: 12 of the Greatest Sales Books Ever Written

Sales rep climbing chart that represents their uncapped earnings potential

Uncapped Earnings: The Benefits of Limitless Commission

An excited salesperson on a tightrope juggling their at-risk pay

A Close Look at At-Risk Pay and the Purpose Behind Performance-Based Compensation

Presales reps doing research with a chart and a magnifying glass

How Presales Sets the Stage for Your Team’s Next Big Deal

Sellers and buyers reviewing a mutual action plan

The Sales Team’s Guide to Using Mutual Action Plans

A graph illustrating a commission cap limiting a seller's total earning potential

Why Are Commission Caps So Rare in Modern-Day Sales?

personal sales presentation

New to Salesforce?

  • What is Salesforce?
  • Best CRM software
  • Explore all products
  • What is cloud computing
  • Customer success
  • Product pricing

About Salesforce

  • Salesforce.org
  • Sustainability

Popular Links

  • Salesforce Mobile
  • AppExchange
  • CRM software
  • Salesforce LIVE
  • Salesforce for startups
  • América Latina (Español)
  • Brasil (Português)
  • Canada (English)
  • Canada (Français)
  • United States (English)

Europe, Middle East, and Africa

  • España (Español)
  • Deutschland (Deutsch)
  • France (Français)
  • Italia (Italiano)
  • Nederland (Nederlands)
  • Sverige (Svenska)
  • United Kingdom (English)
  • All other countries (English)

Asia Pacific

  • Australia (English)
  • India (English)
  • Malaysia (English)
  • ประเทศไทย (ไทย)

© Copyright 2024 Salesforce, Inc. All rights reserved.  Various trademarks held by their respective owners. Salesforce, Inc. Salesforce Tower, 415 Mission Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105, United States

How to make the ULTIMATE sales presentation

  • Written by: Joby Blume
  • Categories: Sales presentations , Sales messaging , Visual communication
  • Comments: 8

personal sales presentation

Sales presentations are the cornerstone of many companies’ sales efforts, yet so often they aren’t given the time and attention they deserve. Thrown together at the last-minute, often your sales reps stand up in front of a sales presentation that’s nothing more than a glorified page of notes.

The right sales presentation can be the Excalibur to your rep’s King Arthur. But if you’re sending your troops into battle with a wooden sword, they won’t be terribly successful – or do much dragon-slaying for that matter.

personal sales presentation

How to use this article

In this article you’ll find everything you need to know about sales presentations – what they are, how to go about writing a killer one, and how to deliver it like a pro. We’d recommend starting at the beginning – we’ve heard it’s a very good place to start – but you can also use the links below to jump to your favourite bit.

Sales presentations: An overview

Writing a sales presentation: the process, writing a sales presentation: context and competition, writing a sales presentation: persuasive structure, writing a sales presentation: sales presentation introductions, writing a sales presentation: content, writing a sales presentation: a powerful close, designing a sales presentation: visuals.

  • Preparing to deliver a sales presentation
  • Delivering a sales presentation

personal sales presentation

Outside of the telephone and email (and CRM), what’s the most important sales tool in most B2B companies? After careful consideration, I think it’s PowerPoint: salespeople use presentations all the time when talking to prospects.

What is a sales presentation: A sales presentation is a talk which promotes a product or service that you are trying to sell, which includes illustrative material such as slides, sketches, or props.

  • Can most reps use PowerPoint properly?
  • Can most marketing departments use it well?
  • Are most reps given adequate slide decks to sell with?
  • Do most reps have the content to enable great visual sales conversations?
  • Are reps still wasting good leads by inflicting ‘Death by PowerPoint’?

personal sales presentation

The problem: How many opportunities do you create each month? Think about how valuable those opportunities are – not just in terms of whether you have enough of them, but also your cost per opportunity – all that marketing spend that gets you face-to-face with a prospect. And then how much did you spend on your sales presentation – the sales tool that helps tell your sales story and communicate value to prospects? For a lot of companies, it’s nothing.

People must think that creating sales tools is easy. Just open PowerPoint and type some bullet points to get your message across. Maybe if you’re feeling fancy, ask a graphic designer to take a look.

Never mind that arming your sales teams to read bullet points (even pretty bullet points) won’t work.

personal sales presentation

Never mind that the same techniques that work for a charismatic speaker talking to 1000 people at a conference don’t work when your average sales rep is delivering their sales presentation to four people from a laptop.

personal sales presentation

Why change: The figures on how buyers feel about sales people and sales meetings suggest a communication failure:  just 22% feel that sales people understand their issues and how they can offer value ( Forrester ). Looking at the sales presentations that many companies use confirms the same view: this isn’t an area that marketing has mastered.

Improving conversion rates at the bottom of the funnel is equivalent to sourcing many more ‘sales-accepted leads’ or finding 1000s more prospects. For this reason, improving your sales presentations is one of the most impactful things that a marketing team can do .

If your sales tools aren’t persuasive and compelling, if your sales people are spending time creating their own clandestine collateral, or if your conversion rates are too low – you need to do something different.

Back to top

A PowerPoint sales pitch allows you both to capture the messages you want to present to prospects (straight from the minds of your best sales people) and to distribute these messages in a way that others can use too. So how do we make sure we write a good presentation?

Always prepare properly: I’m going to begin with a disclaimer – creating an effective sales presentation takes hours. Before you even open PowerPoint, there’s a whole pile of stuff that it’s better to know beforehand: content, length, who will be presenting, how complex will your slides be, will you use icons or pictures, colour scheme, deadlines…and the list goes on.

You see, you can’t just make a sales tool and then throw it over the fence to the sales team. You need to work with them to find out what they need. When do they talk to prospects? What messages are they trying to articulate? What objections are they seeing? Where are competitors gaining ground? In summary, what conversations are sales people having that visual slides could support?

Gathering this kind of information does (and should) take time – and it’s definitely worth investing in it to do it properly.

personal sales presentation

The voice of the customer is often missing in sales messaging.  The solution? Just ask customers why they buy from you, or what you do that they value. Better yet, ask them what challenges  they  face (in your field of influence); now you can start to identify opportunities – areas where they need help but where you don’t currently have competitive advantage.

One word of caution though. Stated preferences and revealed preferences aren’t the same. Just because customers say they want something, doesn’t mean that they do. Offer them a real choice of products, and see what they choose – that’s a revealed preference.

To acquire new –  different  – customers, it makes sense to talk to those who  aren’t  currently buying from you, not just those who are. They may have different thoughts, value different things, and have a different view of your competitive strengths.

Here are some good questions to find the answers to:

  • What are your prospects doing now?
  • What do you want them to do?
  • What are they thinking now?
  • What do you want them to think?
  • How are they feeling now?
  • How do you want them to feel?

With all this data gathering done, you can move on – no, not to PowerPoint – to understanding what kind of a change you want your prospects to make, and then with that knowledge, you can set clear (and SMART ) sales presentation objectives.

Sales presentation objectives: Setting the wrong goals – unrealistic goals – for your sales presentation won’t help you. Before you work out what to say, you need to be clear about what you are trying to achieve with a sales presentation or sales conversation.

There are plenty of possible objectives, beyond making the sale immediately:

  • To be invited to respond to a tender
  • To be down-selected to the next round of a bidding process
  • To be allowed to help write the tender
  • To be invited back to meet with the decision maker
  • For the prospect to meet with your technical consultant
  • To get permission to run a study
  • For your prospect to start a trial
  • For your prospect to commit to a technical evaluation.

There are dozens of things you might want or need en-route to a sale. Be very clear about what you are trying to achieve  before  you write your sales presentation.

Understanding who you are competing with – in terms of how prospects are currently approaching the issues that you address – is fundamental to your sales messaging. If your sales messaging is directed against other companies, but your prospects aren’t even aware that they have a problem, or are thinking in terms of whether to keep on doing things in-house, you are selling the wrong thing.

personal sales presentation

There is one crucial question you need to ask:

Who are you competing with?

  • Are you competing with the status quo or apathy?
  • Are you competing with a DIY approach to solving the problem?
  • Are you competing with solving the problem in a different way?
  • Are you competing with companies you recognise as competitors?
  • Are you competing with companies that you don’t even recognise as competitors?

‘Why change’ vs. ‘Why us’

Sales messages when selling a category ( ‘Why change? ’, whether to buy) should be different from those used when selling a particular solution (‘ Why us? ’, which one to buy).

  • Have they decided to change, or do you need to persuade them?
  • Do they know what category of solution they are looking for, or is that still open?
  • Have they got established decision-making criteria, or can you shape their thinking?
  • Will they talk to other companies, or could you win this before anyone else is involved?

Why change: At the start of the sales cycle, prospects might not be aware that they have a problem. They might not recognise that a problem they have can be solved. They could have no knowledge of the market you are in, or the vendors who might want to help them. At this stage, messaging needs to focus on bringing out the problems that they have , and all the messy implications. Fear of change, and a certain inertia are the main obstacle to overcome. You need to make it very clear that the prospect has a problem – if they realise it or not – and that the problem is hurting them – perhaps in subtle ways – but it is hurting.

Why us: Once a prospect acknowledges they have a problem, they start to try and find somebody who can help them to solve it. At this point, messaging needs to answer the question ‘Why us?’.

There’s no single way to structure a sales meeting or a sales presentation – as you move through the sales cycle, different things are required. At the very first meeting, you are likely to be fact-finding, exploring whether your company’s solutions are a good fit for the prospect, and discovering what challenges they feel most urgently. At a best-and-final pitch presentation, you may be responding to an entirely prescriptive meeting agenda, with scoring on how well you answer certain questions.

Here are a few good starting points to make sure, at whatever point you are in the sales cycle, your content is always structured in a compelling way.

How not to structure: Did you ever notice how a journey seems to take longer when you don’t know how far you have to go? Sales presentations are the same.

personal sales presentation

Those sales presentations that  do  make the structure visible – by using agendas – usually make the mistake of using headings that mean more to the presenter than the audience, or that are so dry that they do absolutely nothing to help sell.

personal sales presentation

Focus on the benefits: One way to make an audience-centred agenda is to think in terms of benefits: what’s in it for your audience. Don’t make the mistake of only talking about benefits in a summary slide right at the end of your presentation. The benefit slide can be used as an agenda that appears as a segue between sections.

This benefit slide ought to be written to answer the key question around which the sales presentation revolves – Why Change? or Why Us? We call this the value proposition – for more great insights on writing value propositions, take a look at this article . Value propositions help us in three ways:

  • The advantages or benefits are stated early enough to be noticed
  • The agenda is now audience-focused, not product-focused
  • By showing a slide with the benefits multiple times during  your presentation, you help your audience to remember your key points

Now that’s a powerful and persuasive presentation structure!

How to write your value proposition: Though it may seem like a dark art, writing a value proposition is something anyone can do. There’s quite a simple formula that you can use:

  • Decide whether you are answering ‘Why change?’ or ‘Why us?’
  • List the three to five best answers to the question
  • Create a slide that shows these answers
  • Use that slide as an agenda to help structure your sales presentation, and show it each time you segue from one section to the next
  • Arrange your content into sections according to the benefits or advantages they support. Typically, you might want a few slides in each section.
  • Use the agenda slide to close the presentation

personal sales presentation

How many points should a value proposition have: Value propositions should be comprised of 3-5 statements about what your solution or type of solution offers. Any more becomes harder to remember. Any less can fail to structure the presentation content effectively and memorably.

In this  fascinating article  reporting on research by  Weaver et al in the Journal of Consumer Research , Heidi Halvorson points out that adding additional arguments doesn’t always help. If a value proposition has three very strong sections, adding an additional section that’s weaker (but still valid) actually dilutes the overall strength of the argument.

How to write a value proposition statement: Value proposition statements work best if they are of similar length and format. If one item is a single word (‘flexible’) and another is a long phrase (‘standards compliant for SIA accreditation’), it often looks and sounds awkward.

The best way to get the phrasing right is to note a question that the value proposition answers, and format all items to work with that question. So, for example:

  • Why change?  ‘You should change in this way because you will get ___’
  • Why us? ‘Choose us because we offer ___’

Category vs. solution: When selling the category , the key messages of your sales presentation will typically be made up of benefits, and focus on what your prospects will get if they try a new approach – ‘increase turnover’, ‘reduce risk’, or ‘improve efficiency’.

When selling your  solution , the key messages (or value proposition) will typically be made up of advantages that your product or service has over competing alternatives. If you used benefits here, there’s a risk that competing solutions would all just say the same thing, and you wouldn’t be able to differentiate.

Ordering your value proposition: Once you know your value proposition, you need to decide on the right order for your sections. Many presenters fail to look at structure from the audience’s point of view, and, as such, they make incorrect assumptions about what should go where. Stop and imagine you’re seeing this content for the very first time. What do you need to know first? What is the logical order to approach and take in these points? Opt for logic and simplicity and you won’t go far wrong.

Interactive presentations – let your audience choose: One way to structure a sales presentation is to do something interactive – non-linear. That means you can have a conversation without any pre-determined flow, and show things in response to the way in which the sales conversation develops.

Break your content up into smaller chunks – a few minutes of material at a time. Switch between topics of conversation based on what your audience says to you. So, instead of a single presentation with 30 slides, think more in terms of six topics with five slides in each. You might use some of them, or all of them. You might present them in a different order each time. The point is that you have a conversation and respond to what you are hearing.

A lot of presentations we see are very front-heavy: the presenter talks for slides and slides about the company, about their amazing product, and about why you would obviously want to be a part of what they’ve got going on. The trouble is – I’m sorry – no-one cares.

The problem: Often sales presentations are written from the point of view of Product Marketing, and not the audience. If the first few slides are about ‘ My Company ’, ‘ Company Structure ’, ‘ Company History ’, ‘ Office Locations ’, and ‘ Revenue by Division ’ – chances are the audience is getting bored before the presenter even gets started.

Lose the slides about your company history and awards and clients and internal structure. Nobody ever bought anything because Division A accounts for 36% of turnover.

personal sales presentation

They already know about your company, from your website. You don’t need to build credibility – they accepted the appointment. And it wastes precious time… Why spend the first five minutes of your sales presentation talking about you, when they want to know what you can do for them. It will just risk boring them, and ensure that attention levels plummet before you get going.

The solution: The start of a sales presentation should be interesting. That means encouraging reps to stop playing 20 questions, stop talking about the size of their company, and start challenging prospects to see the world in new ways. Explain  why  something is an important issue, and why current attempts to solve the problem don’t and won’t work.

Your sales presentation introduction ought to build credibility – but the way to do that is by showing that you  understand the prospect’s challenges , that the standard ways of meeting these challenges don’t work, and that  the prospect may need to do things differently .

Credibility is gained by having something interesting to say, not just by going on about your company in an entirely predictable way.

personal sales presentation

Do not rest on the assumption that just because you are standing in front of a screen dressed nicely that people will want to give you their attention. Many people you present to will not be inclined to care about what you are saying until you give them a really good reason to. In order to get your audience engaged, you have to bring them into the presentation by identifying their needs or addressing a problem they may be having.

Questions to consider:

  • What challenges do companies like your prospect’s tend to face?
  • Why have they been unsuccessful in overcoming these challenges so far?
  • What do these problems cost them?
  • What would a solution to these challenges look like?

In  The Challenger Sale ,  Dixon & Adamson reveal research into what customers want from sales reps. Ranking right at the top (below only ‘professionalism’) of things influential buyers want from sellers is a rep who:

  • ‘Offers unique, valuable insights’, and
  • ‘Frequently educates me on issues and outcomes.’

Don’t just tell customers what they  want  to hear. Educate them , and tell them what you think they  need  to hear. Challenger reps ought to deliver a teaching pitch: ‘A teaching pitch makes customers feel sort of sick about all the money they’re wasting, or revenue they’re missing, or risk they’re unknowingly exposed to.’ (p.67)

A  successful teaching pitch  in your introduction will be more useful than five minutes about your company history and office locations shown on a map.

Once you have created a structure for your presentation based around ‘Why change?’ or ‘Why us?’ you need to create the content to go into each section. You have the answer to the big, overarching question about why prospects should choose your solution – now you have to prove it.

There are loads of different ways to prove the overarching sales claims that you make:

  • Do you have any unique features that provide unique advantages? Are there any performance figures that show that you can deliver benefits more effectively than others?
  • Do you do things in a different way, or have a unique process that delivers better results?
  • Have you won any important awards or been judged a leader by independent industry analysts?
  • Do you have particularly impressive case studies or testimonials that back-up your claims?

‘New’ content: You can’t just repeat what’s written on your website  – they’ve already seen it. You need at least some content that’s somewhat new. There’s an argument that holding back some messages for use by sales (and  not  by marketing) helps in the creation of a sales presentation.

Section length: Keep sections relatively short and reasonably paced – to ensure that attention levels don’t drop off too fast.

Targeting competitors: It can make sense to create targeted sales messaging aimed at taking customers from a certain competitor. Work out what these customers want, what they are unhappy with, and what you can do better. You don’t need to mention competitors by name if you don’t want to – but think about what major competitors do badly, particularly if they have problems that you have solved.

personal sales presentation

Make the most of your best content: Don’t save your best content until the end as the audience might have stopped listening before you ever show it.

All killer, no filler: Don’t let your presentation have a ‘boring bit’. If you think it does, you need to tighten the content. Remember – sales presentation content doesn’t get better and better the more arguments you use. Putting in too much content risks making things boring, and risks giving audience members something weaker to fixate on and pick apart. Edit aggressively .

personal sales presentation

Length: And if you  really  want to know how long a sales presentation should be, the right answer is probably as short as it can be to work . Do you need to present for more than 20 minutes? Often, no.

With a great opening in place, and some great content supported by a great structure, it would be a shame if your ending let you down.

personal sales presentation

Don’t let your presentation fizzle out to nothing. Close with a call to action that moves your buyers on to the next stage and pushes your sale towards a satisfying conclusion .

The close slide needs to be powerful. I’m not talking about a vague ‘Any Questions?’ but a  slide summarising the value proposition , and then another slide with a very clear recommendation of what should happen next .

PowerPoint is often used badly. Of course. But that doesn’t mean that PowerPoint is a bad tool – you know what they say about poor workmen… PowerPoint really is an excellent tool for creating persuasive visual sales content that sales professionals are comfortable using, it’s just about how you use it.

personal sales presentation

Why bad sales presentations are so bad: Bad sales presentations are overladen with text , and cause ‘ death by PowerPoint ’. Typically, the presenter shows the content on their slide, and then repeats the same information verbally. But as the audience have already read the words on the slide, the presenter becomes unnecessary, and the audience gets bored.

The Weiss-McGrath Report (McGraw-Hill, 1992) demonstrated that, after 72 hours, people retain 10% of what they experience as audio only, 20% of visual only and 65% of audio-visual (or video).

personal sales presentation

How to increase audience engagement: Content that is well-designed, that uses visuals and animation in an intelligent way, is going to draw in and engage audience members. It compels them to pay attention and helps them to understand and remember what even the least charismatic presenter amongst your team has to say.

What to include: Bullet points are so 2004. Reading text and inflicting death by PowerPoint isn’t the way to make your prospects feel like you’ve made an effort. Sales presentations should use relevant images to help you explain complex concepts, paint a picture of what you are selling, and have your messages stick. Not clip art, not stock images of handshakes , but  relevant visualisations and charts that get your points across. Here’s a few tips on using photography effectively for storytelling .

Keeping it on-brand: PowerPoint – done well – can support your corporate brand and visual identity. Why abandon your brand when you engage people in conversation?

If you provide text-based slides to sales, there’s no reason why individuals can’t just start making edits and doing their own thing. Which can be terrifying in some heavily regulated industries, and often helps to undermine your brand… On the other hand, if you provide something that’s visual, animated, and generally compelling – most reps are going to realise that they can’t make a completely new version, and they will want to use what they’ve been given, in the manner you want them to use it.

Design hacks: Apologising for your slides is not a ‘get out of jail free’ card for not putting in the effort. Not being ‘tech-savvy’ isn’t an excuse for not trying to make something more visual. But it really is possible for anyone to make slides they can be proud to stand next to. If you need some help, why not take a look at this blog post giving you design hacks for more professional-looking presentations.

Preparing to Deliver a Sales Presentation

Preparing to deliver your sales presentation is a much overlooked stage in the process. For a lot of people it consists of flicking through the slides a few minutes before the big event. But great content can be completely let down by poor preparation. Here are some best practice tips to help you prepare like a pro.

Preparing your audience: Before you go to deliver a sales presentation, consider sharing an agenda for your sales meeting . This helps the prospect know you are professional, makes them aware you will respect their time, allows you to take some sort of control of the sales process, sets you apart as being clear in your communication, and lets the buyer know what you expect from them.

Tailor to each opportunity: Always think about how to tailor your sales presentation to each specific opportunity – even if you use a standard credentials overview presentation. Trotting out the same presentation to completely different types of audience won’t work. It doesn’t make sense to waste an opportunity by just presenting a canned presentation in the exact same way to every prospect regardless of their situation.

Tailor to your audience: Your slides and your language need to be tailored to whomever you are speaking. CFOs will have different concerns to technical experts; IT communication firms will have different needs to oil and gas operations. By contextualising information and making it relevant to your audience, you’ll make a much greater impact.

Name-dropping: Don’t be afraid to add specific details targeted towards key attendees or decision-makers. A good example would be to throw in a reference to the security standards that your IT solution is compatible with. It may not mean anything to nine out of ten people in the room, but the compliance officer at the back might be listening out for it.

Rehearsing: Time after time we hear of sales presentations being knocked together the day or even the night before an important pitch, often being tweaked and fiddled with well into the small hours, thereby giving the presenters no chance to learn and practice delivering the content.

Rehearse properly, and make it a priority. Make sure senior people with parts to play rehearse too, and don’t just fly in an hour before and mess things up.

And this doesn’t just mean flicking through the slides and going through what you want to say in your head. Stand up, and practice out loud .

personal sales presentation

To script or not to script: Writing out a script only ever hampers your delivery – it’s difficult to learn and even harder to deliver naturally. Instead, work out what the key points are you want to cover and practise talking through them. Don’t get caught up on your wording, instead concentrate on getting across the meaning, the value, and your passion.

For more presenting tips, head over to our ultimate guide to presentation skills .

Delivering a Sales Presentation

And with most of the hard work done, there really isn’t that much left to do but knock your excellent sales presentation out of the park. But you’re not quite out of the woods. Here are some things to consider whilst presenting.

Sorry, not sorry: When you’re delivering your presentation you need to be assertive. Don’t apologise for taking people’s time. Don’t apologise for your content. Don’t apologise for yourself. The more you give your audience excuses, the more you give them excuses not to listen and take note of what you say. Even if you’re not a hugely confident person, you can still give a good presentation. In fact if you’d call yourself an introvert, you might want to have a look at this .

‘We’ vs. ‘You’: Old-fashioned sales presentations are all about what the presenter’s company does. ‘We’ this, ‘we’ that, ‘we’ the other. In terms of the message, and also in terms of delivery, the audience is left thinking that the presenter is a narcissist, and only somewhat relevant. Talk about ‘you’ the audience, use ‘ you phrasing ’, and the audience will start to see how what you are offering applies to them.

Wave goodbye to the waffle: Keep things interesting by providing only relevant information. Refer back to important points throughout the presentation to help facilitate understanding.

Something missing: If you don’t have the right slide, blank the screen with the ‘B’ key (fade to black) or ‘W’ key (fade to white) and draw something. Or just talk instead.

Humour vs. passion: Be careful with humour in a presentation – it’s not always appropriate and needs to be handled carefully. Passion however, is rarely out of place – and is something that can make a real difference. Don’t be afraid to show that passion, your enthusiasm, and even your excitement when speaking to prospects. If it is genuine, it will make an impact. If you think something is great, say that it is great.

Train your reps: If you can manage it, think about training. If you are providing an awesome new sales presentation, consider actually training your reps to use it. This sort of practical training goes down well with sales people – people who would rather learn to deliver  their  particular presentation than sit through soft skills training on stuff like body language.

Consider an on-demand version of your slides: Buyers want information – but not all buyers can meet with your sales people. In this world of complex sales and collaborative buying – let your supporters sell on your behalf by providing an on-demand version of your sales presentation for busy buyers to view. Consider recording a narrated version of your slides, or add some labels to the slides that you presented so that they make sense to someone who wasn’t there to hear how you presented them. Then ask your contacts to distribute on your behalf if you can’t get face-to-face with everyone you would like to talk to.

personal sales presentation

If you enjoyed that, we have plenty more resources and insights to share on all things presentations and eLearning.

  • For more help on writing presentations, have a look at these free resources .
  • If it’s PowerPoint and design you want some help with, we have a free toolkit crammed full of layouts and elements to make your presentations pop and sparkle.
  • We run online masterclasses regularly, so check out the events page to see what’s coming up.
  • If you still need a bit of help with your presentation, read about our Presentation Creation or Slide Revamp services.
  • Didn’t know we did eLearning too? Have a look at some of our insights here . Or read more about what eLearning services we provide over here .

Did you find this article useful? Let us know in the comments box below. Or if you have any questions, drop them below and we’ll get back to you!

personal sales presentation

Related articles

14 sales presentation ideas.

  • Sales presentations / Sales messaging
  • Comments: 4

Sales presentations are important, but 1000s of people each day ignore the principles of sales presentation design and sales messaging and deliver material that is tired, ugly, and ineffective. These sales presentation ideas will help you to easily improve your sales presentation; stand out, engage your audience, and sell more.

personal sales presentation

Choosing a presentation design agency

  • PowerPoint design / Visual communication / Industry insights
  • Comments: 2

Choosing a presentation design agency for your enterprise is a lot harder than buying a product. With presentation design services, you don’t know what you’re going to get until the project is nearly finished. What you get from the studio isn’t the exact same thing as what any other business ends up with. So how do you choose the right presentation design firm for your company?

personal sales presentation

12 training presentation ideas

  • Presentation skills / Visual communication
  • Comments: 13

We've all come across really boring training slides. But wouldn't it be great if training presentations actually supported trainers and helped participants to actually learn something? So, calling all facilitators, trainers, and training content creators, please take note of our 12 training presentation ideas!

personal sales presentation

Wow, super thorough and helpful. Thank you so much for putting this together! As a content creator, I appreciate all the work that went into this article.

So glad you found it helpful Maggie. Good luck with your next sales presentation!

Really, really good content!

Really Good Idea for Create Sales Presentation … Thanks for Sharing this Great Idea with us.

This is literally the best article I’ve ever read on creating a sales presentation, or just sales in general.

Thank you so much for writing.

Thanks Jay.

Hello. design your own nail art online

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h6BuhaSR9A

bts nail art stickers use of nail art brushes

This was great

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment.

Join the BrightCarbon mailing list for monthly invites and resources

All of the content I've seen so far has been valuable and definitely worthwhile. The resources are awesome, and you're really crushing it with useful content. Theresa Schuck Thorp Olympic Steel

personal sales presentation

personal sales presentation

  • Explore our business calling software
  • Book a demo today
  • Turn CloudTalk into a much more powerful tool.

personal sales presentation

  • Integrations list
  • Onboarding Portal
  • Help Center
  • Country Coverage
  • Customer Stories
  • Product Updates
  • Discover & access advanced features
  • Schedule a demo

personal sales presentation

World-class content, delivered to your inbox.

High-impact articles. No spam.

10 perfect sales pitch examples and how to write your own

illustration sales pitch

The quality of a sales pitch can be the difference between meeting or missing a monthly quota. Poor pitches, if not modified and improved, can sink a whole company, in fact. Sales pitches are the backbone of a company’s outward-facing activities, so making sure you have a solid one should be a top-line priority. 

Key takeaways:

KEY TAKEAWY #1

Sales pitches shape leads’ first impressions. To make it effective, prioritize clarity over lengthy narratives, adjust strategy to the target audience (use personalized language), address problems, offer practical solutions, and stress benefits.

KEY TAKEAWY #2

Build credibility with facts and data, overcoming skepticism. Conclude with a clear Call to Action (CTA), directly inviting prospects to take the next step in the selling process.

KEY TAKEAWY #3

Examine effective marketing strategies employed by Lay’s, Apple, and Oatly to assess their narrative strength, ability to identify customer needs, and alignment with values.

KEY TAKEAWY #4

Apple confidently associates products with premium experiences; Wondery Podcast Network uses awards and a compelling slogan, “feel the story,” for a consistent brand tone. Learn from the best!

15+ psychological principles to improve sales

personal sales presentation

What is a sales pitch?   

Sales pitches are, simply, presentations that sales representatives give when trying to convince a prospect to do business with their company. 

Sales pitches are usually formulaic in nature, designed to capture the attention of their audience. They can be given verbally over the phone, or with accompanying visual materials in person. 

Pitches can be directed at a variety of audiences, too. Investors, potential customers and budding business partners are just a few examples of people or entities one could call a prospect. 

A sales pitch is usually the first exposure a prospect has to your company and its mission, so be sure to take the necessary time to develop a pitch that works for your agents and their prospects. 

Read on for some tips about designing a professional, effective sales pitch. 

How to make a great sales pitch 

#1 be clear and concise.

Sales pitches should be delivered confidently by a salesperson who’s fully convinced of the efficacy of your product. 

Their presentation should be right to the point — there’s nothing worse as a prospect than being dragged along a winding narrative road towards a weakly-made point. Salespeople that drone on and on bore their audience and risk losing business. 

In short, don’t beat around the bush: time is money, and your prospects are better served by succinct sales pitches that use clear language to explain why your product is right for them. 

#2 Identify and address your target audience 

Identifying your target audience in the body of your sales pitch can help make your message feel personal. 

For example, if you’re selling ready-made meals from a food delivery service, you could call out your target audience by saying something like, “Tired of having to figure out what to cook each and every night? With [company name], all the ingredients for a week of delicious dinners are delivered right to your door.” 

If you choose to speak directly to your target audience, make sure to use broad, generic language so as not to alienate any potential customers. 

Be sure to carefully tailor your sales pitches to each individual prospect. Never assume that a model that worked well for one presentation will work well for the next. 

#3 Identify a problem they face, and explain how your product can help solve it

It’s often said that a salesperson’s secret sauce is presenting their product as the solution to a common problem. The first opportunity that they have to do this is through the sales pitch. 

When coming up with the thrust of your pitch, you’ll want to identify and define a common problem that your target audience faces. Once that’s been introduced, you can present your product as the key to finally solving that problem. 

#4 Give a practical example of your solution

The key here is to help them envision a reality where they’re actively using your product to address and finally solve a nagging problem. 

Say, for example, you’re trying to sell fertilizer for people’s lawns in the dead of winter. As a sales representative in this scenario, you could talk about getting ready for springtime, and how lush and green the prospect’s lawn will look thanks to your fertilizer product. Assuming you’ve identified this prospect as someone who’s dissatisfied with their current lawn fertilizer, you could contrast last spring’s subpar lawn to the promise of this spring’s lawn. 

The idea is to paint a picture for the prospect – one in which your product is the answer to all of their problems. 

#5 Root your pitch in facts and data, and don’t forget the CTA! 

Sales pitches work best when they’re anchored in plenty of facts and data. People are sometimes wary of salespeople and their tricks of the trade. Leaning on unfalsifiable facts and figures can disarm and eventually persuade even the most skeptical of prospects. 

Finally, when you reach the end of your sales pitch presentation, don’t forget to include some sort of CTA (call to action). It can be something direct and explicit, like handing a prospect your business card and attempting to schedule a follow-up discussion; or something more subtle like mentioning that your email line is open should anyone have any lingering questions about your presentation. 

The choice is yours; just ensure that you communicate in the right way, either by using the correct scripts or SaaS proposal templates . This will help you create a sales pitch presentation that leaves your prospects feeling excited about your product.

10 sales pitch examples

#1 pitch from a lay’s salesperson to investors about new marketing campaign.

“Hi, my name is Jacob and I’m a representative from Lay’s potato chips. So nice to be with all of you today. 

We’ve all been there, right? You come home from a long day at the office, wanting nothing more than to plop down in front of the TV with a good salty snack. You open your pantry and let out an exasperated sigh: nothing but plain potato chips. Nothing interesting, nothing unique, nothing that makes your mouth water. 

It’s an all-too-familiar conundrum, and one that we here at Lay’s are determined to do something about. 

That’s why we’ve recently begun a campaign that asks you, the consumer, to help us select a series of new potato chip flavors. We’ll engage with you across a range of platforms, crowdsourcing the insights necessary to keep all Lay’s snackers satisfied. Before you know it, we’ll all be living in a world full of flavor. 

If you’ve got any questions about this new initiative or about our brand in general, my line is always open. We’re very much looking forward to seeing what we can build together.”  

Notice how the presenter of this sales pitch uses a narrative to capture his audience’s attention. By placing the members of his audience in the shoes of someone dealing with a common problem — not having interesting enough snack foods at home — he is making his product relevant to the consumer. 

By soliciting his consumer’s input, he is guaranteeing that they’ll be satisfied with the results of the campaign. 

Lastly, we can appreciate how the salesperson’s playfulness with his language surrounding the product has the effect of putting his audience at ease, thus making them open to hearing new ideas.

#2 Booking Steve Wozniak as a Keynote Speaker 

personal sales presentation

This sales pitch, directed at people looking for a high-profile keynote speaker for their event, gets right to the point by telling you who the speaker is and how they gained notoriety. 

It continues by playing up Steve Wozniak’s many accomplishments, thus framing him as eminently qualified to speak at whatever event you may be holding. 

The pitch then speaks to Wozniak’s oratory skills, describing his presentations as “unforgettable” and “full of expert insight” on a range of topics. 

It even speaks directly to a likely academic target audience by mentioning Wozniak’s potential to inspire students in the STEM fields. 

#3 Oat-ly Drink Barista Edition

personal sales presentation

Oat-ly as a brand is well known for its unique voice and style. Conversational in tone, this sales pitch for Oat-ly’s Barista-Edition Oat Drink seeks to make a connection with its audience right off the bat, confidently assuming the reader is indeed a barista. 

While one may think this is a risky move in sales copy — one that might alienate a large portion of their audience — it’s actually an effective way to naturally boast about the product’s merits as a foamable oat drink. 

Overall, Oat-ly’s sales pitch for their Barista-Edition oat drink is an excellent example of how confident copy can win over your audience. 

#4: Habitat for Humanity “Who we are”

Habitat for Humanity partners with people in your community, and all over the world, to help them build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. With your support, Habitat homeowners achieve the strength, stability and independence they need to build a better life for themselves and for their families. Through our 2020 Strategic Plan, Habitat for Humanity will serve more people than ever before through decent and affordable housing.

Habitat for Humanity is a charity organization that helps to build homes for disadvantaged people all around the world. The “Who we are” section of their website’s About page serves as a sales pitch for prospective philanthropists. 

The pitch begins by positioning Habitat for Humanity as a wide-reaching force for good. By emphasizing their experience in charitable home building, they’re assuring their audience that they know what they’re doing, and that their donation would be put to good use. 

A key part of this sales pitch is the use of the phrase, “with your support”. It quite directly highlights the integral role that charitable donations play in the work that Habitat for Humanity is able to do. Furthermore, by addressing the reader directly — “with  your  support” — an element of urgency is added into the mix. The use of this sort of language places this “Who we are” paragraph squarely in solicitous, sales pitch territory.

#5 “Sell me this pen” scene, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

This scene from the 2013 blockbuster movie The Wolf of Wall Street speaks directly to one of the core tenets underlying any and every sales pitch: the identification and fulfillment of a need. 

Unless your sales pitch clearly identifies the gap in the market that your product is attempting to fill, it will likely fall flat with your audience. In the case of the The Wolf of Wall Street scene, the final and best sales pitch comes from the salesman who makes his prospect’s need for his product painfully obvious. He’s able to do this by handing his prospect a piece of paper and asking him to sign his name. His prospect quickly realizes that in order to accomplish this task he needs a pen — exactly the product the salesman is trying to sell. 

Of course, not all businesses sell pens and identifying an effective way to highlight the need your product fills may prove difficult. It’s well worth the effort, though, we assure you. As we can see in the “Sell me this pen” scene, the most effective sales pitches are those that demonstrate the usefulness of their products through the quick and clear identification of need. 

#6 Alsace, France Tourism Brochure 

personal sales presentation

This rather whimsical sales pitch from an Alsace, France tourism brochure cleverly positions the region and its many attractions as the subject of some sort of collective fantasy. 

It’s a bold pitch, and one we’d argue is quite effective. Part of the attraction of travel is the chance to discover new and magical places. This sales pitch plays up the “magic” of Alsace and invites its audience to live out their dreams there. 

There’s an important takeaway here for salespeople, and it’s this: try as best you can to associate your product with a widely-recognized ideal. 

Say you’re selling sponges. Is it more effective to develop a sales pitch that highlights the quality of the material from which your sponges or made? Or would you be better off describing and showing images of spotless dishes and silverware that were cleaned using your sponges? 

We’d argue that the spotless kitchenware pitch — the ideal that your product will help customers achieve — is the more effective sales strategy. 

So whether you’re selling a dream-like holiday destination or a set of sponges, make sure your audience knows what your product can help them achieve. 

#7 FlixBus Holidays Email 

personal sales presentation

This email campaign from FlixBus demonstrates the utility of timeliness and urgency in sales. The lead text in the email is, “December is just around the corner… Time to plan your holidays!”. This kind of marketing message is effective because it takes advantage of the season, and has the added benefit of being extremely easy for a marketing team to organize. All your team would need to do is draft the email message and schedule it to be send one month before the holidays.   

#8 Citi Bike membership 

personal sales presentation

This sales pitch for NYC-based Citi Bike bicycle sharing program is jam-packed with useful information for potential customers. First, it breaks down the price of a membership to per-day cost. This is effective because it makes the membership seem supremely affordable. Next, it speaks to the health benefits of staying fit, something one can easily achieve by riding a bicycle regularly. The pitch continues by noting how more people riding bikes means less people driving cars, which is a net benefit for the environment. Finally, the audience is made aware that riding a bicycle in a traffic-jammed city like New York is often a quicker, more efficient way of getting around. Taken as a whole, this sales pitch demonstrates the effectiveness of giving your potential customers as much information as possible. People appreciate it, and feel secure knowing they have all they need to make an informed decision about using your product or service. 

#9 Apple product pitch 

personal sales presentation

This simple, straightforward pitch begins with a two-sentence, eye-catching headline: “The best experiences. Only on Apple.”. The first sentence is confident, and sets the tone for the whole pitch. The product, Apple, should be associated with the best experiences, ful stop. Furthermore, these “best experiences” can only be had with Apple. Pretty compelling message, huh? The pitch continues by describing the many benefits of using Apple products, with a focus on high-quality entertainment. Overall, the pitch makes clear the benefit of being confident in your sales pitch copy. 

#10 Wondery Podcast Network

personal sales presentation

The Wondery podcast studio produces a wide-range of narrative podcasts, mostly focused on the historical drama genre. This pitch, on their website’s “about” page, starts off with a definition of the product. Notice how they use the phrase “binge-worthy”. Though it has become a sort of buzzword in audiovisual content production, it does speak strongly to the quality of content Wondery produces. The pitch goes on by highlighting several awards that the studio has won for its podcasts. A key takeaway from the pitch is its natural incorporation of the company’s slogan, “feel the story”. As a general rule, slogans are an effective means of ensuring your company’s messaging maintains a consistent tone throughout all of your various communications channels. 

The Bottom Line

We hope our breakdown of how to craft effective sales pitches and the examples we analyzed will help you to more easily come up with your own. 

After you’ve drawn up a clear, concise sales pitch, the next step will be to disseminate the pitch to your target audience. For this, you’ll need an easy-to-use, all-in-one communications platform. Lucky for you, we’ve got just the thing. 

CloudTalk  empowers salespeople all over the world to connect with prospects on crystal clear, jitter-free calls. It also helps marketers more efficiently schedule and execute campaigns with its bevy of useful automation tools and integrations to today’s most popular CRMs.  Want to see CloudTalk’s powerful features and integrations for yourself? Try a  14-day free trial  today, absolutely free.

What to read next

Recommended for you

Illustration improve sales efforts

World-class articles, delivered into the your box.

Zero spams. True articles.

CloudTalk is a 140+ person global tech company transforming customer experience by enabling businesses to build lasting relationships with their customers.

+44 20 3868 0167

+34 911 98 79 28

+32 2 808 12 83

+55 11 4680-2723

+1 888-487-1675

+49 32 221099159

+40 31 630 0197

+60 3-4065 2168

+61 2 8311 6777

+48 22 292 25 18

+41 43 508 21 35

+52 55 4170 3698

Bratislava Office The Spot Bottova 7939/2A 811 09 Bratislava Slovakia

Prague Office Václavské nám. 47 110 00 Prague Czech Republic

personal sales presentation

© 2024 CloudTalk. All rights reserved. Various trademarks held by their respective owners.

Service status

GDPR & Privacy Policy

Terms and Conditions

INTEGRATIONS

  • Inbound Call Center
  • Outbound Call Center
  • Business Phone System

ABOUT CLOUDTALK

  • Request a free trial
  • Brand Assets & Newsroom
  • Comparison overview
  • Aircall Alternative
  • JustCall Alternative
  • RingCentral Alternative
  • Five9 Alternative
  • International numbers
  • SMS / Text messages
  • Improve Call Flows with IVR Technology
  • Call Center Analytics
  • Call Center Recording
  • Interactive Voice Response
  • Call Monitoring
  • Click to Call
  • Smart Dialer
  • Power Dialer

Hey there! Free trials are available for Standard and Essentials plans. Start for free today.

What is Personal Selling and Why is it Important?

Discover personal selling, why it’s important, and how it can help your business increase sales.

Customers like to do business with people they know, like, and trust, which is why personal selling is such an important technique in sales and business.

Personal selling is a marketing technique that involves direct, face-to-face interaction with potential customers. Not only does this technique build relationships, but it also improves customer satisfaction, builds trust, and helps build brand awareness.

Personal selling involves person-to-person communication, which requires interpersonal skills and expertise to persuade leads to buy products and services.

There are many different types of personal selling, including retail sales, business-to-business sales, and telemarketing. Personal selling is especially effective with high-end products like cars and homes but is just effective with smaller purchases, especially for repeat sales and sales referrals.

Having a personal selling strategy is important for many reasons. Continue reading to learn more about the personal selling process and how it can benefit your customer relationships.

What is personal selling?

Personal selling is a type of marketing strategy that involves one-on-one interaction with prospective customers to sell a product or service.

While personal selling is a part of marketing, there are several key differences between the two. Personal selling and marketing are both important components of building a brand strategy , but they differ in their approach and objectives.

Marketing entails a broader set of activities that are designed to create awareness of a company's products or services, generate interest among potential customers, and ultimately lead to sales. Marketing can involve a wide range of tactics, including advertising, public relations, content marketing, email campaigns, social media, and more.

Personal selling is a technique that involves face-to-face selling between a sales rep and a prospective customer. With personal selling, sales representatives try to persuade a potential customer to purchase your product or service. This technique helps to build relationships with customers and ensure customer satisfaction.

Types of personal selling

There are several types of personal selling, each with its own features and objectives. Here are some of the most common types:

  • Retail sales : This is the most common type of personal selling. It involves experienced salespeople selling products directly to consumers in retail stores or online. The salesperson is responsible for explaining the features and benefits of the product, answering any questions the customer may have, and closing the sale. Examples of retail sales include a salesperson at a clothing store, electronics store, or car dealership.
  • Business-to-business (B2B) sales : B2B sales involve selling products or services to other businesses. The salesperson may need to work with a team to understand the needs of the business and to tailor their sales pitch to meet those needs. Examples of B2B sales include a salesperson selling office equipment to a company or a sales representative selling industrial machinery to a manufacturer.
  • Telemarketing : Telemarketing involves sales reps making sales calls to potential customers over the phone. The salesperson is responsible for making a persuasive sales pitch and overcoming any objections the customer may have. Examples of telemarketing include a salesperson calling customers to sell them credit cards, insurance policies, or subscriptions to a service.
  • Direct selling : Direct selling involves salespeople selling products or services directly to consumers in their homes. The salesperson typically demonstrates the product, explains its features and benefits, and helps the customer place an order. Examples of direct selling include a salesperson selling cosmetics, kitchenware, or cleaning products to customers in their homes.
  • Consultative selling : Consultative selling involves salespeople acting as consultants to their customers, helping them to identify their needs and offering solutions to meet those needs. The salesperson may need to conduct a needs analysis, provide product demonstrations, and offer customized solutions to the customer. Examples of consultative selling include a salesperson selling software solutions to a business or a financial advisor helping a client plan for retirement.

Why is personal selling important?

Personal selling is important because it involves direct communication between a salesperson and a prospective customer, with the aim of persuading them to purchase a product or service or increase revenue through personalization .

Personal selling typically happens with face-to-face meetings, but it can also be conducted via phone, video conferencing, or other communication channels.

The focus of personal selling is on building relationships with customers and tailoring the sales approach to their specific needs and preferences. Examples of personal selling might include a car salesperson meeting with a potential customer to show them different car models and features, a real estate agent giving a tour of a property to a prospective buyer, or a financial advisor meeting with a client to discuss investment options. Personal selling can also help you build a personal brand strategy .

The focus of marketing is on reaching as many people as possible and generating interest and demand for a product or service, which you can do by using personal selling techniques.

Personal selling process

The personal selling process typically includes several steps, each designed to move the potential customer closer to making a purchase. Understanding these personal selling techniques is crucial so you can optimize the selling process.

By following these steps, salespeople can effectively move prospects through the customer journey and increase their chances of making a successful sale.

Prospecting

So, What is the first step in the personal selling process?

The first step in the personal selling process is prospecting . This involves identifying potential customers who may be interested in the product or service being sold. Prospecting can be done through various means, such as referrals, cold calling, networking events, or social media.

Pre-approach

Once potential customers have been identified, the salesperson needs to do some research and preparation before making contact.

This involves gathering information about the customer, such as their needs, preferences, and buying habits, as well as information about the product or service being sold.

The salesperson may also prepare a sales presentation or demonstration to use during the approach stage.

The approach stage is where the salesperson makes initial contact with the potential customer. The goal is to make a good first impression and establish rapport with the customer. The salesperson may use various techniques, such as a warm greeting, a compliment, or an opening question to engage the customer and start a conversation.

Presentation

Once the salesperson has established a rapport with the customer, they will move on to the presentation stage. This involves showcasing the product or service being sold and explaining its features, benefits, and value proposition.

The salesperson may use various presentation techniques, such as product demonstrations, testimonials, or case studies, to illustrate the product's benefits and persuade the customer to make a purchase.

Overcoming objections

During the presentation, the potential customer may raise objections or concerns about the product or service being sold. The salesperson needs to be prepared to address these objections and provide satisfactory answers that alleviate the customer's concerns.

This may involve providing additional information, offering solutions, or addressing any misconceptions the customer may have.

The final stage in the personal selling process is closing the sale. This involves asking for the customer's business and finalizing the transaction. By the closing stage, you should have formed a personal connection with the customer.

The salesperson may use various closing techniques, such as offering a discount, creating a sense of urgency, or emphasizing the benefits of the product or service, to encourage the customer to make a purchase.

After the sale, following up with the customer to get feedback after the purchase is key to strengthening the personal relationship and nurturing future sales.

It's important to note that not every sales conversation will lead to a sale, but by understanding the personal selling process, salespeople can increase their chances of success, build stronger customer relationships, and improve the customer experience.

Advantages and disadvantages of personal selling

Personal selling advantages and disadvantages may come into play when deciding to use this concept for your business. It can be a very effective component of a well-designed marketing strategy, so knowing the pros and cons is essential.

  • Customization: With personal selling, you have the power of personalization at your side. For example, a salesperson selling office equipment to a business can identify the specific needs of the business and provide customized solutions that meet those needs.
  • Relationship-building: A financial advisor who engages in personal selling can build a strong relationship with clients by providing personalized financial advice, answering questions, and demonstrating a genuine interest in the client's financial well-being. This can lead to long-term business relationships and referrals.
  • Immediate feedback: A salesperson who is selling a new product can observe the customer's reactions and adjust their sales pitch accordingly. For example, if the customer seems hesitant about the price, the salesperson can explain the value of the product and offer additional information to address the customer's concerns.

Disadvantages

  • High cost: Personal selling strategies can be expensive. For instance, a company that employs a sales team to sell industrial machinery to other businesses may incur significant costs associated with travel, equipment, and salaries. This can be particularly true if the sales cycle is long and requires multiple visits.
  • Limited reach: With personal selling, you may not reach as many people as you would with other marketing techniques. For example, a salesperson selling cosmetics to customers in their homes can only reach a limited number of customers at a time. This can make it difficult to generate significant sales or reach a wider audience.
  • Inconsistent quality: A company that relies on untrained or inexperienced salespeople to sell its products may encounter issues with quality and effectiveness. This can result in missed sales opportunities and negative customer experiences. For example, if a salesperson is not knowledgeable about a product, they may not be able to answer customer questions or provide effective solutions.

Humanize your sales process with personal selling

You can improve your customer experience by adding personal selling to a well-thought-out marketing strategy. But to get started with personal selling for your business, you need to have the right tools and resources, which you can get with Mailchimp.

Mailchimp has all the tools and resources you need to seamlessly strengthen your business, build your brand, and humanize your sales process. Contact us today to get started.

Sales | How To

7 Steps to an Effective Personal Selling Process

Published February 7, 2024

Published Feb 7, 2024

Charity May Amancio

REVIEWED BY: Charity May Amancio

Lorraine Daisy Resuello

WRITTEN BY: Lorraine Daisy Resuello

This article is part of a larger series on Sales Management .

  • 1. Lead Prospecting
  • 2. Preparation or Pre-approach
  • 3. Approach
  • 4. Sales Presentation
  • 5. Handling Objections
  • 7. Follow Up

Bottom Line

Personal selling involves direct communication via phone, email, or video conference, or in person between a sales rep and a prospect or potential customer. Salespeople must have an in-depth understanding of the personal selling process to handle objections quickly, build strong relationships, and reduce churn—which is when customers discontinue a service or opt not to renew their contract. We explain the process of personal selling in detailed steps below.

Personal selling starts with generating leads and then educating and nurturing them so they move further down the sales funnel . It’s a strategy that involves one-on-one interaction with leads to convince them to reach a decision and choose your solution. Sales teams ensure an effective personal selling process using various tactics and tools.

Step 1: Lead Prospecting

Lead prospecting is part of a lead generation strategy wherein you research relevant information about potential customers or people who might be interested in your company’s offerings. Salespeople prospect by calling, sending emails, researching social media, and scheduling meetings to determine the best leads .

However, prospecting can be a tedious task if you have multiple lead sources, like your website, social media, and ecommerce store. Luckily, you can leverage technology like customer relationship management (CRM) software to implement effective prospecting alongside the other steps of the selling process. For instance, HubSpot CRM provides a holistic view of upcoming and overdue tasks, meeting schedules, sequence tasks, and other prospecting activities.

Visit HubSpot CRM

HubSpot dashboard showing task management capabilities (Source: HubSpot )

Step 2: Preparation or Pre-approach

During this step, you will practice a sales pitch and presentation that’s been custom-created for the prospect. This step involves extensively researching and formulating a tailored solution to a prospect’s business needs. You must set goals, schedule an appointment, and carry out tasks necessary for the success of the sales presentation.

You can use Freshsales CRM to capture and analyze a prospect’s activities online, like website and in-app interactions. This helps identify the prospect’s pain points so you can determine the best solution to offer during the sales presentation. You can also use this tool to automatically enrich customer data via auto-log conversations and view tasks and scheduled appointments for effective sales planning and follow-ups.

Get complete customer details with Freshsales Customer 360.

Freshsales Customer 360 view showing complete customer details (Source: Freshsales )

Step 3: Approach

This stage is when you deliver your sales pitch , which aims to get the lead’s buy-in. A sales pitch must have an introduction, a unique selling or value proposition , and a call to action. At this point, a sales rep can meet the prospect in person, via phone, or via video conference to present the formulated tailored solution. The goal in this stage is to nurture the lead, which will pave the way for a smooth transition toward the sales demonstration.

An effective sales pitch is one where the prospect feels your intention of providing a personalized solution. To do this, frame your sales pitch around your customer’s needs instead of yours. You should also choose the right channel based on your customer’s utmost preference for a more positive response. If you’re ready to send a follow-up email to confirm the demo appointment, check out our follow-up email templates here.

FILE TO DOWNLOAD OR INTEGRATE

Unique Selling Proposition Templates

Unique Selling Proposition Templates.

Thank you for downloading!

Step 4: sales presentation.

A sales presentation, or product demo, explains how a recommended solution to an existing pain point or gap can benefit the lead based on accurate research data. At this stage, you must share a unique selling proposition and show how the features of the product work based on real-life scenarios or use cases. After presenting the features and use cases, outline the implementation timeline (e.g., one-day installation) and process, as well as infrastructure requirements for clarity.

A product demo can make a difference in winning a deal, so sales teams must be able to humanize their sales presentation. One way to do this is by role-playing with your sales team to determine and pick the best practices of the top sales performers. Managers should also create an updated sales playbook to guide reps in personalizing customers’ sales experience.

Step 5: Handling Objections

A sales objection refers to the reason why a lead doesn’t move forward to the next stage, which is a natural part of personal selling. As expected, your prospect will throw many questions at you, such as about your offer’s cost-effectiveness, timing, relevances, and appropriateness to their existing needs. The common reasons for sales objections also include fear of change, satisfaction with the current provider, and preference for a more recognizable brand.

Active listening, validating concerns, and asking follow-up questions are important in making your prospect feel your genuine interest in prioritizing their needs. You can also leverage social proof like your case studies and customer testimonials to prove your point. If your lead doesn’t ask any questions, follow up via email or call.

Pro tip: The best sales management teams practice emotional selling . For instance, role-playing the personal selling process with examples like explaining the risk of not buying and offering an exclusive offer helps overcome objections and close the deal.

Template for Handling Sales Objections

Template for Handling Sales Objections.

Step 6: Closing

It’s now time to close the deal. At this point, you must determine if the prospect is ready to negotiate the terms of the agreement. The time duration of closing depends on the deal’s complexity and changes in the sales contract.

Providing an estimate can help expedite the closing stage. You can check our seven free estimate templates to provide your prospects with detailed pricing information. Clearly outline product or service options and the costs of your services, and follow the best practices for writing estimates in your proposal to build trust.

Estimates Templates

Estimates Templates.

Step 7: Follow Up

Sales teams must follow up with the customer after closing a deal to determine the likelihood of establishing a good long-term business relationship. You can follow up with a customer after a sales demo by sending an email, survey form, or phone call. Also, you can set up a meeting in person or via video conference.

Some businesses have a dedicated account management team. Account managers nurture relationships with customers, which is an essential aspect of operating a business. Once a deal is closed, sales teams can send customers to this team for onboarding. Effective onboarding can ensure your new customers will remain loyal and be willing to renew or upgrade their subscriptions in the future.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the different types of personal selling.

The three types of personal selling include order taking, order getting, and order creating. Order-taker reps are engaged in inbound sales, helping leads choose the best solution for their needs. On the other hand, order-getters are outbound sales reps who initiate contact with leads to stir their interest in their offerings. Order-creators find and establish business opportunities for the company using persuasion, profit incentives, and relationship nurturing.

What are the pros & cons of an effective personal selling process?

Some of the pros of personal selling include highlighting expertise, establishing trust, closing more deals, and gaining loyal customers. A major con of this process, however, is that it can be time-consuming. Using the right tech tools helps implement an effective personal selling process that can help sales reps become more efficient, competent, and confident in what they do.

What are the essential tools for an effective personal selling process?

Customer relationship management (CRM) software and sales templates are essential tools for implementing the steps in the personal selling process. Sales teams can use a CRM to manage leads and deals, as well as sales templates for follow-up emails and pricing estimates, to determine where the lead is in the stages of the personal selling process or the sales funnel.

The steps to an effective personal selling process include implementing strategies on properly prospecting leads, preparing the sales pitch, and implementing the right approach. Sales teams must practice how to deliver a compelling sales demonstration, handle objections, and close the sale by addressing all the prospect’s questions and concerns. Leverage the lead, sales, and contact management features of CRM systems and sales templates to help you close the deal.

About the Author

Lorraine Daisy Resuello

Find Lorraine Daisy On LinkedIn

Lorraine Daisy Resuello

Lorraine Daisy Resuello is a specialist at Fit Small Business who focuses on Sales and Customer Service topics. Before joining FSB, she worked as a freelance writer covering technology, digital marketing, and business topics. She collaborated with companies in the US, UK, Canada, Singapore, and the Philippines. Additionally, she has experience in customer service in business process outsourcing (BPO). At present, she uses her decade-long writing experience to provide FSB readers with the best answers to their questions.

Join Fit Small Business

Sign up to receive more well-researched small business articles and topics in your inbox, personalized for you. Select the newsletters you’re interested in below.

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.

  • Newsletter sign up Newsletter

A man stands in front of a group of co-workers to give a sales presentation.

“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.”

Subscribe to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Be a smarter, better informed investor.

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hwgJ7osrMtUWhk5koeVme7-200-80.png

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.

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 .

Related Content

  • Why Poor Job Interviews Hurt Both Employers and Job Seekers
  • Six Things Not to Do if You Want to Resolve a Conflict
  • Four Easy Ways to Get Yourself Fired
  • Looking for a Job? Here’s How Not to Get Hired
  • Over 50? You’re a Hot Ticket in Today’s Labor Market

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA .

To continue reading this article please register for free

This is different from signing in to your print subscription

Why am I seeing this? Find out more here

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." 

An older man rides an electric scooter down the walk outside an office sky-rise.

Want to keep working, just not as hard? A phased retirement may just be the answer.

By Kimberly Lankford Published 23 April 24

stock market today

Equities rallied on easing geopolitical tensions, upcoming quarterly results.

By Dan Burrows Published 22 April 24

An older man looks out the window at home.

Waiting until 70 to file for Social Security benefits comes with a higher check, but there could be financial consequences to consider for you and your family.

By Patrick M. Simasko, J.D. Published 22 April 24

Four balls of cash getting subsequently bigger.

The venture capital crunch may be easing, but it isn't over yet. That means there could be direct investment opportunities for private deal investors.

By Thomas Ruggie, ChFC®, CFP® Published 22 April 24

A mountain-climbing older man reaches a hand out to an unseen climber to help him up.

Retirees who explore new interests and have an active social life are more likely to find joy — and even greatness — in the newfound freedom of retirement.

By Richard P. Himmer, PhD Published 21 April 24

An older woman walks toward a sunset.

How our life ends isn’t always up to us, but that question too often must be answered by loved ones and health care workers who don’t know what we would want.

By Joel Theisen, RN Published 21 April 24

A couple of home buyers talk with a real estate agent in the front room of a vacant house.

Real estate looks to be especially hopping this spring, thanks to pent-up demand and buyers adjusting to higher mortgage rates. Here’s how you can prepare.

By Pam Krueger Published 20 April 24

An older man spreads his arms wide as he swings through the air on an amusement park ride.

Eating well, exercising, getting plenty of sleep and managing chronic stress can help make you a SuperAger. Funding that long life requires longevity literacy.

By Phil Wright, Certified Fund Specialist Published 19 April 24

A black-and-white photo from 1960 of Barron and Marilyn Hilton looking at a large bird and its handler in front of a hotel.

Disclaimers, good communication, post-marital agreements and more could help avoid conflict in a family after the owners of a wealthy estate pass away.

By John M. Goralka Published 19 April 24

A happily retired couple dance together on their porch with a great mountain view behind them.

To maximize what you can collect, it’s crucial to know when you can file, how delaying filing affects your checks and the income limit if you’re still working.

By Jason “JB” Beckett Published 18 April 24

  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Advertise with us

Kiplinger is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site . © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

personal sales presentation

Personal Selling: Definition, Techniques, and Examples in 2024

' src=

  • March 4, 2024

LinkedIn

Once upon a time, sales was 100% personal selling. But now, thanks to globalization, advances in technology, and the rising cost of travel, personal selling is just one of many techniques available to salespeople to warm up a lead and close a deal.

Personal selling should be part of a wider sales mix, alongside telesales, email marketing, sales promotion, advertising, and public relations. But personal selling must not be overlooked: it remains an extremely important part of a salesperson’s arsenal and is a skill every good salesperson must master.

What is personal selling?

Personal selling is when a salesperson meets a potential buyer or buyers face-to-face with the aim of selling a product or service. The most traditional form of sales, many salespeople are lured to the industry by the adrenaline rush of high-stakes personal selling; picture those whisky-swilling Mad Men, or the ultra-driven salesmen of Glengarry Glen Ross.

These days, there’s a lot more to sales than attending meetings.

Why? Simply put – the expense.

Think about it: each face-to-face meeting requires significantly more investment – from both sides – than just contacting a prospect via email or phone. Suddenly, you’ve got travel expenses. And the time it takes to prepare for, travel to, and take the meeting only adds to the cost. This is why it’s vital to consider the value and type of product you’re aiming to sell – as well as the likelihood of closing the deal – before automatically opting for personal selling.

But face-to-face meetings certainly still have their place. Consider this: 68% of B2B customers are lost due to indifference or perceived apathy rather than mistakes. Attending a sales meeting is a prime way to combat this issue by showing you care enough to invest time and money in your prospect on good faith.

Fifty-eight percent of buyers state that sales meetings are not valuable, and that there should be a greater focus on the value businesses can deliver to them. On the face of it, this doesn’t sound like great news for salespeople who shine in meetings. But it does mean that over 40% of prospects are open to sales meetings. The other 60% may just need convincing that a meeting will help you add real value to their business.

Personal selling Techniques

1. focus on the right leads.

With the extra time and monetary investment required for face-to-face sales meetings, it’s essential businesses lock down ROI by choosing the right prospects to meet in person through a comprehensive lead-qualifying process.

Not every meeting will lead to a sale, but you can get yourself closer to hitting those sales stats by asking yourself:

  • What is the value of this potential sale?
  • What is the size of the business you’re selling to?
  • Is your product or service genuinely going to serve the business well?
  • Could building a strong relationship with the DM lead to more business down the line?
  • Is a sales meeting actually going to help close the sale? Perhaps the DM is extremely time-poor and prefers email or telephone communication?
  • What value can you add in a sales meeting?

2. Exceed expectations through preparation

Salespeople who turn up to a meeting without preparing properly are a serious irritant for buyers. In fact, 82% of B2B buyers think sales reps are unprepared. This suggests that many prospects have been deterred from sales meetings – which they may consider a waste of time – due to negative past experiences.

It’s your job to change their mind.

Buyers don’t want to work with pushy salespeople. For buyers, a positive sales experience involves a sales representative who:

  • listens to their needs
  • is invested in the success of their business
  • provides relevant information

Yet, just 13% of prospects believe a sales rep can understand their needs – suggesting salespeople have a reputation for not listening properly and just pushing ahead with a boilerplate pitch.

Active listening is of course vital for sales reps – not just in the meeting, but ahead of it. Note down every piece of information you receive via call or email and use this to your advantage in the meeting to prove you understand the business’s real needs. And practice active listening outside of meetings – when your mind is racing, it’s not as easy as it sounds.

Put yourself head and shoulders above the competition by over preparing. Don’t just research the company so you can show off by reciting stats or dates in the interview – learn about their pain points, their budgets, and what they’re trying to achieve. You can then position your product or service as a solution that helps them achieve their wider goals.

Your presentation should never be boilerplate: use the information you’ve gathered through research and listening to tailor it specifically to the company’s goals and how your product or service slots into their strategy.

3. Add value in the meeting

These days, it’s drummed into sales reps that they must add value in meetings, demonstrating that they’ll continue to provide useful assistance should the client sign on the dotted line. Doing this successfully demonstrates that you know what you’re talking about, and also that you care about working with the company long-term to help them achieve their goals, thereby building trust.

But what are the best techniques for adding value in that initial meeting?

Sixty-nine percent of buyers state that providing primary research data that’s relevant to their business is the best way for reps to add value. Furthermore, 95% of customers choose to buy from providers that offer relevant content at every stage of the buying process.

The amount your company is willing to invest in research or content ahead of the meeting will no doubt vary depending on the size of the potential deal. But there’s always some level of research salespeople are able to do ahead of the big date.

Use your company’s tools to pull data surrounding the business and its competitors that the organization hasn’t gathered itself. Give an analysis of the top-level findings in your presentation, explain how your products and services can help with the challenges you’ve uncovered, and then send the DM the data and your analysis. Ask your content team to create a bank of assets surrounding regular FAQs and industry pain points – whether blogs, infographics, videos, or ebooks – so you’re able to send links to additional helpful information during or after the meeting.

4. Make it clear you’re in this together

The best-performing sales reps use collaborative words like “we” or “us” instead of words like “I” or “me.” This is a simple method for making the prospective buyer feel like you’re on their side and want nothing more than to see their business thrive.

Asking intelligent, in-depth questions surrounding their business challenges, and coming back with potential solutions related to your products and services, takes this a step further, as does turning up to the meeting with the research and data outlined above.

However you do it, make sure your client leaves the meeting seeing your relationship as a partnership.

5. Tell a story

An important stat to remember when crafting your pitch: following a presentation, 63% of prospects remember stories, but just 5% remember statistics. Storytelling hooks in prospects significantly more than a bunch of dry numbers.

Turn how you can add value to your client into a story, with a clear beginning (now), middle (how you’ll work with them) and end (the results they can expect).

Ensure case studies are told in story form, too. Where relevant, you can also tell the story of your company to gain buy-in: you’ll be seen less as a faceless entity, and more as a friendly brand.

When to Use Personal Selling?

Although personal selling can be used in most business scenarios, it is especially effective when you have a:

  • Highly specialized offering: Personal selling is an effective way to introduce a specialized product, as it allows you to explain and demonstrate how the product is specifically tailored to your prospect’s needs. It also allows for more personalized conversations with potential customers, allowing them to ask questions and learn about the benefits of the product.
  • Small market with a few large buyers: When there are only a few buyers in the market, you can reach them all through personal selling. Your sales reps can visit each buyer directly and provide detailed information about your product, convincing them of its value.
  • High-end/complex product: Personal selling is especially useful when selling high-end or complex products. It allows you to explain why the customer should invest in this product, rather than settling for cheaper options available on the market. You can also demonstrate how the product works in detail, which is often necessary with more complicated items.
  • Highly competitive market: You’ll need something to make your product stand out from the rest if you’re in a highly competitive market. This can be done through personal selling. Your sales rep can demonstrate how your product is different and has features that other products don’t.
  • Lack of funds for other advertising channels: There are times when your company isn’t doing very well. But even if you can’t afford other advertising channels, such as TV or radio advertisements, you can still use personal selling to market your products.
  • Trade show or an exhibition to leverage: Personal selling is perfect for leveraging trade shows and exhibitions, as you can use these events to introduce your product to a large group of people at the same time. Your sales reps can also go ahead and engage with each interested customer individually, explaining why they should choose your product over the competition.

Personal Selling Examples

An example of the importance of genuinely making your customer feel like you’re on their side and building trust comes from Andrew Peterson, CEO of Signal Sciences. While at college he worked at The North Face, and says his favorite customer interactions were always those where he’d recommend the customer go to another brand to find the product they needed.

Speaking to Inc , he said: “Don’t get me wrong, I loved The North Face and all of their products! But I was always more intent on getting the customer the best product for what they were looking for. When that wasn’t something from our company, I’d tell them what they should get instead and where to get it from. Funny thing was, they always ended up buying at least something from me because they were so shocked I wasn’t just pushing our products on them. A great lesson I learned from this is that the best salespeople are the ones you trust.”

When working in sales, Richard Nieset, chief customer officer at Pixlee, found a unique way to tackle one of his employer’s toughest clients in a brilliant example of personal selling. Having been warned that the contact was a “pain in the butt” who led on salespeople but never committed, he went to a meeting armed with a toy gun filled with six bullets.

Speaking to Inc, he explained: “Here was my deal: He could ask me for anything he needed from us and anything we could possibly do, we would do. But each time he asked, he had to give me one of those bullets. When I got all six bullets, I would get to ask for something in return. And you can probably guess what that was going to be. Eventually, I got him to agree, leading to one of the largest deals in our company history.”

Cold Email Masterclass

  • Content Marketing
  • Practical Prospecting Podcast
  • Success Stories

Continue reading

Featured image

The Pocket Guide to Cold Email Outreach

Featured image

Consultative Selling: Definition, Techniques, and Examples

Featured image

Using Outbound Strategies to Get A Job

Grow your revenue faster, automate all your sales outreach with mailshake..

Footer CTA

  • Mailshake Blog
  • Cold Email Masterclass
  • Cold Email Academy
  • Prospecting Podcast
  • Accelerate Newsletter
  • Follow-Up Strategy
  • Email Analyzer
  • Live Training
  • Data Finder
  • LinkedIn Automation
  • AI Email Writer
  • Email Deliverability
  • Lead Catcher
  • Chrome Extension
  • Integrations

Mailshake LinkedIn

Home Blog Presentation Ideas About Me Slides: How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation

About Me Slides: How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation

personal sales presentation

From conference talks to client demos, it’s always essential to include an About Me slide in any presentation you are giving. Introducing yourself early into the presentation helps build a better rapport with the audience.

You can start with several fun facts about me slide to break the ice or go for a more formal professional bio to explain your background and what makes you qualified to talk about the topic at hand. At any rate, your goal is to get the audience on your side by revealing some of your personality. 

How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation: 4 Approaches 

It’s a good practice to include self-introduction slides at the beginning of your presentation. If you are looking to answer how to introduce yourself professionally, typically somewhere after the title, opening slide , and the main agenda. However, the presentation structure will be somewhat different depending on whether you are presenting to a new audience or a group of people familiar with (e.g., your team, clients, or business partners). 

Here are four about me slide ideas you can try out, plus an About me template you can use to present yourself in a presentation. 

personal sales presentation

1. Mention Your Name and Affiliations

Start with the introduction basics. State your name, company, title/position, and several quick facts about who you are and what you do. Even if you present to a familiar audience, a brief recap is always welcome. 

To keep things a bit more engaging, consider adding some lesser-known facts about yourself. For example:

  • Your interests 
  • Recent accomplishments
  • Testimonial/quote from a team member 
  • Fun nicknames you got 

The above can be nice ice breakers for less formal team presentations, project updates, or catch-ups with clients. 

Here are several unique About Me examples you can try out:

For a client case study presentation : 

“Hi, I’m Lynda, Chief Customer Success Specialist with Acme Corp. (Also, someone you thought was a chatbot for the first few encounters)

47 NPS | 15% Churn Rate | 40% repeat purchase rate”

For a team after-action review presentation :

Mike, Project Manager at Cool Project

(aka Maximizer)

Personal Project stats:

387 Slack messages answered

56 cups of coffee consumed

Project profit gross margin: $1.2 million 

2. Work On Your Elevator Pitch 

One of the best ways to introduce yourself in a presentation is to share a punchy elevator pitch. This works extra well if you are presenting to a new audience. 

An elevator pitch is a concise statement (1-2 sentences) that summarizes your unique strengths, skills, and abilities and explains how these can benefit your listener. 

It’s nice to have one ready for your presentations and networking in general since it helps you immediately connect with new people and communicate your value. 

Writing a solid elevator pitch may require several attempts and iterations. But the sooner you start — the faster you’ll arrive at the best formula! 

To get your creative juices flowing, here are several elevator pitch ideas you can incorporate in an introduction slide about yourself. 

For professionals: 

“Certified Salesforce Administrator, data visualization specialist, and analytics for top SaaS brands. I help businesses make more sense of their data to drive better outcomes”.

For a mentor :

“Adjunct professor of creative writing at Columbia University, published author, former lifestyle editor at Esquire, the New York Times. I can teach you how to find, shape, pitch, and publish stories for web & print.”

For a student: 

“Third-year Marine Biology student at Denver State Uni. Volunteer at Lake Life Protection NGO, climate change activist, looking to expand my research about water conservation”.

3. Answer Popular Questions or Assumptions 

If you are a frequent presenter , chances are you get asked a lot of the same “About Me questions” after your speeches and during the networking bits. So why not address a roaster of these in your About Me slide? Select 4-5 most common questions and list them as quick FAQs on your slide deck. 

4. Focus on Telling a Story 

Strong introductions are personable. They are meant to offer a sneak-peak into your personality and the passion behind your work. That’s why for less formal presentations, you can (and should!) start with a short personal story. 

Remember: reliability is important to “click” with your audience. 

For instance, neuroscience research of political ads recently found that ads featuring real people performed better than those with genetic stock footage. Among viewers, emotional engagement and memory encoding (recall) increased dramatically when political ads showed relatable people. 

The same holds true for commerce. In 2015, GE launched a viral “What’s the Matter With Owen?” video ad series to attract more young talent to the company. The clips featured a relatable protagonist, struggling to explain what his work at GE entails e.g. that the company isn’t building railroads, but actually does some very innovative pilots. Many engineers related to the promo and work applications to GE shoot up by 800% ! 

As the above examples show, a good relatable story can go a long way. So think about how you can make a PowerPoint presentation about yourself more representative of who you really are as a person. 

How to Give a Presentation About Yourself: 4 Fool-Proof Tips

On other occasions, you may be asked to give a full-length “about me” presentation. Typically, this is the case during a second interview, onboarding , or if you are in attending a training program or workshop where everyone needs to present themselves and their work. 

Obviously, you’ll need more than one good about me slide in this case. So here’s how to prepare a superb presentation about me. 

What to Put in a Presentation About Yourself?

The audience will expect to learn a mix of personal and professional facts about you. Thus, it’s a good idea to include the following information: 

  • Your name, contact info, website , social media handles, digital portfolio .
  • Short bio or some interesting snippets. 
  • Career timeline (if applicable).
  • Main achievements (preferably quantifiable).
  • Education, special training.
  • Digital badging awards , accolades, and other types of recognition.
  • Something more personal — an interest, hobby, aspiration. 

The above mix of items will change a bit, depending on whether you are giving an interview presentation about yourself or introduce yourself post-hiring. For example, in some cases a dedicated bio slide may be useful, but other times focusing on main achievements and goals can be better.

That being said, let’s take a closer look at how to organize the above information in a memorable presentation. 

P.S. Grab an about me slide template to make the design process easier! 

personal sales presentation

1. Create a List of “Facts About Me”

The easiest way to answer the “tell me about yourself” question is by having an array of facts you can easily fetch from your brain. 

When it comes to a full-length about me presentation , it’s best to have a longer list ready. To keep your brainstorming process productive, organize all your ideas in the following buckets: 

  • Key skills (soft and hard)
  • Educational accolades, training
  • Accomplishments and other “bragging rights”
  • Personal tidbits (a.k.a. fun facts ) 

Once you have a list, it gets easier to build a series of slides around it. 

2. Think Like Your Audience 

Most likely you’d be asked to make a presentation about yourself by a recruiter. There’s a good reason why many ask this — they want to determine if you are a good “cultural fit” for their organization. 

After all, 33% of people quit within the first 3 months of accepting a new job. Among these:

  • 43% of employees quit because their day-to-day role was different than what they were told it would be during the hiring process.
  • 32% cite company culture as a factor for leaving within the first three months. 

About me presentations often serve as an extra “filter” helping both parties ensure that they are on the same page expectations- and work style-wise. Thus, when you prepare your slide deck, do some background company research. Then try to align the presentation with it by matching the company tone, communication style, and cultural values. 

3. Include Testimonials and Recommendations

Use the voice of others to back up the claims you are making in your presentation. After all, trumping your own horn is what you are expected to do in such a presentation. But the voices of others can strengthen the claims you are personally making. 

Depending on your role and industry, try to sprinkle some of the following testimonials: 

  • LinkedIn recommendations
  • Quotes from personal or professional references
  • Social media comments 
  • Data metrics of your performance
  • Funny assessments from your colleagues/friends 

The above not just strengthen your narrative, but also help the audience learn some extras about you and your background. Testimonial slides can be of help for this purpose.

4. Include a Case Study 

One of the best ways to illustrate who you are is to show what you are best in. Remember, an about me presentation often needs to “soft sell” your qualifications, experience, and personality. 

One of the best ways to do that is to showcase how you can feel in a specific need and solve issues the business is facing. 

So if you have the timeframe, use some of the ending slides to deliver a quick case study. You can present: 

  • Short retrospective of a past successful project
  • Before-after transformations you’ve achieved 
  • Spotlight of the main accomplishments within the previous role 
  • Main customer results obtained
  • Specific solution delivered by you (or the team you’ve worked with) 

Ending your presentation on such a high note will leave the audience positively impressed and wondering what results you could achieve for them.

To Conclude 

It’s easy to feel stumped when you are asked to talk about yourself. Because there are so many things you could mention (but not necessarily should). At the same time, you don’t want to make your introduction sound like a bragging context. So always think from the position of your audience. Do the facts you choose to share benefit them in any way? If yes, place them confidently on your About Me slides! 

1. Personal Self Introduction PowerPoint Template

personal sales presentation

Use This Template

2. Self Introduction PowerPoint Template

personal sales presentation

3. Meet the Team PowerPoint Template Slides

personal sales presentation

4. Introduce Company Profile PowerPoint Template

personal sales presentation

5. Modern 1-Page Resume Template for PowerPoint

personal sales presentation

6. Modern Resume Presentation Template

personal sales presentation

Like this article? Please share

Introduce Yourself, Introduction, Presentation Ideas Filed under Presentation Ideas

Related Articles

How to Create the Perfect Handouts for a Presentation

Filed under Design • April 23rd, 2024

How to Create the Perfect Handouts for a Presentation

Learn how to create effective handouts for presentations and the recommended structure for handouts with this guide.

How to Create a 5 Minutes Presentation

Filed under Presentation Ideas • February 15th, 2024

How to Create a 5 Minutes Presentation

Master the art of short-format speeches like the 5 minutes presentation with this article. Insights on content structure, audience engagement and more.

How to Plan Your Presentation Using the 4W1H & 5W1H Framework

Filed under Design • January 24th, 2024

How to Plan Your Presentation Using the 4W1H & 5W1H Framework

The 4W1H and 5W1H problem-solving frameworks can benefit presenters who look for a creative outlook in presentation structure design. Learn why here.

Leave a Reply

personal sales presentation

Moscow, Russia

personal sales presentation

See the official Rolling Stones web site in Russia , also having info in English!

How "the rolling stones" solve the problem of unemployment in moscow, their own uncompetence, their own openess, thanks to constantin preobrazhensky (moscow) for supplying info about the web site and the stones show in russia. also thanks to leonid ulitsky , italy, for info..

personal sales presentation

Got any suggestions?

We want to hear from you! Send us a message and help improve Slidesgo

Top searches

Trending searches

personal sales presentation

suicide prevention

8 templates

personal sales presentation

computer network

75 templates

personal sales presentation

spring season

28 templates

personal sales presentation

cybersecurity

6 templates

personal sales presentation

46 templates

personal sales presentation

18 templates

Travel Guide: Moscow

Travel guide: moscow presentation, free google slides theme and powerpoint template.

Do you know some acquaintances that want to travel to Russia, the biggest country in this planet? Now you can be their own tour guide with this template. Include as much information as possible about tourist attractions, monuments and things to do in Moscow. Let the simplicity of these slides and their cool illustrations speak in favor too!

Features of this template

  • 100% editable and easy to modify
  • 25 different slides to impress your audience
  • Contains easy-to-edit graphics such as graphs, maps, tables, timelines and mockups
  • Includes 500+ icons and Flaticon’s extension for customizing your slides
  • Designed to be used in Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint
  • 16:9 widescreen format suitable for all types of screens
  • Includes information about fonts, colors, and credits of the free resources used

How can I use the template?

Am I free to use the templates?

How to attribute?

Attribution required If you are a free user, you must attribute Slidesgo by keeping the slide where the credits appear. How to attribute?

Related posts on our blog.

How to Add, Duplicate, Move, Delete or Hide Slides in Google Slides | Quick Tips & Tutorial for your presentations

How to Add, Duplicate, Move, Delete or Hide Slides in Google Slides

How to Change Layouts in PowerPoint | Quick Tips & Tutorial for your presentations

How to Change Layouts in PowerPoint

How to Change the Slide Size in Google Slides | Quick Tips & Tutorial for your presentations

How to Change the Slide Size in Google Slides

Related presentations.

Travel Guide: Singapore presentation template

Premium template

Unlock this template and gain unlimited access

Havana Travel Guide presentation template

Moscow - City Map PowerPoint Template

City map of Moscow with administrative districts and numerous design examples

Instant Download:

  • 100% Editable Powerpoint Slides / Graphics
  • Outstanding Customer Support
  • SSL Secure Payment
  • Made in Germany
  • Information
  • Template (4:3)

High quality city map "Moscow" for PowerPoint

This detailed citymap of "Moscow" you can present in Microsoft PowerPoint. The vector graphic enables you to easily edit and scale your map as much as you need to. Change the colour and edit the separate districts. The map comes in different design-variations.

Moscow - City Map

Infographics Bundle

Flat design – presentation people bundle, change management bundle, 150 strategy & management models, agile management bundle, gearwheel bundle, project charter, growth mindset, project canvas, artificial intelligence, gdpr: data protection powerpoint template, digital transformation, corporate services.

We’ll optimize your existing PowerPoint presentation and create slides in your corporate design.

New PowerPoint Templates

We are continually bringing you new PowerPoint templates on current business topics and in modern designs.

IMAGES

  1. Sales Presentation: Ideas, Examples and Templates to Present Like a Pro

    personal sales presentation

  2. 15 Sales Presentation Dos and Dont's

    personal sales presentation

  3. 25+ Best Sales Presentation Templates (PPT PowerPoint Slides)

    personal sales presentation

  4. How to Create and Deliver a Killer Sales Presentation

    personal sales presentation

  5. 10 sales pitch presentation examples and templates

    personal sales presentation

  6. How to Do a Good Sales Presentation: 5 Easy Tips : LeadFuze

    personal sales presentation

VIDEO

  1. Mastering Presentation Skills for Sales Professionals

  2. COMM 204 Personal Sales Pitch

  3. Sales Presentations || Personal selling

  4. Corporate Sales Job vs Selling For Yourself (Reality)

  5. Know Your Worth, Boost Your Sales

  6. Business/Sales Person ന് വേണ്ട ബേസിക് ക്വാളിറ്റി എന്താണ്? #sales #salessuccess #business #salestips

COMMENTS

  1. 10 Best Sales Presentations To Inspire Your Sales Deck [+ 5 Tips]

    A sales deck is a slide presentation (e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.) used to supplement a sales pitch. The sales pitch, given by a salesperson to a prospect, often includes an overview of the product or service, offers a value proposition and solution for the prospect, and includes examples of success stories from other clients.

  2. Sales Presentation Template and Examples

    A good sales presentation is more than a simple pitch, a demo or a list of facts and figures. Done well, at the right time in your sales process, it's a tool for getting your prospects' attention, drumming up excitement and moving prospects toward a buying decision.. In this guide, you'll learn how to use the power of storytelling to drive decision-making and close more deals.

  3. 7 Amazing Sales Presentation Examples (& How to Copy Them)

    7 Types of Slides to Include In Your Sales Presentation. 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).

  4. 15 Sales Presentation Examples to Drive Sales

    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.

  5. Powerpoint Sales Presentation Examples

    On one hand, a sales presentation is designed to persuade potential customers about the value of your product or service. It typically includes detailed information about your product, its features, benefits, pricing, case studies, testimonials, and more. On the other hand, a sales deck is essentially a condensed version of a sales presentation.

  6. How to Create and Deliver a Killer Sales Presentation

    The design elements and information visualization tools will help you put together a memorable sales presentation that will seal the deal. 1. Create an Outline. Before you start designing any slides, you'll need to have all your information in an easy to follow outline document.

  7. How to structure the perfect sales presentation

    Step 4: Present the solution. With the stakes raised, your audience needs a solution: a clear path toward their goal. An effective sales presentation presents your product as a means to the ...

  8. Tips for a Better Sales Presentation

    Step 1: Research the company and your contact. An effective sales presentation starts long before the actual presentation. The first step is to learn who your prospect is and the challenges they face; then you can use those insights to show how you can help them succeed. In particular, you should research the company, the challenges it faces ...

  9. How to make the ULTIMATE sales presentation

    Break your content up into smaller chunks - a few minutes of material at a time. Switch between topics of conversation based on what your audience says to you. So, instead of a single presentation with 30 slides, think more in terms of six topics with five slides in each. You might use some of them, or all of them.

  10. 13 Powerful Sales Pitch Presentation Templates to Land Your ...

    Mar 03, 2023. An effective sales process has seven cyclical steps; prospecting, preparation, approach, presentation, overcoming kickbacks, closing the sale, and following up. Every step is as important as the next for landing a client or closing a deal. However, in your sales pitch presentation, you make a solid case for your product or service.

  11. How to Nail Your First Sales Presentation

    Here are five steps to creating a sales presentation that will increase your chances of landing a customer. 1. Do your homework. Every good client presentation needs proper research beforehand, so ...

  12. 10 perfect sales pitch examples and how to write your own

    Key takeaways: KEY TAKEAWY #1. Sales pitches shape leads' first impressions. To make it effective, prioritize clarity over lengthy narratives, adjust strategy to the target audience (use personalized language), address problems, offer practical solutions, and stress benefits. KEY TAKEAWY #2. Build credibility with facts and data, overcoming ...

  13. How to Create the Perfect B2B Sales Presentation

    Here's how it works: Create an outline: Include all the content you want in your presentation. Have your style guide ready: Include any elements you want, such as your prospect's logo, images, or specific image features. Provide clear instructions: Share your vision and what you want your presentation to communicate.

  14. Creating an Engaging Sales Presentation (With 3 Examples)

    Example 1. A website design company sales team is giving a presentation to a small clothing retailer, Fiona's Fashions. They show a "before" picture by emphasizing that without a website, Fiona's Fashions can't take full advantage of online sales and social media marketing.

  15. What is Personal Selling and Why is it Important?

    The salesperson may also prepare a sales presentation or demonstration to use during the approach stage. Approach. ... Humanize your sales process with personal selling. You can improve your customer experience by adding personal selling to a well-thought-out marketing strategy. But to get started with personal selling for your business, you ...

  16. 7 Steps to an Effective Personal Selling Process

    Step 4: Sales Presentation. A sales presentation, or product demo, explains how a recommended solution to an existing pain point or gap can benefit the lead based on accurate research data. At this stage, you must share a unique selling proposition and show how the features of the product work based on real-life scenarios or use cases.

  17. Four Tips to Make Your Sales Presentation a Winner

    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 ...

  18. Personal Selling: Definition, Techniques, and Examples in 2024

    Personal selling Techniques. 1. Focus on the right leads. With the extra time and monetary investment required for face-to-face sales meetings, it's essential businesses lock down ROI by choosing the right prospects to meet in person through a comprehensive lead-qualifying process.

  19. About Me Slides: How to Introduce Yourself in a Presentation

    2. Work On Your Elevator Pitch . One of the best ways to introduce yourself in a presentation is to share a punchy elevator pitch. This works extra well if you are presenting to a new audience. An elevator pitch is a concise statement (1-2 sentences) that summarizes your unique strengths, skills, and abilities and explains how these can benefit your listener.

  20. IORR

    Thanks to Constantin Preobrazhensky (Moscow) for supplying info about the web site and the Stones show in Russia. Also thanks to Leonid Ulitsky, Italy, for info. Ticket information: +7-095-2349595 (for the orders) +7-095-2531033, +7-095-2531043 (for info) Email: [email protected] For more news see IORR 33 mailed out in May, 1998!

  21. Moscow 2030: a Development Plan / Smart City of the Future

    1. To focus on humans and creating the conditions for a full-fledged, high-quality, and happy life for all categories of residents. Participation of residents. in city governance. 2. To develop conditions for active involvement of residents in social life and making decisions on citywide issues; open digital government. Artificial intelligence.

  22. Travel Guide: Moscow Google Slides & PowerPoint template

    Free Google Slides theme and PowerPoint template. Do you know some acquaintances that want to travel to Russia, the biggest country in this planet? Now you can be their own tour guide with this template. Include as much information as possible about tourist attractions, monuments and things to do in Moscow. Let the simplicity of these slides ...

  23. PowerPoint City Map Moscow (Russia)

    Highlight your company's holdings, marketing- and sales areas according to your requirements with a detailed PowerPoint map Moscow - Citymap. Commercial offer only *** Contact ... Presentation People Bundle . $99.00* More-52%. Change Management Bundle . $179.00* More-50%. 150 Strategy & Management Models . $69.00* More. Agile Management ...