Making Real Deals with Effective Sales Decks

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Salespeople are familiar with the awkwardness of entering a pitch with an unengaging presentation. A winning sales deck can be the difference between winning the deal and it going to a competitor. So, what exactly makes a sales deck effective? In this article, I’m going to share some ways you can make an effective deck that connects with prospects and gets done.

Why Sales Decks Matter

Note, a sales deck is not just a number of slides; it is a narrative tool. It narrates your brand’s story, shows the prospect’s pain points, and how your solution can help them. When done well, it builds trust, engages the audience and helps to overcome objections. Visme has info on how to create a narrative that resonates with your audience.

The Top Selling Mistakes in Sales Decks

Before we get into what works, let’s get into what doesn’t:

Excessive Text: Too much text on the slides is difficult to follow and bores the audience. Excessive information can overwhelm prospects and dilute your message, HubSpot explains.
Generic Content: Exposure to generic presentations reveals your lack of preparation and understanding of the client.
Poor Visuals: Amateurish design gives an unprofessional image to your brand and takes attention away from your message.
No Structure: If there’s no flow to your deck, prospects get confused, which costs you credibility.

What Should Be in a Winning Sales Deck

Start with a Strong Hook

The first slide prepares the audience for your speech. Start your speech with an impactful statistic, an interesting question, or an unreasonable declaration that intrigues your audience.

Target the Pain Points of the Prospect

Great sales decks think client-centric. One way is to acknowledge their pain points and prove that you have a solution for them. The more you can ground your pitch in specific examples — as Turtl points out — the better.

Keep It Visual

Graphs and images should be of high quality and help make your points. Storydoc gives some practical tips on how to make it visually appealing.

Showcase Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP)

Be specific about what makes you or your product or service different! Whatever it may be — whether cost savings, efficiency, or some novelty — make sure your UVP is front and centre. According to Selling Signals, making sure that your UVP is known can have a dramatic effect on how effective your pitch is.

Include Social Proof

Trust and credibility can be built using testimonials, client logos, or success stories. Present quantifiable outcomes where you can.

Conclude With a Clear CTA

Your final slide should make it crystal clear what next steps are. The CTA should be direct and actionable, whether it’s for scheduling a follow-up, signing a contract, or starting a free trial.

How to Make Sales Decks That Close

Personalise Per Candidate: Adjust your deck to details about the specific drivers, goals, and purposes of the consumer.
Less Is More: Keep your deck within 10-15 slides max. Keep it to just one powerful point at a time per slide.
Refine Your Delivery: A great deck will not have the desired effect if delivered poorly. Practise until you can say it confidently and without sounding rehearsed.
Use Statistics: Make use of the right statistics and metrics to support your claims and make your case more credible.
Hire a Professional: A clean presentation with a beautiful design elevates your brand’s credibility and increases audience interest.

A Case Study: Deck That Won a Major Deal

I was recently working with a SaaS company that was having trouble converting leads from demos. Their initial sales deck was very text-heavy and visually unappealing. After restructuring it around client pain points, adding clear visuals, and adding a strong CTA, this company experienced a 30% increase in closed deals over three months.

Final Thoughts

It takes work, but a surefire sales deck pays off. A strong deck can not only make your pitch much stronger, establish rapport with prospects, but also help increase your close rate. If your sales decks are falling short, it’s time to start over.

Let’s build sales decks that seal deals. So if you have 10,000 folders, how will you split the presentation to process year over year?