How To Create Persuasive Sales Presentations In Minutes

Yes, minutes—not hours. Not days. Not all weekend. Not anymore. If you’re ready to connect with customers and prospects and share your solutions—here is the quick and easy way to design highly persuasive sales presentations.

Sales presenting is a critical part of professional business. If you’re good at it…you’re prepared. You’re also well ahead of the curve of folks who are suffering under these false assumptions:

A. I’m more creative ad-hoc
This is a scary belief. If you are telling yourself this fiction, watch out. If you hear it from a co-worker or teammate, challenge it.

Creativity is best when you’ve got a solid story structure and have rehearsed like wild.

B. I’m best when I wing it
Variation on a theme. Do not fall for this illusion. Winging it is a joke. Even if you’re a pro. Even if you’ve done it before. Even if you have a very attractive alternative for how to spend your time before your pitch.

Don’t fall for this kind of thinking. It can be a cover-up story you’re telling to yourself to avoid hard work.

C. I already pitched to this group before
Things change. People change. You’ve changed. If you’re going to be at the top of your game, approach your presentation with fresh eyes and new enthusiasm.

Relying on a dusted off presentation is a really bad idea.

O.K. Now that we got those out of the way, what are you going to do to create powerful sales presentation—fast?

Follow these 6 steps and you’ll be off to a great start.

1. Start With Targeting The Client’s Problems
Based in your research and understanding, identify the top problems your client faces. Start here. Show that you understand, know and are listening to your client’s true needs.

2. Prioritize Options
In traditional newspapers, articles were written with the most important facts and news first. Then, if the editor needed to cut the story, they would cut off the bottom—which contained less important information.

Approach your presentation planning the same way. Organize key concepts by importance. Then, if you need or want, you can skip the less important points based on time and client interest.

3. Highlight Benefits
Building your presentation on your client’s top priorities, structure your story. Using a presentation storyboard is the fastest and easiest way to plot your strategy, organize the time and highlight important benefits.

While your company may offer several types of services such as consulting, training and sales presenting—focus on the specific benefits that address your client’s issues.

Many sales presenters neglect to consider this point. They may find certain benefits more intriguing or important. But what you prefer is not crucial. Focus benefits to connect-the-dots with the problems your client wants to solve.

4. Engage and Interact
Old-school selling often encouraged sellers to: “tell, tell, tell.” Instead, organize your presentation to include times for the audience to interact. Plan your sales presentation with ample time for discussion, Q & A, and client interaction.

Hint: do this early on. The sooner you hear what is important to your client, the better. You’ll be able to adapt and flex your message to match the mood.

5. Personalize With Relevant Examples
Be the person everyone wants to listen to. Share your personal experience through short, powerful and relevant examples. This is where practice and rehearsal really pay off.

Work through your potential examples with your presentation coach. Practice sharing anecdotes. Speak briefly. Share your story with passion.

6. Finish With Clear Compelling Message
It’s often said that people remember the beginning and end of a sales presentation—more than anything else. End on a bang, people will recall you, your brand and your offer.

If you must make a decision to cut a section in order to end with impact, slice away. Take a surgical approach to send the strongest message in the shorter amount of time.

Using these 6 tips, you will be able to create persuasive sales presentations in minutes—not days.