10 Tips on How to Improve Your Sales Presentation and Close More Deals

You are through the process of email marketing and targeted calls to finally set up a presentation to rope in more business. You might be a good salesperson with a good product but closing the deal requires a little more. Preparing for your sales presentation is the key, whether in person or digitally. A good presentation will help you get the required funding or the action (sale) for your product, service, or offer.

In this article, we have put together a few tricks that help you put your best foot forward and close deals with your important clients.

10 Tips/Tricks to Better Your Sales Presentation and Close More Deals

Set Up the Base with A Positive Tone

Psychology says how we initiate a meeting sets the tone for the entire duration. Setting up a positive light environment will also help you connect better with your audience. You can set up a positive environment by asking your audience quick questions about them, like sharing any interesting fact or story they learned, something everyone looks forward to in the recent future, etc. Asking questions and interacting like this will be an icebreaker (if not too much prior communication) and create a comfortable, quick communication base to build your further interaction.

Focus on the Beginning and End

Research says that the beginning and end of a presentation are crucial. The attention span is most when you start the meeting, and the end of the presentation is where you close the deal. So, be mindful of strategically using these two time frames of your presentation and place your essential facts here. Build your presentation with the most crucial points addressed in the opening. Move on to the 2nd important next and let your presentation flow from there (a technique called solution mapping).

Go for a Story

Storytelling works wonders in catching someone’s attention and is the reason why people rely on it so much during presentations. Weave a story around some fictional character, i.e., how using your product or service improved things for them. You can also add personal, relatable stories to help your audience connect more.

Communicate/Interact with Your Prospective Client

You must have done your bit of interaction with the client to have resulted in this presentation. However, interaction or communication doesn’t stop anytime in this process. Learn about their concerns or pain points. Confirm if anything has changed since the past discussion. It will let them know that you are personally invested there and care about your prospects. Learning well about your prospects and sharing unique insights (offering perspective regarding their situation) will give you an upper hand and better equip you to lead in the presentation. You can move on to your product’s strength smoothly; post that.

Tailor Your Presentation According to The Needs

Tailor your discussions and presentations according to the concerns of your prospects. Whatever gets uncovered during your discussions with the client (even during the meeting), make sure to address that to let them know you are concerned. Addressing their needs in real-time will help build a strong personal bond with them and show them you care enough. Handling objections is one of the most crucial parameters when closing a deal. FAB (Features Advantages Benefits) sales technique can come in handy at this time as you can keep going back to the most significant points while addressing the issues, as and when raised.

Communicate the Objectives of Your Presentation

Discussing objectives beforehand or during the presentation will help you structure your presentation well. You can let your audience know of the agenda by either sharing it over email, via presentation invitation, or during the presentation with a separate slide. It will let your audience know the flow of the meeting and what they should expect from it. A quick discussion on this will also acquaint you if your prospect wishes to close the deal after the presentation or intends to make a decision later. Discussing objectives will highlight what everyone hopes to accomplish with the presentation.

Share Materials/Agenda in Advance

Making presentation materials available to your audience (in advance) will prove highly beneficial to you later. It will save you time during the presentation, and you can share comprehensive information, long videos, or other material that’s too long to use in the presentation. It will also give your prospects a chance to discuss all the information with other decision-makers. Sharing the presentation materials folder will help them follow the presentation better and come prepared with concerns. You can include materials like white papers, press releases, data and price sheets, product/service description sheets, CDs (videos), business cards, etc., in your folder.

Share Your Knowledge Regarding Competitors and the Industry

Address your competitors in the presentation too. Include their well-known strengths, and let your audience know how your product or service is better suited to serve their needs. It will give them an idea about how well-versed you are with the trends and the industry and will help them gain confidence in your offer. Acknowledging your competitors and running trends in the industry will show them your preparedness and add to your credibility. It will also let your prospects know how concerned you are regarding their needs and how well you understand their requirements.

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Keep Your Presentation Short

Research says that the starting and ending 10 minutes are crucial in a presentation as your prospects will be more attentive. You will have everyone’s full attention in the beginning, and the last minutes generally lead to closing the deals. However, be mindful of the duration as people’s attention generally wanes due to information-heavy presentation slides. So, remember to keep your presentation to an optimal length (preferably short) and do not include too much information in the slides. You can take the help of presentation material to relay heavy data and material.

Rely on Feedback

Utilize the power of the feedback loop in your presentation. Try not to make it a one-way communication; involve your clients by asking for feedback and interacting with them. It will add more value to your presentation and help you close the deal as you can tailor the presentation accordingly (knowing what you should lean on more and what you should omit). It will help you learn how your clients feel about your pitch, whether they resonate with what you are saying, and let you know the direction you should take.

You can ask questions like, have I addressed your key concerns? Do you resonate with what I am saying? Does it make sense to you?

In a Nutshell

These tips will help you prepare better for your sales presentation and rope in more business. However, the key is to prepare and practice. Communicate well with your prospects, understand their key concerns, address that in your presentation structure, tell them why you are well suited for their needs, and you are good to go. Do remember to follow up after you have closed the deal.

You can use pre-designed PowerPoint presentation templates if you don’t have much time to create your sales deck from scratch. These templates will let you edit every element to make them well-suited to your presentation’s theme and tone.