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A post from the POLISH YELLOW PAGES® blog (formerly DATABOT.PL), originally published on 13.11.2022. Some information (tools, prices, regulations) may have changed since then.
Sales decks that work at every stage of the sales cycle
If you are a B2B sales rep who spends your days meeting customers and presenting your company’s packages to them, you have probably used a Sales Deckbefore. If you have never used a Sales Deck or creating one is new to you, you MUST consider adding the extra step of building a persuasive, personalised Sales Deck for your next presentation.
But if you’re still not convinced you need a Sales Deck, think about the decision cycle of a B2B purchase. Very likely you have spoken directly to a manager at the prospect’s company. Whether or not they are sold on your solution, they will have to share your products or services with a wider team, along with the value the solution will bring. In most cases sales reps are not invited to those conversations, and it is up to the prospect to sell your solution internally.
With a Sales Deck you will not only be able to create visual cues around the key points that will stick in the prospect’s memory, but you will also empower your prospects with your sales deck! When a Sales Deck is tailored to the prospect’s needs, they can use it to convince their internal teams and decision-makers. You not only make life easier for your champion, you also make sure your key points get shared.
Don’t rely solely on your champion to convey the importance of your products or services. Make sure you create sales presentations that reinforce your message even when you can’t be in the room with every decision-maker.
What is a sales deck?
A sales deck is essentially a sales rep’s visual presentation. Sales decks are created with tools such as PowerPoint, SlideShare, Google Slides, Canva or any presentation software.
Sales decks are ideal for important meetings with a potential B2B customer. Some of the main elements of a sales deck are a company overview, which may include the company’s history, vision and values, a product overview and the business case for buying. Ideally these presentations are tailored to the prospect’s problems and needs and include social proof such as testimonials, case studies, reviews and more.
Pro tip: present only the products and value propositions that relate to the prospect’s goals. Keep it short! Avoid overwhelming the prospect with too much information that doesn’t relate to their needs.
Sales deck vs pitch deck — what’s the difference?
If you’re not sure what to call the presentation you’ve spent hours creating, it helps to know there is a difference between sales decks and pitch decks. Sales Deck is a presentation designed to persuade customers to buy your product rather than a competitor’s. Ideally these presentations include the benefits of what you sell, a list of related products and value propositions.
By contrast, a Pitch Deck is intended for investors interested in learning about your company. Its purpose is different, and it usually contains more internal financial, strategic and forecast information that will not necessarily matter to a prospect. Essentially it is a more condensed version of your company’s business plan.
Overall, the best way to tell a sales deck from a pitch deck is to understand the audience the deck will be shared with.
Example of a sales deck (source: www.venngage.com)
Sales deck vs pitch deck — what’s the difference?
If you’re not sure what to call the presentation you’ve spent hours creating, it helps to know there is a difference between sales decks and pitch decks. Sales Deck is a presentation designed to persuade customers to buy your product rather than a competitor’s. Ideally these presentations include the benefits of what you sell, a list of related products and value propositions.
By contrast, a Pitch Deck is intended for investors interested in learning about your company. Its purpose is different, and it usually contains more internal financial, strategic and forecast information that will not necessarily matter to a prospect. Essentially it is a more condensed version of your company’s business plan.
Overall, the best way to tell a sales deck from a pitch deck is to understand the audience the deck will be shared with.
Why a sales deck matters in B2B
Sales Deck is an important tool in a salesperson’s toolkit and can bring many benefits that not only make the rep feel prepared but also help encourage a B2B prospect to decide to buy from the company. Here are some advantages of a sales deck in B2B:
Sales professionals can tell a great story. A great sales deck tells a coherent story about why your company exists and sets out a compelling vision of why the prospect’s life will be easier with your solution. Early in the process your job is to spark the prospect’s interest in the service. Your goal is to build a champion, orient the prospect around the products and sell them on their easier, ideal future.
You can map strategic outcomes. A great sales deck builds urgency to work with your company because of the big impact you will have. Remember to frame the impact around the prospect’s challenges, so they buy into your solution and can in turn sell the benefits to other decision-makers in their company. Gather the prospect’s goals together with them, and you will soon realise you have created a champion who is happy to convince internal teams why your solution is needed.
Provide social proof strategically. When developing a sales deck, think about how to put together great customer stories that will resonate with the prospect. Sales decks make it easy to show credibility and customer testimonials. It is also an opportunity to highlight relevant awards, great reviews, references and other forms of social proof you think will matter most to your customer.
Pro tip: choose customer stories strategically. Pick the case studies and testimonials most similar to the customer’s needs and problems. Keep the case study simple and highlight only the challenge, the solution and the results.
Develop a structure that works. Your B2B sales deck will serve as the structure for running a pitch meeting with a prospect. Whether you are holding a discovery call or presenting a tailored offer, the deck gives reps a guide to follow.
3 elements of successful, engaging sales decks in B2B
Whether you are creating a deck for a first call with a potential klientem B2B, or you are at the final stage, ready to close the deal, there are three main elements that underpin every sales deck (and should not be skipped or avoided).
1. A great story
Your B2B sales deck needs a storyline. Research suggests prospects remember 5–10 percent of the statistics presented and 25 percent of images, but retention rises to 60–70 percent when the salesperson tells a compelling story that carries the information presented.
If you think about it, we are all bombarded with information in our daily lives, and our B2B prospects are not immune to information overload. So telling a story that touches on their problems while still selling the product or solution is the best strategy to help you close the deal. The story keeps your prospect engaged and gives your sales reps a good structure to follow.
However, telling a generic story may not work in a sales deck. You need to know who you are pitching to and tailor the story to your B2B audience.
Source: www.business2community.com
2. Tailored, targeted visual content
Personalisation is key not only at first contact with a customer but throughout the process. So when creating a sales deck, it is best to choose visuals and messages tailored to your audience’s needs.
More than 65 percent of people are visual learners, and visual presentations are more persuasive than bullet-point presentations. Given these statistics, think about strategic ways to use content and visualise it. For example, if you have compelling statistics, can you turn them into a chart or graph? If you have a customer story or testimonial, do you have video or photos showing that success?
When you tailor your content and take a visual approach to building your sales deck, you will be delighted to see the prospect more engaged and more willing to book another call or decide that your solution is the best one for their company.
3. Choosing the right delivery format
Have you ever been on a sales call presenting your deck, and at the end of the meeting the prospect asks you to send it over so they can share it with their boss? Perhaps you sent the deck without thinking, without editing it or adding extra wording or context. That is a huge mistake.
Although best practice is to keep slides to about 20 words, that only really works when you are presenting the deck to the prospect. You can fill in the gaps and add context as needed in the spoken part of the presentation.
So when you send your deck to a prospect to share with their boss and internal teams, that important context is missing. To avoid misunderstandings, consider adding a few words describing the context. Instead of 20-word slides, aim for up to 60 words to make sure you get your point across while staying concise.
3 common mistakes sales professionals make when creating sales decks
Building a successful sales deck takes patience, skill and practice. But if you don’t put in enough time and focus on your presentations, you may make mistakes that could cost you a deal with a prospect. Avoid these three mistakes when creating a sales deck.
1. Listing every product and feature
Have you ever sat in a sales meeting and watched a rep share every product, SKU and description in the presentation? How quickly did you switch off?
Your prospect only cares about the value your product will bring to their business. That is why tailoring the presentation to their needs is key! Don’t fall into the trap of showing every offer and add-on you have for your customer. Instead, focus on the solutions they need now. There is always time later for up-selling and cross-selling — but your initial B2B sales deck is not the place.
2. Overloading slides with too much information
As mentioned above, best practice is for slides to contain only 20 to 60 words. Don’t overload slides with too much text or too many visual elements. That approach will distract your prospect, and you won’t be able to get your point across.
Our tip: include one idea per slide. This will not only help organise your thoughts but also hold prospects’ attention and help them focus on the main ideas.
3. Your sales deck is too long
We have all been in sales meetings where the presentation ran a little too long and overran the allotted time. Don’t make that mistake! When creating a B2B sales deck, you can easily spend so much time customising and building slides for every idea and solution that you simply lose track of time.
Source: www.saleshacker.com
Think about the timing of your deck presentation, remove any information or slides that don’t fit the goals of the sales meeting, and consolidate where possible. For example, you don’t need five slides giving an in-depth overview of your company’s values and mission. Instead, spend most of your time talking about the value on offer, and be mindful of the prospect’s time.
Start building a B2B sales deck that helps you close the deal
A sales deck is one of the most important tools you can use in conversations with prospects. It not only serves as a guide to the conversation but is also a great resource the prospect can use with their internal teams to educate them about your product.
The right B2B sales deck can help you close deals faster, build better relationships with prospects and create up-selling and cross-selling opportunities. If you spend time creating personalised sales decks for prospects, you will find they not only engage more in the process but quickly become advocates and help convince the decision-makers in their internal teams.
Tags: B2B, B2B sales, B2B-Leads, Sales, Sales deck
Mariusz Biniak – creator of the POLISH YELLOW PAGES® brand (formerly DATABOT.PL) and author of a blog on B2B sales. Disclosure: the author is connected with the publisher of THE BUSINESS TIME.
About the partner: POLISH YELLOW PAGES® – a brand operating since 1991 (formerly DATABOT.PL). B2B company data in Poland, the United Kingdom and Europe. More: www.databot.pl
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© POLISH YELLOW PAGES® / Argonauts Media Group Limited. Copying, downloading and distribution without the publisher’s written consent are prohibited. Illustrative photo: Pexels.
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