How to Create a Great Sales Deck

People usually concentrate on creating an engaging sales deck which means adding more color, visuals, and other eye-catching graphics to make it more interesting for the audience. In the urge to make their deck engaging, they overlook the presentation's core message, whether their presentation addresses the potential client's top concerns and provides an enticing solution in return or not. Due to this, many presentations receive ambiguous reactions, which influence them badly. It slows down the selling process while wasting their and clients' valuable time.

On the other hand, if your sales presentation is well-defined, but you are having trouble closing the purchase, then too, you may need to update your sales deck. Client bewilderment and sales plummet when unclear or inappropriate supplementary materials accompany a strong pitch.

Establishing a solid business presentation might be time consuming, but if you have researched rightly and gone through the whole process while keeping in mind your presentation's primary purpose, then you can get fruitful results. Particularly when it comes to the sales deck, you need to put in extra effort to on board them. Continue reading this article to learn about what and how you should proceed through the process to make your own killer sales deck. But first, know what a sales deck is.

What is a Sales Deck?

A sales deck and presentation's main goal is to propose solutions that result in potential clients buying from your firm.

A sales deck is a presentation that goes with a sales pitch or demonstration. It is frequently created in the format of slides such as Google Slides, Keynote, or Microsoft PowerPoint. It uses visual aids to illustrate your company's story.

The most important aspect of your sales deck, and is overlooked by most businesses, is that it's not similar to your sales pitch. Wondering what the difference between a sales deck and a sales pitch is? Let us clear this thought of yours. 

A sales deck is a presentation that highlights the features and benefits of your product and also its value proposition in order to persuade a prospect to buy it. In contrast, a sales pitch is designed for the investors who seek to know more about your company's mission, products, vision, target market, and financials. Hence, consider your sales pitch deck to be a condensed version of your company plan.

Why should you use a sales deck?

There are a number of compelling reasons to take the help of a sales deck to connect with prospects and complete business deals, some of which are as follows:

• Studies suggest that pictures are processed in our brains 60,000 times faster than words. Hence, taking advantage of this, if your sales deck is only centered with photographs of your product, even then, you will get fruitful results compared to those which are data-centered only, having no pictures at all.
• You will appear more prepared and knowledgeable if you use a sales deck. Many B2B customers believe salespeople are unprepared for their initial meeting. However, a smart salesperson using a sales deck shows that your organization efficiently utilizes the time to present valuable data.
• Nowadays, 88 percent of executive buyers prefer dialogue over a presentation. It is a good deal, but before making a purchase, the consumer still requires important information regarding your company and its product, which necessitates the need for a sales deck. It allows you to have a conversation while simultaneously providing your client with the required information.

Best Examples of Sales Deck:

Let's look into a few best examples of sales decks before you get into creating one for yourself. Reviewing them would help you clear your mind and grasp valuable tips that you can consider putting in yours. 

Snapchat Ad Sales Deck 2015:

Snapchat's sales deck for 2015 is short and sweet. It doesn't spend time with dull intros or exaggerations. Instead, the first slide states flatly that "Snapchat is the best way to reach 13-34-year-olds." 

Skipping to the 4th slide, which is simple yet great in purpose. This slide discusses their target market and tells the reasons why they love their product; to the point only. In case the prospect chooses to advertise on Snapchat, they already know what kind of social media ads their marketing team will need to create since they know their target audience. 

Reddit Ad Sales Deck:

Reddit moved up to the next level and created an appealing sales deck. It's full of original memes and graphics that will make you chuckle. However, it did not neglect its purpose. It has shown in marketing and advertising that it has the ability to compete with advertising behemoths such as Facebook and Google.

Look at the slide above; see its eye-catching graphics and how they have entailed a graph showing the company's progress within the past few years. Then, skipping to the 13th slide, they have used a meme to deliver the information here. It is a straightforward yet effective slide where they stress over the fact why they must choose them.

How to make the best sales deck?

While perfecting and experimenting with your sales deck is a whole process, remember that stepping inside the prospect's boots would be the best thing you could do while building up your sales deck. Hence, think like you are a buyer. 

It's obvious that you adore your product and would naturally want the customer to listen to each and every detail that you are to describe every single feature. But, did you think the customer would be interested in all that, or would you feel the same way if you were a buyer? 

Also, make scenarios and think about how you would deal with the company. For instance, jotting down the things that you would like to know when you want to buy new desktops for the organization's marketing department? Let's say that you have been utilizing the same brand as it is reliable and has a history known. Therefore, then you would not require any mission statement or any details about the organization other than how the product will benefit your marketing team and solve their problems. How quickly can it handle graphics? Is the product compatible with the video and photographic applications you already have or not?

Looking at your sales deck through the prospect's eyes will not only optimize your sales presentation but will also be better prepared to answer your prospect's demands. And remember that when a client senses that you've thought about their problems, they pay attention. Having an engaging business presentation means you may end up persuading your client to buy from you.

What should be done?

Following are the things that you must consider while creating your own sales deck:

• Customize your sales pitch deck to match the needs of different clients. Building a storyline would be great as doing so will keep the audience engaged. 
• Use eye-catchy visual content with minimal text to maintain the interest level. 
• Before you create your sales pitch deck, do some research on your customer.
• Choose three advantages to concentrate on.
• If you are new to this and can't think of a starting point, then it's better to opt for presentation templates.

What should NOT be done?

Below are the things that you must avoid when creating your deck:

•  Instead of stressing over your business story, jot down all the features of your product. Remember not to crowd the slide with too much information.
• The text should not take precedence over images.
• For all the presentation circumstances, don't use different sales decks. Be consistent.
• Don't assume you are aware of the origins of all buyers.
• Don't attempt to hit each and every spot in a single pitch.
• Don't experiment and make lousy visuals if you don't have a professional to do so.

Best practices to create a solid sales deck: 

Below we have jotted down some proven best practices when it comes to building a successful sales deck:

1. Ensure that your presentation is supported by your sales deck. Remember, it serves as a jumping off point and background for a conversation rather than a crux for a formulaic pitch.
2. You must make use of Graphs, charts, photos, and white space instead of only text. The more dense words on the slide, the more likely they are to listen to your saying, or else they would just rather read the text.
3. Remember your prospect is the focus of the meeting. Hence, allow them to lead the conversation. You must be adaptable enough to adjust to where your potential client's interests lay.
4. You have a lower likelihood of closing the transaction if they don't talk much. Therefore, include them as much as possible while you deliver your presentation.
5. Make your presentation specific to the interests of your target. It must feel as if it's been tailored for them. Therefore, you must use what you have learned about your client.
6. Make sure it isn't longer than it should be. Keep it brief, succinct, and to the point.
7.  Inquire about the things and welcome their questions as you proceed through the presentation. Don't leave all of your queries till the last minute, and do not make your client wait for crucial questions. Rather, use them to elicit participation; this will maintain their interest.

Summing up the article here, hoping that the above discussion will have cleared your thoughts regarding your concern matter. We assure you that considering giving suggestions will aid you in creating the best possible sales deck. So, give it a try and see for yourself.

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