Sales has become a noisy place in recent years. There are so many ways to contact new and existing customers that finding a way to rise above the noise and stand out from the crowd is a new imperative for sales professionals. However, regardless of the medium—social media, video, in-person meetings or even cold calls—every sales presentation requires key elements to engage, inform and inspire your prospects.
You know you have valuable information, products and services to offer, but you’re challenged to evolve and present them in new, innovative ways. And we're happy to announce we’re here to help—through SCIENCE!
If you’ve been struggling to find that perfect alchemy, the formula you need to transform pitches to closes, look no further than PGi’s latest eBook, “The Science of Sales Presentations,” a fun and insightful look at the key ingredients every killer sales presentation needs so that you and your products and services are educational, memorable and impactful.
2. 1
Op
01
Opening Slide
St
02
Story Line
Vi
04
Powerful Visuals
Th
05
Thematic Design
Da
03
Data
FORMULA 1: ELEMENTS OF WINNING
PRESENTATION DESIGN
QUESTION
RESEARCH
HYPOTHESIS
1
2
3
4
5
PERIODIC ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL,
COMPELLING PRESENTATIONS
KILLER OPENING SLIDE
Attention grabber.
STORY LINE
Plotted like a narrative. The prospect should always be the main character.
DATA
Establish credibility and trust.
POWERFUL VISUALS
Images and videos that evoke the desired feeling (pain, fear, laughter, trust).
THEMATIC DESIGN
Fonts, colors and images are consistent and help tell the story.
1/10
5
OF A SECOND
MINUTES
It takes
to make up our minds about people.1
The average adult attention span.2
th
How do I design a presentation that
gets prospects to say “yes”?
Successful, compelling presentations
all have the same common elements.
3. 2
50%
50% of sales go
to the first
person to
contact the
prospect.3
5% remember
statistics after a
presentation, while
63% of attendees
remember stories.4
70% 63%
70% of people
make purchasing
decisions to solve
problems. 30% to
gain something.5
FORMULA 2: THEORY OF SALES RELATIVITY
IDENTIFY YOUR CUSTOMER’S PAIN.
DON’T TALK IN GENERIC INDUSTRY TERMS. Research that individual
and that individual’s company, and GET SPECIFIC.
PITCH OUTSIDE THE PROVERBIAL BOX: Identify how they’re being
prospected by your competition. Engage them with MEANING and a little
dazzle—social thought leadership, targeted messages, new tech-based
sales presentations and personalized video emails.
MAKE IT HARD TO SAY“NO.”Be likeable. Be friendly. Don’t pitch them;
engage them. Tell your story while you’re telling theirs.
ASK FOR THE TIME. An oldie but a goodie, don’t forget to come out and
say what you want: their time.
QUESTION
RESEARCH
HYPOTHESIS
How do I craft a message that is relevant
and compelling for my prospect?
Winning sales presentations oust the
“pitch”and tell a story related directly to
the customer’s need or pain.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR PITCH
RELATABLE AND GET THE “YES”
1
2
3
4
5
If you can’t
explain it simply,
you don’t
understand it
well enough.”
“
4. 3
FORMULA 3: SCHRÖDINGER’S SALES PITCH
Do I have a winning presentation that
will open doors? Or is my pitch dead in
the water?
Choose the winner, and then tweak that
presentation for each prospect.
By testing various narratives and
presentations, data will reveal the
winning message.
CREATE THREE DIFFERENT EXPERIMENTAL MESSAGES
a. Here’s what we do.
b. Here’s a compelling, flashy teaser.
c. Here’s what we can do for you.
LAUNCH THE EXPERIMENT
Using a sales enablement software with video-narrated presentations, send
each of the messages to three test groups of prospects.
LET THE DATA DECIDE
a. How many opened the email?
b. How many watched the presentation for 30 seconds, 1 minute or its entirety?
c. How many downloaded the content offer vs. asked for a meeting?
d. What did people say on the follow-up survey?
70%
70% stop watching a
presentation because the subject
matter isn’t relevant to them.6
QUESTION
CONCLUSION
RESEARCH
HYPOTHESIS
1
2
3
EXPERIMENT: OPEN THE BOX—
IS YOUR SALES PITCH ALIVE OR DEAD?