Your sales presentation literally makes or breaks a sale. Maybe it’s a sale where you’re trading goods or services for money. Or maybe you’re selling an idea to a partner or a higher-up. Any way you slice it, a good sales presentation must be well planned and executed to move through your sales pipeline.
We’ll show you some real-life sales presentation examples that you should emulate to help you stand out from the crowd.
Let’s find out!
What is a Sales Presentation?
A sales presentation is an in-depth type of sales pitch and is designed to lead your audience to a certain action, such as saying yes to a quote. A good sales presentation is concise and provides value to the recipient.
It requires strong communication skills and a focus on your prospect’s needs rather than on your product or service.
While a framework like “Hook, Problem, Solution, etc.” can be applied to any sales presentation, the term encompasses different presentation formats, depending on where you are in the sales pipeline. These include the following:
- Sales webinar
- Software demo
- Formal group presentation
- Small sales presentation
- Sales video presentation
Let’s dive into what each one of these sales presentations might look like.
5 Compelling Sales Presentation Examples
Maybe you’ve heard how Steve Jobs felt about PowerPoint. There are more powerful types of sales presentations. Here are five examples of real-life sales presentations that help successfully move prospects to the next step in the sales process.
You can also use these examples to help you create your own sales presentation.
1. Algolia Live Webinar A/B Testing
Sales webinars are an excellent way to educate prospects who are interested in your product or service but are not ready for a demo or formal presentation.
Webinars can also be used to nurture current customers.
Take Algolia’s webinar on A/B testing. In the webinar, they highlight how challenging A/B testing can be and what strategies the viewer can implement. Algolia then ties in their unique approach to A/B testing. They have also repurposed the webinar by gating and posting it on their website.
Strengths & Weaknesses: This webinar is comprehensive and helps viewers learn more about A/B testing, complete with helpful diagrams and breakdowns of the concept. However, one approach that might better engage the audience would be to ask questions after every set of three or four slides.
Takeaway: For your own live webinar, relate your product or service back to viewer pain points, not how amazing your features are. Before hosting a webinar, create a list of needs and challenges for your target audience. Use this list as the foundation for your message.
Also, especially for smaller webinars, open up the floor for questions throughout the presentation, and come up with a list of potential questions beforehand. That way, your audience will feel like their needs are being heard. Try following the “80% listening, 20% talking” rule.
2. Microsoft Software Demo
You’ll likely have to give a software demo to show what your product can do, especially if you’re a SaaS company. In this sales presentation, Microsoft gives a demonstration of their Surface Pro.
The presenter goes through several use cases with the product and even highlights the target user (e.g., a contractor) for some of the features.
[Source]
Strengths & Weakness:
While your demo probably shouldn’t be given at the speed used for the example video, the presenter sounds very natural and conversational and even throws in ways that different people might use the Surface Pro. He also knows the product inside and out and, in simple terms, is able to explain how to use it.
Takeaway: When giving a software demo, the language should be simple enough for your audience to understand. It’s likely that your product or service is technical, but you have to explain it so that anyone can comprehend how it works. Avoid rambling with industry jargon. Instead, stick with the adage “Explain it to me like I’m five.” This requires practice, so polish your message in advance.
Along those same lines, don’t throw every single feature at your audience. In the demo, highlight features that are most relevant to their problems. You want them to both understand and recognize the value of your product!
3. Apple’s group presentation
Let’s say that you’re presenting to a large audience, perhaps in a boardroom of a prospective company. Apple has a unique way of giving formal presentations at events. Instead of one person talking the entire time, team members switch out, trading out different parts of their message every 10 minutes.
Our brains become bored easily. With the frequent-change approach, Apple “resets” the audience to engage them if they become distracted.
[Source]Strengths & Weaknesses: The visuals are striking within Apple’s presentation and seem to jump off the screen. They also incorporate a video that shows how the Apple watch benefits the user. And not only is the presentation visually pleasing, but the handoff between speakers is also very smooth. In addition, each presenter comes across as passionate about the Apple products.
Granted, certain parts of the presentation are a bit “salesy,” which wouldn’t necessarily work in a B2B-group-sales-presentation (people resist being sold to). But considering the product and the brand, the approach works in this case.
Takeaway: While you might be presenting by yourself, Apple’s approach can still apply. Keep your presentation visually and audibly interesting, such as with eye-catching sales decks, videos, and sound bites. Changing up your presentation every 10 minutes has been proved to keep your audience engaged.
Also, avoid talking in monotone (an approach that can quickly lose your audience’s attention). Rather, practice adding inflections to your words. Remember: It’s not what you say as much as how you say it.
4. Todd Caponi one-to-one sales presentation
Especially if you’re a small company, you’ll likely give a sales presentation to one or two people, such as executives. These presentations can be very effective (if done correctly) because it’s easier to build trust on a one-to-one basis.
Todd Caponi, author of the best-selling book The Transparency Sale and former CRO of PowerReviews, had a meeting with Calvin Klein’s senior vice president of ecommerce to close a major deal.
The SVP wasted no time in getting to the point: “How are you guys better than [the competition]?” he asked. Caponi replied, “Can we start with why they’re better than us?” He was honest about the competition and their value proposition. He got personal and sidestepped the “slimy salespeople” stereotype. But he also explained how his company’s value proposition met the needs of Calvin Klein.
The SVP appreciated the honesty and ended up purchasing from Caponi’s company.
Strengths & Weaknesses: Caponi didn’t try to be persuasive or turn on the classic salesman charm. Instead, he incorporated his company’s unique selling proposition. He recognized what the competition did better but then flipped the conversation. He knew the needs of Calvin Klein and highlighted how his company’s core offering would solve CK’s problems better than the competitor.
Takeaway: Be honest about what you’re offering during your presentation (often, these presentations are more like a conversation). As Caponi says, lead with your flaws. Prospects are more likely to trust you if you highlight product challenges instead of simply gushing about how perfect it is.
For example, maybe live chat is a core selling proposition of your company. A competitor also offers live chat, as well as email integrations and recording options. Recognize in your presentation what this competitor is doing well, but explain how your commitment to your core offering—live chat—creates a product that better meets the prospect’s needs.
5. Sylvane Video Presentation
A video presentation is one sales presentation that’s not happening in real time, so you don’t have to get right on the first take. You can use sales videos to support activities such as sales emails and social media posts.
A B2C business, Sylvane uses sales videos to educate and show products related to their air-treatment and home-appliance products. These videos aren’t pushy or solely about the product; instead, they are informational and help prospects succeed in daily life.
[Source]Strengths & Weaknesses: The presenter is friendly and conversational. She doesn’t push a sale but instead highlights top deals at Sylvane over Labor Day weekend. But while this approach might work for a B2C company, a sales video for a B2B company should be more about educating the viewer and less about highlighting features.
Takeaway: Don’t sell in your sales videos. Instead, enlighten, engage, and educate your target audience. Solve their problems within your videos. For example, maybe you’re an IT tech company. You could create an educational sales video on system design, incorporating your company’s approach.
The audience still learns about your company, but the video is focused on helping them with a specific need. Work with marketing to create messages and videos that will resonate with your target audience.
Leveraging Storytelling in Sales Presentations
Utilize storytelling to captivate your audience. A well-crafted narrative can make your product or service more relatable and memorable. Stories create emotional connections with your audience, making your presentation more impactful and persuasive.
Begin with a relatable problem, lead into how your product/service offers a solution, and conclude with the success story of a satisfied customer.
Best Practices for Storytelling
- Authenticity is Key: Ensure your stories are genuine and relevant to your audience’s needs and challenges.
- Simplicity and Clarity: Keep your stories simple and straightforward to avoid confusion and maintain audience engagement.
- Incorporate Visuals: Use visuals to complement your story, making it more engaging and easier to understand.
Enhancing Sales Presentations with Technology
Use interactive tools like live polls or Q&A sessions to engage your audience actively and make the presentation more dynamic.
Leverage advanced presentation software to create visually appealing and professional slides that align with your message.
Integrating Technology Effectively
- Harmonizing with Your Message: Ensure that the technology you use enhances your message rather than distracts from it.
- Practice and Familiarity: Familiarize yourself with the technology before your presentation to ensure a smooth delivery.
- Feedback and Analytics: Use technology to gather feedback and analytics post-presentation, which can be invaluable for improving future presentations.
Wrapping Up: Customize These Sales Presentation Examples
While your sales presentation format and audience might differ, they typically have the same goal: move the prospect to the next stage in the sales pipeline. You also might have to give more than one presentation during the sales process. For example, based on your software demo, your prospect may ask that you give a formal presentation to their company’s department.
Whatever the case, use the examples above to crush your next sales presentation!