How to create a sales presentation that sells, by phone, video or in person

Why a sales presentation starts with questions, not slides

A sales presentation is only as strong as what you know about the prospect. Before you present anything, ask enough questions to understand their circumstances, their pain and what a good result looks like to them. Then every point you make is about them, so that they feel understood, and a prospect who feels understood finds it much easier to say yes.

I saw how much this matters from the buyer's side. After attending a seminar, I had a follow-up call from a telemarketer trying to turn my interest into a paid engagement. When I hesitated about the investment, the caller simply ended the conversation. The presenter, who knew my situation, could have understood the fear behind my hesitation and answered it. The caller hadn't asked enough to know what it was.

Use the sales questions to ask on the phone to gather what you need, and write down the prospect's own words. You will use them in your presentation.

The five parts of a compelling sales presentation

1. 1

   Understand their circumstances

   Summarise what the prospect told you: the situation, the problem and what it is costing them. This shows you listened and frames everything that follows.

2. 2

   Establish your credibility

   Give a short, specific reason to trust you, for example 'We have been showing companies like yours how to [result] for [number] years.'

3. 3

   Connect your solution to their needs

   Present only the features that solve the problems they mentioned. For each one, say what it does, what benefit that gives them and what the benefit means to them.

4. 4

   Justify the price with value

   Show what the solution is worth before you reveal the cost. Once a prospect sees the value, the price looks reasonable by comparison.

5. 5

   Create genuine urgency

   Give a real reason to act now, such as limited availability, a time-limited offer or bonus, or the cost of waiting another month.

Step three is where many presentations go flat. A feature on its own is just information. Link it to the benefit, then to the feeling behind it: 'Our reminders go out automatically, so that your team stops chasing clients by phone, which means Friday afternoons go back to winning new business.' Features inform. Feelings sell.

Urgency must be honest. Never invent a deadline or a limited offer that doesn't exist. Prospects can tell, and it undoes the trust you built in step two. The words you choose in sales conversations matter just as much as the structure.

How to use testimonials in a sales presentation

Every effective sales presentation needs four ingredients: benefits relevant to the prospect, testimonials from others, a clear sense of the monetary value, and urgency. Testimonials are the ingredient most often left out, yet they carry great weight, because a prospect believes a third party far more readily than they believe you.

• Let others make the claim. Instead of 'Our system saves you ten hours a week', describe what happened for a real client: what they struggled with, what changed and what they now do with that time.
• Back every claim with proof. If you say your service is better, explain why, with specifics such as your follow-up support or a guarantee, if you offer one.
• Use exact numbers. 'Hundreds of clients' sounds vague. The exact number you can prove, and where those clients are, is far more believable.
• Mention independent ratings. If an independent review, award or industry body has rated you well, include it.
• Match the story to the prospect. A testimonial from the same industry, city or size of business lands hardest.

Testimonials can move a sale in a single conversation, as this note shows:

Build a bank of testimonials sorted by industry and by the problem solved, so you can reach for the right one in the moment. Use only genuine words from real customers, with their permission, and keep them current.

How to present your offer over the phone

On the phone the prospect can't see a brochure, a slide or your face, so your words do all the work. Often the presentation happens on a booked follow-up call, so have your notes from the first call in front of you. These habits keep a phone presentation clear and engaging:

• Present in short chunks. Give one benefit, then check in: 'How would that work for your team?' Long monologues lose people.
• Use their words. Repeat the exact phrases they used about their problem.
• Paint a picture. Describe what an ordinary day looks like once the problem is solved.
• Have your testimonials written out. Read a short quote word for word, with the customer's name and business, so it sounds credible rather than vague.
• Say numbers simply. Round them and put them in context, for example 'about two hours a week, so roughly a hundred hours a year'.
• Trial close as you go. Questions such as 'How do you see this fitting in?' tell you whether to keep presenting or move to the close.

Presenting on a video call or face to face

On a video call

• Put the camera at eye level and look into it when you make your key points, so the prospect feels you are talking to them.
• Share your screen only when you need to show something, then stop sharing so you can see their faces and reactions.
• Use few slides, with one idea each. Show a testimonial on screen and read it aloud.
• Ask everyone involved in the decision to join, and check in with each of them by name.
• Send a short summary of what you agreed straight after the call.

Face to face

• Bring printed testimonial letters or a one page case study the prospect can hold and keep.
• Let them handle the product or a sample where you can.
• Watch body language. Folded arms or a glance at the clock tell you to stop presenting and ask a question.

Whatever the format, the order stays the same: needs, credibility, solution, value and urgency.

Presenting price and asking for the decision

Bring up price only after the prospect agrees the problem is worth solving and has heard what the solution is worth. Put the price next to the value: what the problem costs them now, what they gain and how soon. A price on its own sounds expensive. A price beside a bigger number sounds sensible.

Then ask for a decision. A presentation that ends with 'Let me know what you think' hands control to the prospect and usually leads to silence. Close with a clear question about the next step, and be ready for the objections that follow. How to close a sale and how to handle objections take you through both. To hear the whole process from opening to close, the How to Triple Your Sales by Phone workshop is the complete 4 hour program as a video and audio download.