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A sales deck is the presentable form of a narrative that brings your product or service to life. Imagine it as the script of a movie where your brand is the hero, the audience are the skeptics, and your job is to convince them by the end that the movie is not a ‘one-time-watch’.
Like a bad date, a poorly created sales presentation can lead to just one person talking, awkward silences, confused glances, or worse- quick exits.
So, why exactly is a sales deck important?
It’s a structured way to build rapport, establish credibility, and focus on what really matters to your audience. Your sales deck becomes the answer to your potential customer’s questions, and one of the top reasons sales decks fail is because the presentation focuses too much on you instead of them. It’s like bragging about your high school track trophies when your date just wants to know if you’re emotionally available for them.
Think of your sales presentations as conversation starters, where each slide teases just enough to keep your audience curious and engaged, because let’s face it, no one wants to be on the receiving end of a boring monologue. The purpose of a sales deck isn’t just informing- it’s selling.
In this blog, we’ll put the spotlight on what a bad sales presentation looks like, why it looks like that, and what it should look like to turn a potential customer into an actual buyer.
Your audience doesn’t want to hear every detail about your company, product or service- they want to know how you can solve their problem. Too many sales decks start with long “About” sections and a parade of information that don’t speak to what the audience cares about. If your presentation feels like a LinkedIn resume, your prospects are bound to tune out.
Imagine being on a date where the other person only talks about themselves. That’s how your audience feels when you spend slide after slide on features of your offerings instead of focusing on customer needs. An impactful sales deck shows how the product or service fits into the customer’s life.
Sales decks often go overboard on information and data, cramming in every chart, and bullet point possible. But this approach, often called “death by PowerPoint,” is a quick way to lose your audience. Too much data without a compelling narrative is more confusing than convincing.
Think of it this way, throwing data at your audience without context is like dumping all the ingredients on the counter and expecting them to taste like a finished meal. Instead, guide your audience through a story, using data as seasoning- not the main course.
A great sales deck is visually appealing without being overwhelming. But many fall short, either by overloading slides with excessive graphics, and design elements, or by keeping things so bare-bones that it looks like a high school science project. Every slide should be intentional and should focus on enhancing the message, not detracting from it.
Imagine walking into a room decorated for a “corporate seminar” that’s actually so vibrant and filled with enough balloons to make it look like a birthday bash. It’s confusing and distracting. The best sales decks use visuals strategically to support the message and keep the focus on the story. Aim for clean, professional slides that look engaging without being distracting.
In today’s world, people expect a personal touch, but many sales decks are created once and reused endlessly without a single tweak for specific audiences. A generic sales deck can feel as impersonal as a mass email.
Picture giving the same speech at both a wedding and a business meeting. One size doesn’t fit all! Prospects want to know that your offering can address their unique needs. Small touches, like referencing their industry or using examples relevant to them, can make a big difference in engagement.
Emotion plays an important role in decision-making, but many sales decks come across as just factual and logical, leaving no room for emotion. Facts and features alone aren’t always convincing- audiences need a reason to care about the data. A mix of facts and emotional storytelling gets you more out of a sales pitch as it makes it more memorable and persuasive.
Weaving in customer success stories, testimonials, or scenarios where your offering made a significant impact is what persuades the audience. This human element keeps the audience engaged and makes the message more relatable.
A good sales presentation takes the audience on a journey, but without a clear structure, it’s easy to lose them along the way. Having a logical flow- problem, solution, proof, and action is a good way to keep the presentation coherent and impactful.
If you think of it like a story, you can’t tell that the main character dies before the main character was even introduced. Sounds odd, right? So, a good sales deck starts by identifying the problem, introducing your solution, backing it up with proof (like testimonials), and then guides the audience towards the next steps. This simple structure keeps the audience engaged and sets up a strong finish.
Many sales presentations focus solely on positives and ignore the potential objections or doubts that might arise. Preemptively addressing common questions before the audience even thinks of them builds trust and shows that you’ve thought of everything.
When doctors talk to their patients, they don’t just tell them the name of the treatment and ask them to search about it on the internet. They address every question that the patient may have about the treatment while telling about the treatment itself. That’s what a sales deck needs to follow. By acknowledging customer concerns within the deck itself, you show confidence and transparency.
This one’s a classic mistake. After all the effort, some sales decks don’t tell the audience what to do next. The presentation just... ends, leaving potential customers wondering what comes next. A clear CTA is essential to guide the audience toward taking action, whether that’s setting up a meeting or making a purchase decision.
Imagine a sales pitch that ends with, “Well, that’s it. Thanks for your time!” Your audience is left hanging, not sure if they’re supposed to clap or walk away. A strong CTA should be like the dessert at the end of a meal- it should wrap things up and leave them wanting more.
These are the major pitfalls of a failed sales deck. But even with all these elements checked off, there’s a surprising twist that can still sink your presentation- the Presentation Paradox. This is when a deck looks flawless on the surface but ends up feeling too polished, too scripted, or simply too impersonal to connect. This explains why aiming for perfection can sometimes lead to a less-than-perfect impact.
Here’s a classic case of the Presentation Paradox- You pour hours into perfecting every slide, and adding visuals that pop. You’re convinced this is the deck—only to find your audience zoning out halfway through.
What gives?
Sometimes, a deck can be too polished, too scripted, and too feature-focused, leaving the human connection behind. It’s like spending all your time on the wrapping paper and ribbon and forgetting to put a gift inside.
The perfect-looking deck can sometimes feel overly mechanical if it lacks genuine personality. When every detail is perfected, spontaneity and authenticity can take a backseat. Audiences may feel like they’re watching a prerecorded commercial instead of engaging in a real conversation.
The solution to this paradox?
Embrace a little imperfection. Be conversational. Aim for a sales deck that’s memorable not only for its perfection but also for its relatable, human tone. When the audience senses a bit of genuine personality behind the polish, they’re more likely to connect- and that’s what really sells.
You must have already gotten an idea of what a perfect sales deck should look like by understanding what misses the mark and makes a sales deck bad.
A perfect sales presentation feels like a conversation, one where you’re saying, “Hey, I get you, and here’s how we can make your life easier.” A shift in the focus from brand to customer is necessary to go from “what it does” to “what it does for you”.
If someone wants to buy car, they don’t need a deep dive into the specifics of the engine’s horsepower as much as they want to know how it’ll make their drive smoother or save them on fuel.
A good sales deck has slides as a series of problem-solving moments for the audience. Instead of a slide that reads “Our Cutting-Edge Technology,” imagine it says, “Never Pull Another All-Nighter Trying to Fix This Problem.” Now, that’s language that feels relatable, and that’s what actually matters to the audience.
To create this kind of deck- one that combines personality with polish, information with emotion, and solutions with a compelling story- it helps to have experienced hands guide the process.
And if you’re looking for an agency that can help you with this, we, at crappy presentations, would be happy to save the day.
