Sales Presentation Skills

Here's how to simplify your pitch and 10x your sales: 1. Talk less, sell more. Short sentences = more sales. Hemingway once bet he could write a story in 6 words that'd make you feel something: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Your pitch should pack the same punch. 2. Complexity is for people who want to feel smart, not be effective. The worst salespeople make simple things sound complicated. The best make the complex simple. 3. Complexity says, "I want to feel needed." Simplicity limits to only what is needed. 4. Read your pitch out loud. I remember when I'd asked my COO to read the manuscript of my book. He chose to do it aloud. All 258 pages. Ears catch what eyes miss. The final version reads like butter. 5. "Be good, be seen, be gone." This was the best sales advice I ever got. - Good: Deliver value - Seen: Make an impression - Gone: Don't overstay your welcome People buy from those they remember, not those who linger. 7. Speak like your customer, not a textbook. We like to sound sophisticated. "We create impactful bottom-line solutions." But we like to listen to simple. "We help small businesses explode their sales." Which one would you buy? 8. Every word earns its place. Your pitch should be lean and mean. - Be specific - Avoid cliches - Check for redundancy - If it doesn't add value, cut it out 9. Abstract concepts bore. Concrete examples excite. ❌ "We'll increase your efficiency." ✅ "We'll save you 10 hours a week." Paint a picture. 10. People buy on emotion & justify with logic So tap into their feelings: - Fear of missing out - Desire for success - Need for security Then back it up with facts. 11. The "Grandma Test" never fails. If your grandma wouldn't get your pitch, simplify it. No jargon. No buzzwords. Just plain English. 12. Benefits > features. Dreams > benefits. ❌ "Our group hosts 10+ events per year." ✅ "Our program helps you close deals." 🚀 "Let's take back Main Street through ownership." 13. Use power words: - You - Free - Because - Instantly - New These words grab attention and drive action. Two final things to keep in mind... Simplicity isn't just for sales. Apply these principles to: - your business operations - your thinking processes - your next investment - your relationships - your to do list Sales isn't just for car dealerships. You pitch when you: - Negotiate a raise - Interview for a job - Post on social media - Hire someone for a job - Talk to an owner about buying their biz If you found this useful, feel free to share for others ♻️

You've been there. You get on a demo call. You're excited to show your product. You want to impress the prospect with ALL the cool features... ...and halfway through, you can see their eyes glaze over. Meeting ends. No follow up. Deal dead. I wasted YEARS making this mistake. The problem? I was "selling steaks to vegans". Showing features my prospects didn't care about and never would. Reminds me of the time I walked into an Infinity dealership looking for a comfortable car with good storage for road trips for my growing family. For 20 minutes, the salesperson showed me luxury wood trim, UI features, and rubber floor mats. I walked out, drove to Lexus, and bought from a rep who focused ONLY on what I cared about. Your demo shouldn't be a buffet where prospects sample everything. It should be a custom crafted meal addressing exactly what they're hungry for. Before any demo, ask: "If I could only present 3 things that would move the needle for this prospect, what would they be?" After implementing this approach, my close rate jumped from 22% to 54%. The formula is simple but rarely used: 1. Only show what solves THEIR problems 2. Link every feature to direct business impact 3. Use THEIR language and terminology 4. Make it interactive with questions throughout 5. Keep it simple (fancy fails, simple scales) 6. Prove everything with relevant examples 7. Make it smooth and polished 8. Handle objections before they arise 9. Practice until it's muscle memory Remember: Most prospects will pay MORE for CERTAINTY. — Want to CRUSH your quota and 2x your sales? We should talk: https://lnkd.in/gr9u5Vgd

I’ve coached thousands of sellers on how to create the perfect sales pitch using a framework called the 5 P’s. Until today, I have never shared this with anybody except my coaching clients. Here’s why it’s so effective: when most companies create a first call deck or sales pitch, they make it all about their own company and how great they are.   𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬! The reason why is simple: customers don’t care about your products and services. They care about themselves, achieving their goals, and solving their own problems. Yet most pitch decks fail to speak to the problems which customers face and the pains they are causing. That’s why I created a framework which focuses solely on the customer’s challenges and how your solution can solve them. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟓 𝐏’𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐏 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫: 𝟏. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦: What problem do most prospects you work with face that your company can solve? The problem should be very high level, and important to Senior Executives at the company. It should be a business problem, not a technical problem. For example, if I sell CRM, the problem I solve would be rep underperformance, low rep productivity, or missed forecasts. All of which are important to a CRO or CEO. 𝟐. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧: Why does the problem exist? What is the root cause of the problem? By understanding the source of the problem, you demonstrate credibility and establish immediate trust with prospects because you are speaking their language. In the above example, I could say that reps often miss their forecasts because leadership has poor visibility to their sales pipeline and no way to accurately predict which deals are most likely to close, all of which a CRM solves for. 𝟑. 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧: What pain is the problem causing? The pain is always focused on the metrics that are impacted by the problem. For example, missed forecasts could mean a reduction in stock prices, missed revenue targets, and sales layoffs. 𝟒. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞: How does your company solve the problem? The promise should always solve the primary reasons you just outlined. So for example, AI driven forecasting would prevent inaccurate manual forecasting and low visibility to deals. 𝟓. 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐟𝐟: What metrics do you positively impact by solving the problem? Key payoff metrics for a CRM would be improved rep quota attainment, productivity, and accurate forecasting, all of which drive top line revenue & profitability. In this week's training video, I walk you through how to create the perfect sales pitch using the 5 P framework. You can find the training here: https://lnkd.in/gmu_Bdu3 PS - If you want to access a copy of the Problem Mapping Template so you can fill out the 5 P’s for your own solutions, get it here: https://lnkd.in/gASNe_em

Enterprise buyers don’t want a sales pitch. They want a safe place to explore. Sandbox demos aren’t “nice to have” anymore. They’re becoming the gold standard in technical sales. Why? Because giving buyers access isn’t the same as giving them confidence. Sales engineers know this. Spinning up staging environments Masking data Rewriting flows And still ending up with a clunky experience. What’s working now: ✅ Safe, HTML-based demos that feel real ✅ Pre-scripted flows for regulated use cases ✅ Personalization without dev time ✅ Letting buyers explore, no credentials needed Sandbox demos aren’t just for showing products. They build trust. Explain complexity. Move deals forward. More sales engineers are using Supademo to create sandbox-style demos buyers actually want to try. If you’re relying on screenshots or calls to explain a technical product You’re playing on hard mode. Want to see what a sandbox demo feels like? Check the link in the first comment.

From 2017 to 2021, Gong grew from $200k ARR to nine figures. During that window of time, I spent dozens of cycles with our VP Sales on crafting demos that sell. Here's 6 elements of insanely persuasive sales demos I learned (trial and error): 1. Flip Your Demo Upside Down Most salespeople save the best thing for last. Wrong move. By that time, buyers have checked out. Some have even left the room. Start your demo with the most impactful thing. Save dessert for the beginning. Not end. 2. Give Them A Taste, Not A Drowning You eat, sleep, breathe your product. So you want to show EVERYTHING. You believe that the MORE you show, the more VALUE you build. Wrong move. Your just diluting your message. Show exactly what solves your buyer's problem. Nothing less. But also, nothing more. 3. Focus Your Demo On The Status Quo’s Pain It’s  tempting to focus on benefits. They’re positive and easy to talk about. But focusing your message on the pain of the status quo is more persuasive than focusing on benefits. If your buyer believes the status quo is no longer an option, they’re a step closer to investing in a new resource. Your new resource. People are more motivated to NOT lose than they are motivated to gain something new. Use this psychological bias to your advantage. 4. Avoid Generic Social Proof We're all trained to use social proof. Whether it works is not so simple. Using endorsements from big customers might win credibility with a few buyers, but it'll work against you if your buyer doesn't "identify" with the customer you're name-dropping. It alienates them. If you cite a bunch of your customers who DO NOT LOOK like your buyer? They’ll think “This product isn’t designed for clients like me.” Only name drop customers they can identify with. 5. Frame the problem at the beginning of the demo. Start with a "What We've Heard" slide. Center your buyer on the problem. And get new people in the room up to speed. Then show a "Desired Outcome" slide. Do those two things, and now your demo is a bridge between the two. Easy for your buyer to "sell themselves" when you do that. 6. Frame the pain each feature solves. This is the "micro" version of the previous tip. For EVERY NEW FEATURE you showcase: You HAVE to frame the problem it solves. Otherwise, it's meaningless. At best, your buyers write it off. At worst, it triggers objections. That's all for now. This is nowhere near the last thing to be said about demos that sell. So what would you add? P.S. After watching 3,000+ discovery call recordings, I picked out the best 39 questions that sell. Here’s the free list: https://go.pclub.io/list

Your demo is the reason you're losing deals And it has nothing to do with your product. After sitting through 200+ sales demos last year, I've identified the pattern that separates winning presentations from forgettable ones. It's not about features. It's not about benefits. It's about sequence. Most demos follow this deadly structure: 1️⃣ Company overview 2️⃣ Product walkthrough 3️⃣ Feature deep-dive 4️⃣ Pricing discussion 5️⃣ Next steps This is exactly backwards. Your prospect doesn't care about your company story. They care about their problem. They don't want to see every feature. They want to see outcomes. Here's the demo structure that actually converts: ↳ Start with their outcome  "Based on our conversation, you mentioned needing to reduce customer churn by 15% this year. Let me show you exactly how this would work for your situation." ↳ Show their scenario Use their data, their use case, their terminology. Make it feel like they're already using your solution. ↳ Focus on 2-3 key capabilities The ones that directly impact their stated priorities. Skip everything else. ↳ Handle objections proactively Address the concerns they mentioned in discovery before they have to ask. ↳ End with clear next steps Not "Do you have any questions?" but "Based on what you've seen, what would need to happen for you to move forward?" The best demos don't feel like demos. They feel like problem-solving sessions where your product happens to be the solution. Subscribe to our Innovative Seller channel where we post bi-weekly videos on sales strategies like this 👇

Every single sales team I have ever evaluated has their lowest score on the closing competency.    This really boils down to really crappy proposal meetings and sales pitches.    First we should never be doing a discovery meeting and a proposal meeting at the same time.     If a sales person does split their discovery and proposal meeting, they usually show up with a boiler plate deck completely focused on why the company is so great.    They present every single capability that the prospect doesn't care about, so somewhere within the first 5 minutes the deal is lost.    Here are five things I teach my clients to do when presenting a proposal:    1) Customized each proposal to the client.     2) Start with an objectives slide.     This should be the 3-5 problems you extracted from the discovery call.    After presenting this slide, ask the client if you captured their needs.    It's pretty amazing to see how prospects lean in immediately because you have summarized their challenges so well.    This is a sign you have them hooked.    3) Connect each problem the client has with one of your solutions.    You could sell a 250K piece of equipment that has 100 different "cool" things    The only cool things that matter are the ones that solve the prospects problems.    Only share a maximum of five solutions.    4) Add in a maximum of two slide about your company.    This should be your company's unique value proposition    5) Drop in a testimonial or two that is relevant to that prospect    Always have a strong testimonial on the slide right before you share the pricing    The key to deliver flawless pitches and improving your close rate is about stepping into the prospects world.    I can guarantee you if you follow only one of these steps you with see your close rate increase by a few percent.    If you follow them all you can easily double your close rate    You will realize the problem with your proposal meeting is you don't actually have the information you need to properly present your solution to your client.    And you need to go back and do real discovery meeting to extract the prospects challenges.    Closing starts at the beginning of your sales process, not the end.     #wesleynewisdom 

Great prospect. Great fit. Great demo. And then.... they hesitate. Why? Because most AEs stop short: We show a feature. We might even mention the problem it solves. But we forget to take it one step further: Explaining how it actually plays out in their day-to-day. Connecting the dots for them. Instead of saying: “This feature will help your reps stay more organized.” Say: “Right now, every time a prospect replies, your reps copy notes, update their CRM, and then set a manual reminder to follow up. With this tool, replies automatically log in the CRM, notes sync in real time, and reminders trigger instantly. Same process, half the admin work. That’s how your reps free up hours each week to focus on selling instead of updating fields.” See the difference? Prospects don’t just need to know a feature solves their problem. They need to feel how it fits into their workflow. When you don’t paint the full picture, they don’t believe it will work. And they’ll rarely say that out loud. Instead, they’ll point to:  - Budget  - Timing - Priorities This happens ALL the time. And it's much easier said than done. Takes practice to implement. (I'm still working on it myself) That’s why discovery is so important. It’s how you uncover their real workflow. So when you demo, you can connect the dots for them. And if you show them exactly how your product solves their day-to-day pain? They’ll find the budget. They’ll make the time. They’ll prioritize it.

B2B buying habits have changed. But SaaS demos haven’t caught up. → Teams only share demos in live calls → They still send generic walkthroughs → Still rely on reps to lead every interaction That’s not how today’s buyers want to explore Walnut analyzed 400+ SaaS companies ↳ And discovered 5 major shifts in how demos are actually used 1. Buyers Want Self-Guided Access Most prospects view demos up to three times ↳ All on their own, before ever talking to sales They want to explore your product → Before they book a call → Before they reply to your message → Before you even know they’re interested If someone has to talk to a rep just to see your product ↳ You’ve already lost momentum 2. Buyers Share Demos Across Their Team The average deal involves 3 or more stakeholders ↳ And they’re reviewing the product separately They forward demos internally → To avoid unnecessary meetings → To speed up decision-making If your demo doesn’t speak clearly on its own ↳ You won’t reach the people who matter most 3. Short, Targeted Demos Perform Best Buyers spend around 6.5 minutes watching a demo They don’t want 20-minute tours → They want focused stories that show value quickly If your demo can’t land the message fast ↳ You’ll lose their attention 4. Demos Support Every Funnel Stage Buyers interact with 3 to 4 demos per deal ↳ Across awareness, evaluation, and decision-making stages Product experience is now a journey → Not a one-time touchpoint Smart SaaS teams build demos ↳ For every stage, not just the intro 5. Personalization Isn’t a Luxury Anymore The average team uses 39 demo templates ↳ Tailored by buyer role, use case, and funnel stage Larger teams use over 100 → Because every persona sees value differently Personalization isn’t a bonus ↳ It’s expected 🎖️The takeaways: Buyers want access → not barriers Clarity → not confusion Control → not friction 👉 Walnut breaks it down with real data and examples. 📌 Get the full report: https://bit.ly/3TlUfOl ♻️ Repost to help other SaaS teams #SaaS #Demos #ProductDemos #SaaSproducts #WalnutPartnership #SponsoredByWalnut

When I was a VP of Sales, I had SMB AEs making $200K+ a year. These AEs were closing 50-70% of their demos. Here are 5 techniques I taught them that you can use (even if you're a MM or ENT AE): 1. SEEK PAIN: If you don't know the prospect's: a) pain b) size of pain c) who's impacted by that pain then what the hell will you demo? They would not demo the software until they find out the prospect's pain points. So one of the questions we started asking to get to this answer as quickly as possible was: "What specific challenges are you dealing with that you think we'd be able to help you with?" 2. REJECT PROSPECTS: SMB sales is a double edge sword. You can be 'stuck' with a lot of leads & deals. Many of those deals are not a fit. So they take up space and time in your calendar. Although very hard to do, I trained them to be comfortable rejecting a lead if it didn't seem like it would close within 90 days. 3. DEMO OUT OF ORDER: Most bad demos follows a predictable demo flow. First talk about X, then show them Y, then cover Z. But many times, prospects only had 1 specific problem they wanted to solve, nothing more. And if you showed them how to solve that 1 problem you'd win them over. So a feature that would typically be saved until the end of the call was showcased right away. 4. ASK PRQs: Digging deep on discovery is hard to do (also for MM and Enterprise). Average AEs try to pigeonhole all of their discovery questions in the beginning of the call. This pissed off prospects. Instead, we sprinkled questions throughout the demo using PRQs (Process Related Questions). For example, before showing a relevant feature, ask: "Curious, what's your current process of managing your invoices today?" 5. MICRO-CLOSE: I used think closing happens at the end of a sales call. But closing is really just the sum of 'micro-closes' you do throughout your demo. At the end of a relevant feature, the AEs would ask: "Does this solve your problem of [pain]?" If prospects say YES, the AEs just micro-closed them on that. Do this throughout the call and you're compounding your close. P.s. Every top AE I trained has mastered discovery. 6,000+ AEs are crushing their disco using these 24 questions: https://lnkd.in/eR69raD4