Drive to the End Zone.  How to Create a Winning B2B Sales Presentation

If your sales discovery process went well, you’ll be 2^nd and goal with the end zone in sight.  You’ll have enough insight into this prospect to know what you can offer them to solve their problems and make their life better.  Now is the time to evaluate all the priorities of the different stakeholders so you’re ready to address their pain points in your solution presentation.

The first step in the B2B sales process is the sales discovery call.  Check out our blog Know the Field.   Start with a B2B Sales Discovery Call

What is a B2B Sales Presentation

This is where the process starts to be a bit about you.  You’re focus remains on your customer and their pain points, but you start to shift toward how you can solve them.

Here are things you should think about having in your presentation:

• Start with the problems you solve with a focus on the prospect’s specific problem(s). It’s a good idea to remind the customer of their pain here so they see you understand them and they remember the urgency of solving their problem.
• Define what it would be like with that problem solved. Give them a glimpse into the future if they work with you.
• Present your solution and what makes it different. You can talk about the features and benefits.  How does your product or solution work?  Share specific data and examples if you can.
• Translate those features and benefits into advantages. How will your solution give them a unique edge against their competitors?  Don’t assume that everyone in the audience sees your presentation and understands what’s in it for them.
• Introduce some of your current customers and why they love you. Despite situations being somewhat different, most people can relate to a story of someone with a similar problem.
• Share pricing, plans, and options (this should all be in the proposal document as well).
• Explain who your external partners are if its relevant.
• Show them what it’s like to be your customer, including details of onboarding or delivery. What can they expect when they do business with you.
• Explain the next steps to engage, being very specific so its crystal clear what they need from you and what you need from them.
• At the end of your presentation, ask if there are any reasons why you can’t move ahead with a contract. Consider any objections as opportunities to get a stronger commitment from this customer.
• Before you leave the call, be clear about next steps. Do others need to consult?  Does legal need to review a contract?

When it comes to the actual presentation, here are a few tips.

• Unlike the masses buying shoes or hamburgers, most B2B customers are different and they want to know that you know that their situation is different. Don’t use a canned presentation for all customers.  Customize everything you can from names to circumstances, from logos to photos.
• Keep it to 10-15 slides and 30 minutes or so.
• Have information ready to answer the most commonly asked questions and even some of the questions you think they should ask. Install those slides at the end of your presentation so you can go there if you need to but it’s not cluttering your main presentation.
• Encourage conversation, interruptions, and questions.
• Design the presentation so it reflects your brand and your culture.
• Use graphics, visuals, and bullet points to explain instead of words.
• Use data to support your claims.
• Add social proof if possible (testimonials, client examples, etc.).

Before the Sales Presentation

• Find out who will be in the meeting. What is their position?  How does this problem affect their work? What information do they need to make a decision?
• Prepare their customized proposal.
• Prepare your presentation deck, anticipating objections and questions based on your experience, what stakeholders will be there, and what you learned in the sales discovery call.
• Send them a “before our call” email that explains what they can expect on the call, encourages them to have all stakeholders present, and includes your proposal and any other content that might help them decide.
• Send a reminder the day before and let them know you’re looking forward to the meeting. Send confirmation of the video link, phone number, or physical location.
• Ensure that you have what you need to share your information including projection equipment in a meeting room, administration rights for an online meeting, etc. We also suggest a backup plan in case things go wrong (paper copies of a presentation, digital version on a USB flash drive, etc.)

After the Sales Presentation

A few steps to follow the presentation:

• Show your gratitude. This doesn’t have to be a big gift or a grand gesture – sometimes just a thoughtfully written email can be enough.
• Send an email follow up, again attaching your proposal with a contract to sign. Share content or information about your onboarding or delivery process.  Make it clear what they can expect from you and what you need from them to make it happen.
• Connect on LinkedIn with other people you met in the meeting but are not currently connected to.
• Update your CRM.
• Notify your onboarding team/delivery to get things started in case the deal is finalized quickly, .
• Notify anyone else who needs to know what stage the deal is in.

Making a call on 3^rd down

The solution presentation might have ended with a verbal commitment to move forward.  That’s great.  However, if you’re not in the end zone, you have some decisions to make and it’s all around how best to follow up.  Every industry is different and it helps here to lean on a bit of experience.  Here are a few tips:

• If the purchasing process is complex and the purchase with you is significant, they’ll need more time to finalize the decision. Understand who is involved, what they need and how long this might take.  Maybe there’s a national holiday or someone who needs to be part of the decision is on vacation – these factors will affect your timeline.
• Stay top of mind with them during the decision process, but don’t badger them. I always say to apply your own standards to email and follow up frequency.  How often would you want to receive a call or email from someone trying to close a deal with you?
• Ask if there is anything you can do to help them make a decision. Content that helps them assess their readiness for this change can work well at this stage.  Let them see that they are in fact ready to pull the trigger.
• Understand who needs what information in the process. Having numbers to speak to finance, training information for HR, or productivity (and profitability) examples from other clients for owners shows that you know how a purchase will affect different areas of the business and you’re prepared for all the questions.
• Don’t let them go cold. If you haven’t heard from them in a while, don’t assume the deal is dead.  Follow up to be sure.
• Keep in touch. Even if you lost the deal (either to a competitor or the status quo), keep them on an email drip or your newsletter for example so they can find you if they need you.  You can even plan for personal follow up at different stages.  Look for them at a conference or send them a news article (maybe not even related to your product or service but relevant to their business).  Send them a referral or a job candidate.
• Keep your CRM up to date.

All of these steps are pretty typical to a B2B sales process.  Every team runs their offense differently based on the skills they have and who’s on the team.  Customize this to fit your business and industry – but be sure it’s to meet the expectations of your customers, not to suit your own needs or wants.