How to Create a Simple, Effective PowerPoint for B2B Sales Demos

Despite the growing number of digital tools available today, there are some that will never get old. PowerPoint is one of those programs—it offers plenty of customization, templates, and all the resources that businesses need to make effective presentations, demos, sales decks, and more. It’s an easy way to create content and offers simple sharing via email, printout, and more. Of course, you have to go beyond the basic high school PowerPoint templates and get to the good stuff. 

The type of sales demo you’ll create will depend on several factors, including who you’re preparing the sales presentation for. Of course, there are plenty of tips and best practices that can be applied in any sales demo or PowerPoint creation. In this guide, we’ll help you learn all about making the most of your sales demos and do so without a lot of effort on your part. 

Corporate branding considerations

Before you do anything with PowerPoint, you’ll want to think about what your brand standards are—almost every modern organization has a template for their PowerPoint demos that sets the standard for presentations. Make sure that you have one of these and use it consistently to convey a professional image, no matter who your audience might be. 

Some companies even have marketing files full of pre-made slides that cover the basics of company info, product lines, and so forth. If you don’t have these, you’ll have to come up with your own. However, you should always check to see how much time you can save (and again, how much brand consistency you can showcase). 

Now, here are some other tips for creating effective demos with the help of PowerPoint. 

Visuals make a big statement

We’re not saying to go through and make a slideshow of nothing but images and graphics. However, data, infographics, charts, and other visuals will make a much bigger impact than a wall of text statistics and information. Use pictures, diagrams, and other visuals effectively. Consider adding media clips if there’s a spot for them. 

There are a lot of different ways that you can go about adding visuals, but you have to do it with intention. In fact, everything in your presentation should have intention behind it. Otherwise, it’s just an aimless slideshow that’s accompanying your already-solidified sales pitch. 

Choose a slideshow structure

The architecture of your sales demo is part of its effectiveness—you’ll want to make sure that you structure your PowerPoint presentation in a streamlined manner that tells a story, conveys a message, and then convinces people to convert—or at least causes them to stop and consider wanting to know more about your business. 

Start with a presentation of the prospect and the pain point that you are addressing. Then, lead into your organization and how your product or service can solve the problem that you opened with. Use data and visuals to back up your claims and make sure that you support all claims with evidence. That way, your presentation is credible, and you become an authority within your industry. 

Leverage key features in PowerPoint

PowerPoint has a lot of great tools and features that you can use, from slide intros and outros to charts, graphs, advanced presentation tools, and so much more. Anyone can make a basic presentation. Take the time to get to know the features and take advantage of them. Imagine how much better images look when you pan in and slide around rather than just showing a static image on the page, for example. 

You can do a lot with a presentation and still not hit the mark if all you’re using PP for is the slideshow feature—you have to get creative and take advantage of the impressive tools available to help you give people a better presentation. 

Take notes from others

Perhaps one of the best ways to make better PowerPoint sales demos and presentations is to see what others have done. Take the time to do some research. Look at examples of other sales demos and decks. Find what works for others. Consider, also, what isn’t working, because that will help you in your own efforts. You’re not reinventing the wheel here; you might as well take a page from those who have come before you. 

A lot of the best sales decks and demos, as you will notice, tell a story. If it’s a good one, it may tell multiple stories and address multiple issues. When you’re taking notes from others, consider things like the length of the presentation and how the delivery goes along with the slideshow. Speaking of which, let’s discuss that, too. 

Make sure your delivery matches your presentation

No matter what you do with your sales demos, they’re not going to hit the mark if you don’t deliver on the presentation. Be confident about your offering and show people that you have something of value. Get excited about your presentation—if you want your audience to be excited, you have to lead them there. These demos can often take some time, so keeping the attention of your prospects is important, too. 

If you can manage all of these things, you’ll find that you are on your way to a much better sales demo. Take the time to try out a few different styles if you’re not sure at first, and then settle on the one that seems to get the best results. 

And while you’re handling the sales demos, let Smith.ai field the leads and more

If your sales presentations hit the mark, your lead generation is going to see a jump—do you have the means to pick up all the extra calls and inquiries? If not, you can partner with the dedicated virtual receptionists at Smith.ai and let us handle it. Our team can assist with after-hours answering, live website chat, and even handle lead intake, scheduling, and outbound sales and support. To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.