Sales deck

A weak deck leaves doubts that stretch the follow-up and give a competitor time to tell a better story. A strong one answers the buyer's questions in the order they will ask them, and lets an internal champion repeat the case to colleagues who were not in the meeting.

A shared deck also keeps a team on one message, so every prospect hears the same core case and not whatever a given person chose to emphasise. It makes the proof, the pricing and the next step consistent, which in turn makes the sales process easier to measure and improve.

• Follow a simple order: the problem, the solution, proof, pricing, how it is delivered and the next steps.
• Write each slide headline as a full statement that makes sense alone, because many readers will see the deck without the presenter.
• Build a fixed spine of core slides and a set of optional modules, such as a results summary for executives or a detailed method for the practitioners who will use it.
• Tailor three to five slides to the specific prospect before each meeting. Use their words, their numbers and their examples.
• Include proof, such as a customer result with numbers, a testimonial or a short case study.
• Finish with a concrete next step and a date.

A sales deck is a short presentation used in a sales conversation. It is different from an investor pitch deck, which is built to raise money. A sales deck is built to answer one buyer's questions: does the seller understand the problem, can it be solved, who else has done this and what happens next?

A deck is often used in two ways. It is presented in a meeting, and it is forwarded afterwards to people who were not in the room, such as the person who signs the budget. Both uses should work.

• Opening with a history of the company. The buyer's problem should come first.
• Cramming slides with text, so the deck cannot be read quickly on a phone.
• Never retiring slides. Check which versions sit behind faster closes and drop the ones that never help.