A one-size-fits-all sales pitch won’t cut it in today’s complex B2B buying environment. It’s essential to deliver sales presentations tailored to your customers’ needs, preferences, and pain points.
77% of B2B buyers indicated their last purchase was difficult or complex. Larger buying teams with more independently-gathered research are the norm.
It’s more important than ever for sales presentations to bring value and empower buyers – not just pitch a product.
But how can you create a personalized sales presentation that leaves a lasting impression and motivates buyers?
Try these strategies to make more effective sales presentations, while saving prep time with smart use of data and automation.
1. Hyper-personalize your sales presentation
Storydoc analyzed over 100,000 reading sessions of their business presentations. It discovered that decks that included a personal note to the recipient got 68% more people to read them in full. Personalized content also resulted in a 41% increase in average reading time – and decks customized to a specific prospect were shared internally 2.3x more often.
Buyers are expecting personalized sales presentations, too. Over 70% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions – and 76% get frustrated when they don’t get customized experiences.
61% of buyers admit they are unlikely to engage with sellers who reach out with irrelevant information.
Prospects want to know that your offering is uniquely suited to solve their problems. Take the time to get to know their needs so that you can tailor your presentation to that specific context. This type of personalized sales presentation will add tremendous value to the buyer.
Talk to your prospect about their internal and external deadlines. When you understand their plans and time constraints, you can present a timeline for the steps they’ll need to follow. Include product evaluation, stakeholder sign-offs, and other purchasing processes, implementation, and training in your timelines.
When it comes to customization, the first three slides of your sales presentation are particularly important. A Storydoc analysis showed that 80% of readers who consume the first three slides read through the deck fully.
So grab their attention immediately with lots of personalized information in those critical first few slides.
2. Keep it concise
Your prospects don’t want to learn about every feature of your product or service. They want to know how it will translate into value for them.
Any time you list a point that isn’t relevant or interesting, you risk the prospect tuning out. That makes getting their attention back much harder.
Keep your sales presentation focused on the biggest benefits to your buyer. Adjust your points according to the verbal and non-verbal cues they’re giving you during the conversation.
3. Advise with a consultative selling approach
The most successful salespeople are advisors who map the company’s content to the needs of their buyers.
In prospect meetings, use a consultative selling approach by taking the following steps:
- Let the prospect know you understand their goals and challenges by recapping what you’ve learned about them.
- Provide them with ways to achieve their goals and resolve their challenges using your service or product.
- Confirm the prospect’s timeline, budget, and decision-making process.
- Develop a plan for the purchase that takes into account their specific circumstances, and get the prospect to follow through on implementing that plan.
The plan you present should close the gap between where they are now and where they want to be when their problems are solved.
And always remember: Your first objective as a salesperson is to build a relationship with your prospect. Consultative sales enable you to establish connections built on trust and expertise.
4. Use your CRM data to customize your presentations
During sales presentations, the numbers that matter most to customers relate to financial information.
In the Next in Personalization 2021 Report, McKinsey says:
“[Outperformers] invest in rapid activation capabilities powered by advanced analytics. Leaders also establish robust measurement processes that track the impact of customer interventions and feed that information back to their systems and teams. These processes help them deliver the right content through the right channels at the right moments in a consumer’s journey.”
Whenever possible, personalize your sales presentations to include their specific content.
Sales enablement software like Pitcher makes it easier to automate the personalization process at scale by embedding CRM data directly into your presentations with just a few clicks. This makes it simple to tailor slides and content for your prospects with no manual work required.
You can also track customer behavior with your sales enablement software’s reporting and analytics capabilities. Note the assets your prospect has downloaded, shared, and consumed. This will enable you to better customize your content, choose appropriate case studies and testimonials, and anticipate objections.
There is nothing more powerful and persuasive than a data-driven sales presentation. When you have the numbers to back up your claims, it’s easier to be confident and convincing. A presentation customized with financial information uniquely relevant to your prospect will be engaging and more likely to convert to a sale.
5. Use mobile sales enablement to personalize presentations on the go
Mobile sales enablement tools allow salespeople to access relevant and up-to-date content, such as product information, pricing, and marketing materials. With this information readily available, sales reps can quickly create customized presentations for each client. They can tailor the message to their specific needs and interests – even on the go.
By using mobile sales enablement, sales reps can also capture valuable data about the customer’s interests and preferences during sales presentations. They can take notes, record feedback, and even use analytics to track how the customer interacts with the presentation on mobile devices. The rep can use this data to continuously customize and tailor content for future interactions.
Mobile sales enablement can also help sales reps stay organized and efficient. With all the necessary tools and data at their fingertips, they can minimize the time spent searching for the right materials and focus on building a solid relationship with the customer. As a result, sales reps can improve their productivity, close more deals, and achieve their goals.
Use sales enablement to personalize your sales presentations
By taking the time to understand your audience’s needs and preferences, tailoring your approach, and presenting relevant solutions, you can build stronger relationships and improve sales performance.
And by consistently employing these strategies, sales reps can establish themselves as trusted advisors and create lasting value for your customers and your business.
Get a free, live demo of Pitcher today and see how we can work seamlessly with your CRM and other sales platforms to help you automatically personalize your presentations.
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