5 [Must-Know!] Sales Presentation Techniques that Close Deals

Have you ever been presenting to a prospect when you start to notice that they’re losing interest? Maybe they’re looking around, or checking their phone?

When this happens, it’s because you’ve followed a presentation approach that’s led you down a bad path.

It’s important to make sure your presentations are tight and succinct, and that they leverage the best sales presentation techniques available to you.

In this video, I’m going to show you 5 must-know sales presentation techniques that close deals. Check it out:

1. Deep discovery first.

Most salespeople tend to jump right into their pitch when they present. They never really do a thorough, deep discovery. This means that they’re just presenting to anyone with a pulse—they have no idea whether a prospect is actually a fit for what they offer.

Using a deep discovery process is a critical sales presentation technique. At my firm, we ask a systematic set of questions to really understand whether a prospect is a fit, and to obtain an understanding of their world and the challenges they face, which is a process I call disqualification. That way, we can understand their challenges up front and then present to those challenges down the road.

Deep discovery must come before the presentation. Even if the prospect is pushing you for the presentation right away, you’ve got to slow it down and go deep to understand exactly what’s going on in their world.

2. Bridge where they are to where they want to go.

This is sales in a nutshell. Let’s just say your prospect is at Point A, and they want to get to Point B. Between Point A and Point B, there are a lot of dangerous, scary unknowns in the middle. And so, in order for them to get from Point A to Point B, they need a bridge that will get them from one side to the other.

That’s really what a salesperson is: a bridge. More specifically, your offering or service is the tangible bridge to get prospects from Point A to Point B. No matter what you sell, your offering or service ultimately helps them get from where they are to where they want to go

If prospects don’t feel that there’s a clear, sturdy bridge to get them where they want to go, then they’re not going to buy from you. They must really believe that you can help get them there. You are the solution to the challenges that they’re facing. When they see that, then they buy. If they don’t see that, then they’re not going to buy.

Make sure to do that deep discovery to understand their key challenges, and get a clear picture of where they want to go. Then demonstrate through your presentation that you can get them from Point A to Point B. This is one of the most important sales presentation techniques you can master.

3. Solve their challenges.

Building upon the concept of being a bridge for your prospects, I want to talk a bit more about exactly how to demonstrate that you can get prospects where they want to go. The first and most important step is to demonstrate that you can solve their challenges. If you’ve done your job well, you’ve done a deep discovery to learn what’s going on in their world, the key challenges they face, and where they want to ultimately end up. So, you need to demonstrate in your presentation that you can solve those challenges.

This is not about doing a feature and benefit presentation. Prospects don’t care about your stupid features or your stupid benefits. What they care about is, can this person solve my challenges? Your prospects only care about talking to you as far as they believe that you can solve their challenges.

They’re not looking for a friend, they’re not looking for a buddy, they’re not looking to have someone that they really like. That stuff doesn’t matter. What matters is that you demonstrate that you can ultimately solve their challenges. This might sound simple, but it’s a critical sales presentation technique that can transform the way you present. The more you gear your presentation to the challenges they’ve mentioned and nothing else, the more successful you’ll be.

4. Get constant feedback.

When you’re talking to prospects, there’s a good chance that you’re just doing a complete info dump on them. When it’s presentation time, a lot of salespeople get really excited and start droning on and on with a monologue about their offering. That’s when the prospect starts to doze off…

Instead of falling into this trap, you should be constantly getting feedback from the prospect at every key point in your presentation. These “feedback loops” are a key sales presentation technique you should start using right away. Pepper your presentation with feedback loops such as: “Does that make sense?” The purpose is just to get a little bit of feedback from the prospect. Ask, “Do you see what I’m talking about here?” and let them just nod or say, “Yeah, that makes sense.”

If you’re doing that throughout your entire presentation, you’re pulling the prospect into the conversation and making them feel like they’ve had a hand in creating the ultimate solution. So it’s almost like instead of having one big close at the end of the sale, there are these many, many tiny little sales that are happening throughout the conversation. That’s the power of getting constant feedback.

5. Let their questions drive the conversation.

When we look at the typical salesperson’s one-hour presentation, most salespeople plan for about 50 minutes of talking. And as a result, the prospect is bored to death. What’s more, most salespeople aren’t even using this huge chunk of time to address the issues that are actually important to the prospect. 

Who wants to sit and listen to someone walk for 50 minutes straight? No one. Instead, keep your presentations really short and focus only on solving their challenges. Then, let their questions drive the conversation. The shorter your presentation is, the more you can engage prospects and let their questions drive the conversation, the more you’re talking about what really matters—which is what they care about. Anything that they’re asking about is something that’s important to them.

Many salespeople find that getting questions during presentations is nerve-wracking or scary, but actually, any question asked during a presentation is an opportunity to understand what the prospect really cares about. It allows you to focus on the pieces that matter most to them. So, when you’re in the presentation phase of the sale, let the prospect’s questions drive that conversation forward.

So there you have it. Now you know 5 must-know sales presentation techniques that close deals. Which of these presentation strategies did you find most useful for improving your close rate? Be sure to share below in the comment section to get involved in the conversation.

More Sales Presentation Techniques that Close Deals…

You’ve gone through the entire discovery process—and you think you’ve done everything right.

You’ve asked great questions to uncover your prospect’s biggest challenges. You learned exactly what your prospect needs.

But even after giving your best sales presentation, you were still met with rejection.

More likely than not, your prospect said something like, “I really need to think this over. Can you call me back in a week or so?”

What did you do wrong? Or, more importantly, what didn’t you do right?

In this video and article, I’m going to answer that question by showing you 5 killer sales presentation techniques to close the sale.

Follow these tips, and you’ll never hear objections like “I need to think it over” after a sales presentation again. Check it out.

There are a lot of skills you can work on as a salesperson—mastering cold calls, writing the perfect prospecting email, asking for referrals, and more.

But there’s one sales skill that matters more than all the rest.

There’s one sales skill that will determine whether or not you’ll be a successful salesperson.

What is this all-important sales technique? Knowing how to close the sale.

While it’s great to master planning out your day or networking with c-suite prospects, if you can’t close sales, you just won’t make it as a salesperson.

But with the right sales presentation techniques to guide you through your sales meetings, you’ll start closing more sales than ever before.

This is absolutely key to crushing your sales goals and rising to the top of your industry by giving an outstanding sales presentation at every opportunity. 

Read on to learn 5 killer sales presentation techniques to help you close more sales and become a superstar salesperson.

6. Keep your sales presentation short.

This is a common sales mistake I see all the time.

Salespeople get so excited about what they’re presenting that they ramble on for far too long.

TIME Magazine reports that the average attention span is a mere eight seconds—so if you’re talking on and on, your prospect probably isn’t even listening!

While passion for a product or service is a great thing, you can and should still be able to follow this first of five tips on sales presentation techniques: Keep your presentations as short as possible.

At the end of the day, prospects only care about what they care about—namely, themselves. Your sales presentation should reflect that.

Instead of droning on about every last detail of your offering, keep it short and focused on your prospect and how you can help them solve their key challenges.

In order to keep prospects engaged, a good salesperson will make this one of their most important sales presentation techniques, presenting only what they need to present and nothing more.

7. Tell a story in your sales presentation.

There are two basic ways to go about organizing a sales presentation.

The first is to focus on features and benefits. This is the old-school way to present your product or service.

If you’re looking for sales presentation techniques to close the sale, a features and benefits presentation is not your best option.

Sitting through one of these outdated presentations is about as exciting as reading a high school textbook. Don’t make your sales presentation feel like a boring first-period history class.

The second and far better way is to use a case study presentation, which feels less like reading a high school textbook and more like listening to an interesting story.

To prepare a case study presentation for your next sales meeting, use examples of what you’ve achieved with past customers to tell a story that will resonate with your prospect.

This updated sales presentation technique a fun and engaging experience for prospects, making it easier to build connections and ultimately close the sale.

8. Present solutions to your prospects’ challenges—then stop.

When a prospect shows interest in a product or service, most salespeople start getting excited; they can almost taste the close of the sale.

As a result, they start going overboard by trying to cover every last feature or benefit.

Of course, the prospect wasn’t actually interested in all those little details, so before long, interest starts to wane in your sales presentation.

Instead, start every sales meeting with the goal of uncovering and understanding your prospects’ key challenges.

Only then can you move forward with presenting a solution to those challenges—and nothing more.

By ending it there, you’re far more likely to hold a prospect’s interest and ultimately close the sale, making this one of the most important sales presentation techniques for a successful meeting.

9. Look for feedback throughout your presentation.

When you treat your sales presentations like a monologue, two things happen.

First, prospects get really bored. They start to check out mentally and miss most of what you have to say—even the good stuff that would normally interest them.

Second, you have absolutely no idea if the prospect is on the same page as you throughout the presentation.

You can get all the way to the end of your monologue without ever realizing that your very first point didn’t ring true to your prospect, so you failed to look like an expert in their eyes.

One of the simplest but most effective sales presentation techniques to close a sale is to get feedback throughout the presentation.

You can do this by constantly ending sentences with little questions like, “Does that make sense?” or “Can you see how this would work for you?”

By ending key points with those little engaging questions, you’ll create moments to connect with the prospect and ensure that they’re on the same page as you move towards the close.

10. Interruptions in your sales presentation are a good thing.

Many of the best sales presentation techniques boil down to the idea that salespeople should be slow to speak and eager to listen—and the last one on this list is no exception.

Anytime a prospect interrupts your presentation, stop immediately. Don’t talk over the interruption in an effort to push through and finish your sales presentation.

Instead, welcome the interruption and let prospects ask their questions or share their concerns.

An interruption could be as obvious as, “Hey, I have a question,” or as subtle as a change in facial expression.

Even if it’s just in response to a slight shift in body language, you can implement this as one of your sales presentation techniques by responding, “Was there something that you wanted to ask?”

Think of it this way: The opportunity to find out what a prospect is thinking is always far more valuable than whatever you were about to say.

Interruptions are opportunities to find out what your prospect cares most about, overcome objections as they arise, and ensure you stay on the same page all the way to the close.

Conclusion: Proven Sales Presentation Techniques Will Help You Close More Sales

At the end of the day, you should have one major focus as a salesperson: Close more sales.

A salesperson who can’t close sales won’t stay a salesperson for long.

Fortunately, using proven sales presentation techniques can help you close more sales, crush your goals, and ultimately succeed in your career.

First, remember to keep your sales presentation short.

Prospects have limited attention spans, and the less you can say to make your point, the better chance you have of keeping them engaged all the way to the close.

Second, replace your outdated features and benefits presentation with a much more powerful case study presentation.

Instead of telling your prospect what you can do, show them by presenting a story of similar customers who have solved their biggest challenges with your help.

Case study presentations make you look like an expert and prompt even the biggest companies to trust you and your solution.

Third, learn to dig into your prospects’ challenges and present a solution to those challenges—and nothing more.

Knowing when to stop is key to closing more sales.

Fourth, make looking for feedback one of your top sales presentation techniques.

Use lots of short and easy questions throughout your presentation to keep prospects engaged and ensure you’re both on the same page.

Finally, welcome interruptions from prospects.

Remember that the prospect’s feedback—whether it’s a question, concern, or simply a change in facial expression—is always more valuable to you than plowing ahead to finish your sales presentation.

Bonus Tip #1: Match your prospect.

When giving a sales presentation, many salespeople are so focused on what they’re saying that they don’t pay much attention to how the prospect looks or behaves, both overtly and more discreetly. For example, is the prospect very dressed up or casual? Using an energetic, loud voice or speaking quietly and slowly? Giving off vibes of friendliness or shyness?

To make your sales presentation even more effective, start to match your prospect in these ways. The two most important factors to keep in mind are tone and vibe. How does the prospect sound, and how does the prospect’s presence feel?

It’s a scientific fact that people are more receptive to communication if they feel like the other person is similar to them and understands them. So match your prospect in as many ways as you can in order to build that connection and make your sales presentation more compelling and relevant.

Bonus Tip #2: Build a connection.

Matching your prospect is one way to start to build a connection with prospects during a sales presentation. But you can always implement a few other strategies to build rapport during the sales presentation phase.

First, try “breaking the pattern” during the sales presentation. Do what’s not expected of you. Your prospects have heard the same sales presentation a thousand times before. So, do what you can to make yourself distinct, and you’ll actually connect better with the prospect.

When you give the same sales presentation as every other salesperson out there, prospects put up a wall. Try to constantly break the pattern to build rapport.

Next, you can make sure to focus exclusively on the prospect during any sales presentation. This is critical to building strong connections in sales. Don’t focus on your product; focus on how it helps solve their challenges. Don’t focus on features and benefits; focus on how you can make your prospect’s life easier.

And finally, repeat and rephrase what the prospect says throughout the sales presentation to show that you hear them and understand them.

Bonus Tip #3: Follow the 60-Second Rule.

When you’re giving a sales presentation, do you find yourself talking a mile a minute?

This is a common pitfall in sales, so you’re not alone. Put the brakes on your monologue tendencies by following the 60-Second Rule: Never talk for more than 60 seconds during a sales presentation without pausing to elicit feedback or a response from the prospect.

This is as simple as it sounds, but it will makes your sales presentation more effective in virtually any scenario.

Bonus Tip #4: Quit while you’re ahead.

Many salespeople sabotage their own sales presentation simply by failing to quite while they’re ahead.

Here’s what I mean: When you’re nearing the end of the sales presentation and the prospect is fully on board, resist the urge to add one last component to the presentation or throw in details about just one more feature or benefit to what you’re selling.

Don’t ruin a good thing by falling victim to the temptation to put everything and the kitchen sink into your presentation.

Quit while you’re ahead, and if the prospect is on board, wrap up the presentation without adding in that one last thing that could change their mind for the worse.

Bonus Tip #5: Make a clear and scheduled next step.

Every sales presentation absolutely must end with a clear and scheduled next step.

It’s amazing how few salespeople make it a strategic part of their sales presentation to include a next step.

This is necessary for any sales presentation in order to keep the momentum going from a good sales presentation and leverage it to close the sale.

Each of these proven sales presentation techniques will help you talk less, listen more, and engage your prospects for your most profitable sales meetings ever.

So there you have it. Now you know 5 killer sales presentation techniques (plus 5 bonus tips) to close the sale.

I want to hear from you. Have you ever used one of these approaches before? If so, what was the result? Be sure to share below in the comments section. I’ll respond to every comment I possibly can.