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Selling has never been easy, particularly for sales representatives starting their careers or learning new products and territories. Throw in a global pandemic, remote selling and economic uncertainties, and it’s harder than ever to connect with and wow buyers.
It’s imperative sales teams have the tools and processes it takes to win in this selling environment. The more streamlined and seamless those tools and processes are, the better, particularly for junior reps who are still learning the ropes. Thankfully, technology exists today to ease the learning curve for these reps and help them hit the ground running to move leads through the sales cycle.
Modern presentation software
Sales collateral has always played an important role in converting leads into new business.
How sales teams have created and shared that collateral has changed over time, in large part due to advances in technology and, more recently, the pandemic. This means tweaking the same old PowerPoint deck won’t cut it anymore.
Presentation software today is so much more than a single, static presentation deck. Savvy organizations recognize buyers demand more and invest in technology that sets teams up for success. One of the biggest benefits of modern presentation software for sales reps–particularly junior team members–is templates.
Tools with prebuilt, smart templates for slides or entire presentations remove the design burden for reps who lack experience and design prowess. Presentation templates built with design artificial intelligence give reps a creative head start, which removes the pressure to start a deck from scratch or the tendency to recycle an old one. As the reps work in a presentation, design AI makes decisions on their behalf to keep them on-brand, save time and uphold design-forward standards.
Sales presentation templates
Modern presentation software should also offer sales reps different types of presentation templates that can be customized and tailored to prospective customers or leads. Junior sales team members can benefit the most from three types of sales presentation templates:
- Pitch Deck: The most top-of-mind collateral for any sales team is usually the pitch deck–the company story. Because pitch decks are so important, it’s common for junior sales reps to stress over starting or designing them. Software equipped with pitch deck templates can help make memorable and engaging presentations. Templatized pitch decks guide reps on how to write the sales pitch, which information to include, and how to structure the company story. Some presentation software even offers specific pitch deck guidance at a more granular level, such as startups.
- Sales Proposal: To influence buyers in this market, sales reps need presentation software that brings stories to life. Impactful design and visual storytelling matter the most on sales proposals; where sellers differentiate themselves and their solutions. Sales proposal templates streamline the creation process for junior reps and guide them to build the most impactful presentations. Modern presentation software should offer reps a variety of templatized slides specifically geared for sales proposals. Whether it’s company expertise and credibility, market fit, performance data and growth metrics, or pricing, reps need the ability to efficiently customize and deliver the information that matters the most to buyers.
- Sales Projection: The final presentation template particularly beneficial for junior sales reps is the sales projection, also known as the sales forecast. This type of sales collateral is all about projected revenue, and junior reps typically aren’t experienced enough to know how to best present these calculations. Similar to sales proposal templates, sales projection templates should come with customizable slide options. This way, the data–the numbers–can be presented in compelling, easy-to-read and digestible ways, such as Venn diagrams, bar graphs, charts or sales funnels. It’s essential to have quick, easy and clear insight when considering a company’s short- and long-term financial health.
Sales reps need all the advantages they can get today. Organizations can best support their revenue teams by investing in and implementing technologies that make it easier to attract buyers and close deals. Instead of sweating the creation and design of decks, reps should focus on differentiating the stories their decks tell. Software with sales presentation templates is a win-win and gives reps a vital leg up on their competition.
Jason Lapp is a startup executive and growth expert. Currently, he’s the president and chief operating officer of Beautiful.ai, where he’s focused on changing the way the workforce communicates through design-driven technology. Lapp has spent most of his career advising some of the world’s biggest companies on their brand, marketing and communications strategies, including Visa, Intel, Clorox, Facebook, Red Bull and Microsoft.
