sales presentation skills and salesperson job performance

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Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing

ISSN : 0885-8624

Article publication date: 1 August 2006

The purpose of this article is to examine the relations between important sales presentation skills and salesperson job performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Data on each construct in the model was gathered and the relations analyzed using LISREL software.

Salesperson experience, and to a lesser degree training, underlie sales presentation skills. Salesperson skill at using adaptive selling techniques and closing are related with increased performance.

Research limitations/implications

Additional sales skills need to be considered and salespeople other than those in the B‐B environment should be studied.

Practical implications

Sales managers are urged to ensure their B‐B salespeople develop their skills in adaptive communication and closing as one means to improve sales performance.

Originality/value

The findings highlight the importance of salesperson experience and training in developing the skills that contribute to sales performance.

• Presentations
• Sales management
• Personal selling
• Sales training

Johlke, M.C. (2006), "Sales presentation skills and salesperson job performance", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing , Vol. 21 No. 5, pp. 311-319. https://doi.org/10.1108/08858620610681614

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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• DOI: 10.1108/08858620610681614
• Corpus ID: 167502335

Sales presentation skills and salesperson job performance

• Mark C. Johlke
• Published 1 August 2006
• Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing

Figures and Tables from this paper

129 Citations

Impact of sales experience and training on sales presentation skills between industrial salespersons.

• Highly Influenced
• 12 Excerpts

What Skills Make a Salesperson Effective? An Exploratory Comparative Study among Car Sales Professionals

A re‐examination of b2b sales performance, synergity presentation skill, questioning skill and adaptation skill to selling skill improve sales force performance, an assessment of needed sales management skills, team performance and control process in sales organizations, key drivers of salesperson performance: the role of sales antecedents and moderating effect of customer directed extra role behavior, organisational buying and sales administration in the retail sector, the effects of sales services and organizational member relationships of fashion brand salesperson on job performance and job satisfaction, compensation and control sales policies, and sales performance: the field sales manager's points of view, 36 references, the effects of sales training on sales force activity, relationship‐oriented characteristics and individual salesperson performance, linking effective listening with salesperson performance: an exploratory investigation, sales force management, hiring for success at the buyer-seller interface, research note: role of the sales manager in channel management: impact of organizational variables, an exploratory examination of situational variables, effort and salesperson performance, selling activity and sales position taxonomies for industrial salesforces, the problem solving approach of international salespeople: the experience effect, relationship selling behaviors: antecedents and relationship with performance, related papers.

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15 Sales Presentation Techniques That Will Help You Close More Deals Today

Updated: June 01, 2022

Published: May 31, 2022

Hate the thought of doing sales presentations ? You’re not alone. But the best reps have sales presentations down pat, even if it’s not their favorite activity.

The best sales reps know that, when done right , sales presentations are a high-earning skill.

So, let’s hone that skill with simple sales presentation techniques that communicate an irresistible narrative and get buyers to close.

Sales Presentation

An effective sales presentation tells a compelling story, highlights your value proposition, and aligns with your audience's needs and desires. It ends with a strong call-to-action and leads prospects to your differentiators instead of leading with them.

As it can sometimes mean the difference between closing a deal or losing a customer, you definitely want to get your sales presentation right. There are strategies and tips you can follow to ensure your sales presentations are effective, memorable, and engaging. Let’s go over them below.

Sales Presentation Methods

1. structure your presentation. .

Guiding your prospects down a clear path is key to a successful sales presentation. You’ll follow a logical structure, and listeners will understand how each element of your presentation relates to one another, rather than them having to piece together disjointed information on their own. 

There are times when flipping the structure can add unique elements to your presentation, though, and we’ll discuss this further below. 

2. Use data visualizations. 

Using visuals, like charts and graphics, to supplement your message is a valuable way to showcase your content in an easy-to-understand format as they make your words more impactful. 

For example, if you’re selling SaaS that helps users organize their sales process for a shorter cycle, you can create a visual that displays the average length of your clients’ sales cycle vs. those using other tools. 

By doing this, you’re adding extra emphasis to your words with a visual picture, and a bonus is that visuals are more likely to stick with your audience and get them thinking versus just hearing you talk. 

3. Rely on spoken words — not text.

If your presentation slides are text-heavy, prospects may get caught up reading the words you’ve written instead of listening, causing them to miss out on the value you’re sharing. Aim to include less text by calling attention to the most significant elements with short bursts of text that you supplement with your words. 

In addition, when you have less text on your slides, you may be less inclined to just read from them, which can be a bad part of presentations. You’ll have to speak instead of relying on written content. 

Let’s go over some sales presentation techniques that, when paired with the three methods above, will help you nail it every time.

Sales Presentation Techniques

1. send your buyer the presentation deck before your call..

You might assume that sending a buyer a deck before a call is like revealing whodunnit on the cover of a murder mystery. No one will pay attention to the rest of the book, right? 

When the Gong.io team started sharing our deck before opening sales calls, we learned it was a winning move. 

If your deck is compelling, prospects will want to get into it with you, even if they know the main point. Together, you can dive in, dissect the good bits, and talk through questions. It’s going to be a juicy conversation, and they know it.

Then, you can begin the conversation during your presentation with a statement like, “Based on the information in the deck I sent, where should we start?”

2. Invoke self-discovery.

It’s tempting to stick to a positive linear story during your sales presentation. That usually invokes talking about benefits, outcomes, and desired results. But, that approach isn’t always the best. 

Before discussing solutions and results, you must understand your prospect's problem. More importantly, you have to be sure your prospects understand the problem. 

Self-discovery is the ticket that gets you there. Instead of telling the buyer what the problem is and how you’ll address it, get your buyer to connect with the problem on their own. 

3. Talk about Point A. Don’t skip to point B.

This is 100% linked to the tip above. There’s a problem (point A) and desired outcome (point B). Point A is the status quo. It’s a problem your buyer will continue to face if they don’t make a change. 

You can stand out by focusing on point A, as talking about a pain point is shockingly more effective than talking about positive outcomes. 

Make your buyer feel the pain that results from the status quo. Convince them the pain will only worsen without your solution — because you know that to be true.

You should only talk about benefits once they’re on board with that line of thinking. Urgency is what allows benefits to land. Without urgency, benefits are just happy points that hold no real meaning.

4. Insight is your #1 lead story.

Buyers are experts on their circumstances, but they want insights into their situation from you. 

You’re most likely to impress a buyer by telling them something new about themselves, as your offering is a unique insight into their problems and opportunities.

Check out this TaylorMade video. It’s a bang-on example of how to lead a presentation with insight, and then move on to your product’s strengths:

You learned how to get more distance from your golf swing (an insight into what you’re doing). Then you learned how that’s supported by the product’s particular strength.

Insight comes first. It changes how your buyers think about the problem your product solves. Only then benefits can land effectively.

5. Don’t lead with differentiators, lead to them.

At Gong.io, we’ve taught our sales reps to speak with buyers about a critical problem only we can solve. It’s the delta between top producers and the rest of the team.

• "The numbers from your top reps are fantastic."
• "The downside is they’re annulled by everyone else who’s missing their quota."
• "Your team goes from outstanding numbers to breaking even or missing quota. Both of those options are unsustainable."

We only introduce our key differentiator once the backstory is clear and the buyer gets it. Then, our reps say something like this:

"Gong is the only platform that can tell you what your top reps do differently from the rest of your team. We can tell you which questions they ask, which topics they discuss, when they talk about each one, and more."

See why we lead to our differentiator, and not with it? It just wouldn’t land the same way if we started with the differentiator. In fact, it might not land at all.

6. Focus on value, not features.

Gong.io research found that focusing on features over value is not impactful. Prospects, especially decision-makers, want value propositions about how you’ll help them solve their problems rather than an overview of the features they’ll get. 

7. Flip your presentation.

he next, eventually achieving a shiny, final outcome. This isn’t always the best strategy. 

Instead of building up to the most significant and impactful part of your demo for your prospect, begin with the most valuable part, which is how you’ll help them, and let the conversation flow from there. 

There’s one other tactic underlying it all: The best product demos start with topics the buyers highlighted on the discovery call . For example, if the buyer spends 4 minutes talking about X and 10 minutes talking about Y, you want to begin with Y, as the buyer has demonstrated that they’re heavily interested in Y. In the opening section of your presentation, address the biggest issue from discovery. Address the second biggest issue second, etc.

It’s called solution mapping, and it’s going to change your sales presentation process forever. Stop saving the big reveal for last. Stop building anticipation. Start with the good stuff. Let it rip right out of the gate.

8. Turn your presentation into a conversation.

If you sensed we were looking for a two-way dialogue during your pitch, you’re right. That’s a relief to most salespeople, especially the ones who hate delivering traditional presentations.

A two-way dialogue is going to make your pitch feel more natural. To do this, Gong.io says to get buyers to ask questions by giving them just enough info to inspire them to ask more questions and keep the conversation going. In fact, top performers ask fewer questions because they don’t bombard prospects with too much information but instead give buyers just enough information to have them ask questions. 

Long monologues won’t help you have real conversations with your buyers. Instead, aim for a great two-way conversation. 

9. Mind the 9-minute period.

This tip is crisp and clear: Don’t present for more than nine minutes. Gong.io data supports this. 

Presentations for lost deals last an average of 11.4 minutes. Why do they go so poorly? Because it’s hard to retain attention. If you do go longer than nine minutes, switch it up. 

Vary something that re-captures attention and keeps people engaged. Change channels by doing something like switching up who’s speaking in real life or on video. This can rest your clock to zero, and you’ve got nine more minutes for the next portion of the show. 

10. Be strategic with social proof. 

Social proof. Best friend or worst nightmare? It can be either one, so use it carefully. For example, generic social proof (i.e., naming impressive clients for brand power alone) is a disaster. Buyers might not identify with them. Sure, they’re dazzled, but they may not see how they relate to your current client.

An effective strategy is to reference clients similar to your buyer, with the same pain points, challenges and needs that they can relate to. You can tell an accompanying story about the client and their pain points, helping the buyer see themselves in the story you’re telling.

11. Talk price after you establish value.

Would it surprise you to know it matters when you talk about certain topics? It can actually affect whether you win or lose a deal. Pricing is a great example of this principle.

The top salespeople wait to talk about pricing. They know it’s important to demonstrate their product’s value first.

Set an agenda at the start of your call so your buyer knows when to expect a pricing discussion. They’ll be less likely to raise it early, and if they do, you can refer back to the agenda.

Open with something like, " I’d like to talk about A, B, and C on our call today. Then we can go over pricing at the end and -- if it makes sense for you -- talk about next steps. Does that work for you?"

You’re all set.

12. Reference your competitors.

Our data shows that you’re more likely to win a deal if you talk about the competition early in the sales process instead of ignoring them completely.

For best results, practice this during your first sales presentation. Waiting until the end of your sales process puts you into a dangerous red zone. Your buyers will already have formed opinions, and they’ll be harder to change.

In other words, at the end of the day, buyers will justify a decision they made early in the process, which is why it’s critical to set yourself up as the winner early on. Talk about the competition in your presentation. Put the conversation out there. Get your buyer to see you through that lens, and you’re golden.

Over To You

You now have 15 new tips and techniques to throw down this quarter. Many of these data-backed moves come from Gong.io’s own findings and have proven to be effective for us. Implement them, and I know you’ll boost your numbers.

Don't forget to share this post!

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Sales Presentation Skills: Crafting persuasive presentations that captivate prospects and drive sales

Take your sales presentations to the next level! Learn the skills and techniques for creating presentations that will help you close more deals.

August 1, 2023

Mastering Sales Presentation Skills: Create Pitches that Drive Results

Greetings to all the marketing maestros out there! Imagine, for a moment, stepping onto a stage. Spotlights are beaming down on you. The room hums with anticipation. You're about to deliver a sales pitch that could be a game-changer for your business. Your heart beats faster, not out of fear, but exhilaration because you've mastered the art of sales presentation skills. How can you achieve this confidence? Let's dive into the world of captivating sales pitches that not only catch the eye but also drive concrete results.

What sets a powerhouse sales reps apart from the crowd is not just the product they're selling, but how they sell it. Every word, every slide, every gesture plays a role in weaving a captivating narrative that persuades the prospect. But what is a sales presentation, and why does it hold such immense significance?

What is a Sales Presentation?

Imagine an artist preparing a canvas. They've visualized the masterpiece in their mind; the colors, the shapes, the emotions. Each stroke of the brush brings them closer to translating their vision into a tangible form. A sales presentation is not so different. It's a unique blend of science and art, where the canvas is your prospect's mind, the brush is your words, and the masterpiece is the powerful image of your product or service solving their problems.

In business parlance, a sales presentation refers to a line of communication, usually involving a pitch or demonstration, designed to convince a prospect that your product or service is their optimal solution. It's the pivotal moment where you transition from building relationships and qualifying leads to actively persuading the prospect to choose you over your competitors. It's the moment where you transform a prospect into a customer. Combining all of it it completes the sales process.

However, it's essential to remember that a sales presentation is more than just a data-driven monologue or an elaborately-designed PowerPoint deck. It's an opportunity to captivate your audience, engage their attention, and spark their imagination. It's an arena to showcase not only your product's features but also its benefits, value, and the unique solutions it offers.

Let's delve deeper into the components that make up this persuasive narrative:

The Problem: A successful sales presentation always starts by highlighting a problem that your prospect can relate to. It sets the stage by igniting empathy and intrigue.

The Solution: This is the heart of your sales presentation, where you introduce your product or service as the hero that can solve the problem. This segment needs to be concise yet compelling, factual yet intriguing.

The Value Proposition: This segment is where you distinguish your offering from the competition. It answers the critical question on every prospect's mind: "What's in it for me?"

The Call to Action: A sales presentation isn't complete without a clear and compelling call to action. It's the final push that urges the prospect to make a decision in your favor.

So, a sales presentation is your golden ticket to influence, persuade, and ultimately convert a prospect into a customer. However, to truly excel in this art, you need to understand the critical parts of a sales presentation and the steps involved in crafting a compelling one. Let's dive into that next.

What are the Three Most Important Parts of a Sales Presentation?

1. The Introduction: Your opening act is critical. It's your opportunity to capture the attention of your audience and make a powerful first impression. Here's where you set the stage by presenting a relatable problem that your product or service can solve.

2. The Proposition: This is where you pitch your solution. The key is to demonstrate how your product or service directly addresses the problem you've presented, preferably in a unique or superior way compared to alternatives.

3. The Close: This is your curtain call, where you drive home the value of your solution and inspire your audience to take action. It's your opportunity to leave a lasting impression and give your audience a clear call to action.

What are the 5 Steps of a Sales Presentation?

Breaking down a sales presentation into a step-by-step process can help structure your pitch effectively. Here are the 5 steps to ace your sales presentations:

1. Preparation: Every grand performance begins behind the scenes. Understanding your audience, refining your message, and preparing your materials are all key aspects of this stage.

2. Introduction: A well-crafted introduction lays the groundwork for a successful presentation. Engage your audience with a relatable scenario, a provocative question, or a compelling statement.

3. Demonstration: This is the heart of your presentation, where you showcase your solution and illustrate its benefits. It's all about showing, not telling. Use compelling visuals, stories, or demonstrations to make your point.

4. Handling Objections: A seasoned salesperson anticipates objections and addresses them proactively. Be prepared to clarify, reassure, and provide evidence to eliminate doubts.

5. Closing: The finale is your opportunity to seal the deal. Summarize the key benefits, present your sales calls to action, and offer a compelling reason for the prospect to act now.

A strong sales presentation needs to cover these critical steps, but to truly captivate your prospects, you need to blend in the subtler art of presentation techniques.

Sales Presentation Techniques

So, you've got the basics down, but how do you elevate your presentation from merely good to utterly mesmerizing? The answer lies in mastering powerful presentation techniques that can infuse your pitch with persuasive power.

1. Storytelling: Humans are wired to connect with stories. Weaving a compelling narrative around your product or service can make your pitch more engaging and memorable.

2. Visual Aids: A picture is worth a thousand words, and nowhere is this more true than in a sales presentation. Use visuals strategically to illustrate points, emphasize benefits, and stimulate interest.

3. Interactivity: Transform your presentation from a monologue into a dialogue. Encourage questions, solicit feedback, and involve your audience in demonstrations to keep them engaged.

Listening Skills Are Your Key to Success

The potency of listening skills in the sales realm often flies under the radar, particularly when we talk about sales presentations. After all, shouldn't the spotlight be on a well-structured pitch, eloquent delivery, and eye-catching visual aids? While these aspects are crucial, it's the listening skills that can transform your sales presentation from a monologue to a dialogue and deeply engage your prospects.

Listening in a sales presentation context is more than just being silent when the other person talks; it's about active listening. This is a skill that involves not only hearing but also interpreting and understanding what the prospect is saying. It’s about showing empathy, making a mental note of their concerns, their desires, and their doubts.

Let’s peel back the layers and delve deeper into why active listening can make a world of difference in your sales presentations:

1. Tailoring Your Presentation: By listening actively to your prospects’ reactions during the presentation, you can adapt your pitch on the fly. If a particular point sparks interest, you can delve deeper into it. If there's confusion, you can clarify. This flexibility can make your presentation feel more personal and engaging.

2. Overcoming Objections: Every question, concern, or objection raised by a prospect is an opportunity for you to strengthen your case. But to turn these objections into opportunities, you first need to listen, understand, and then address them convincingly.

3. Building Trust and Rapport: When you listen to your prospects, you're sending a clear message: their opinions matter. This can foster a sense of trust and rapport, which are critical for successful sales relationships.

4. Uncovering Needs and Desires: Sometimes, prospects may not explicitly state their needs or desires. By listening carefully to their comments and questions, you can identify these hidden needs and tailor your proposition to match.

5. Enhancing Your Solution: The feedback you receive from your prospects is invaluable. By listening to their thoughts and opinions about your product or service, you can gain insights that can help you improve your offering and make it more appealing.

In the end, your presentation is not for you; it's for your prospects. Listening to them can help you tailor your presentation to their needs, build stronger relationships, and ultimately, drive more sales. So, the next time you step onto that sales presentation stage, remember: the key to success could be in your ears, not just your voice.

Be Proactive and Follow Up After Your Sales Pitch

Your sales presentation doesn't end when you leave the stage. Following up with your prospects can reinforce the message of your presentation, address any lingering doubts, and nudge them towards a purchasing decision.

Crafting a captivating sales presentation is an art, but with the right blend of technique, preparation, and genuine engagement, you can transform every sales pitch into a performance that resonates with your prospects and drives sales. Let this be your stepping stone to creating presentations that not only inform but inspire and persuade.

In the mesmerizing world of sales presentations, the stage is yours. How will you captivate your audience and drive your sales story home? Remember, the spotlight is on your sales presentation skills. Ready to make them count? Lights, camera, sales!

Time to Take Your Sales Presentation Skills to the Next Level

Now that we've delved deep into the world of sales presentation skills, you're equipped with knowledge, insights, and techniques that can empower your pitches and resonate with your prospects. But what if there's a way to elevate your sales techniques even further? A way to take the pressure off building your sales team while still driving growth and revenue for your business?

This is where The Sales Connection steps in. Our experienced sales professionals are not only adept at closing deals but also in sales training others to excel in the art of selling. They can offer you invaluable insights, proven strategies, and expert advice tailored to your unique business needs. They can help you fine-tune your sales pitches, navigate objections with ease, and ultimately close more leads.

Why wait to build your sales skills and team over time, when you can fast-track your success with us? So, let's start a conversation about how we can catalyze your business growth. Are you ready to transform your sales presentations into compelling performances that captivate and convert?

Apply here   and let's write your sales success story together.

Kayvon has over two decades of experience working with high-level closers and perfecting his sales methodologies. He has earned the title of Canada’s #1 pharmaceutical sales representative and continues to share his expertise as a keynote speaker and through his multi-million-dollar coaching program.

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5 Skills Every Salesperson Needs to Succeed

• Prabhakant Sinha,
• Arun Shastri,
• Sally E. Lorimer

Takeaways from an analysis of more than 20,000 job listings.

A study of more than 20,000 job listings for salespeople posted between 2019 and 2022 reveal many of the attributes that have always been crucial for success in this field, such as communication skills. But this study revealed five forward-looking qualities that are showing up more frequently. They are anticipating the customer’s future, collaborating inside and outside the company, leveraging digital and virtual channels, the ability to get power from data, and the capacity to adapt.

A sales leader at an asset management firm reflected: “Our inside salespeople are doing a better job than our field salespeople. And they make one third as much.”  In the pharmaceutical industry, where doctors increasingly decline to take face-to-face meetings with salespeople, one sales leader told us: “We need a different breed of salesperson with a higher digital quotient.” A technology buyer at our own consulting company complained about one of our vendors: “Although Alice has the title Customer Success Manager, she tries to knock down my door every time she smells an expansion opportunity. She is just a pushy salesperson.”

• Prabhakant Sinha is a cofounder of ZS, a global professional-services firm. He is a coauthor of the HBR Sales Management Handbook , forthcoming October 2024.
• Arun Shastri is a leader of the artificial intelligence practice at ZS, a global professional-services firm, and teaches sales executives at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He is a coauthor of the HBR Sales Management Handbook , forthcoming October 2024.
• Sally E. Lorimer is a principal at ZS, a global professional-services firm. She is a coauthor of the HBR Sales Management Handbook , forthcoming October 2024.

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