18 Sales Presentation Mistakes That Are Costing You Deals

You‘ve prospected, nurtured, and secured a coveted slot on your buyer‘s calendar for a sales presentation. All that‘s left is to show up and close the deal, right? If only it were that simple.

The reality is, sales presentations are make-or-break moments in the buying journey. Get it right, and you‘re well on your way to gaining a new customer and hitting your quota. Get it wrong, and you‘ll watch the deal slip right through your fingers – potentially into the hands of a competitor.

As a sales professional, your presentation skills need to be on point. But even the most experienced reps can fall victim to mistakes and missteps that derail their message and lose the audience‘s attention. Some common presentation pitfalls include:

Content Mistakes

1. Information Overload

Packing your slides with too much information is a surefire way to overwhelm your audience. When confronted with crowded, text-heavy slides, buyers will either:
A) Start reading the slides and tune you out completely, or
B) Give up trying to decipher your message and mentally check out.

Neither scenario is good. To avoid this, stick to a few key points per slide, using short phrases rather than complete sentences. Limit yourself to no more than 3 bullets per slide, with a maximum of one line per bullet, in at least 28 point font. For a 20 minute presentation, aim for a maximum of around 5 slides.

2. Failing to Focus on Benefits

Many presenters make the mistake of getting too caught up in describing their product‘s features and specifications. But buyers don‘t care about features for features‘ sake. What they care about is how those features will translate into real business benefits and outcomes.

Throughout your presentation, continually tie your product‘s capabilities back to the specific challenges and objectives the buyer cares about most. How will it save them time and money? Increase revenue and profitability? Make their lives and jobs easier? Keep the focus on value, not features.

3. Lacking a Clear Story

Human beings are wired to respond to stories. When information is presented as a disjointed list of facts and data points, it‘s harder for audiences to see how the pieces fit together or understand the meaning behind the message.

The best presentations follow a clear narrative arc, with a beginning, middle and end. Think about the key points you want to communicate and structure them into a logical flow, with smooth transitions. Using a framework like Situation-Complication-Resolution can help craft a compelling story.

4. No Proof Points

It‘s one thing to claim your solution provides certain benefits – it‘s another to back those claims up with cold, hard proof. Without any evidence or data to support your assertions, they‘ll ring hollow to a skeptical buyer.

Look for opportunities to work in customer proof points like case studies, testimonials, and measurable business results. Even better, tell a customer success story that illustrates how you‘ve solved similar challenges for other organizations. 3rd party data points from analyst firms and industry benchmarks can also help validate your message.

5. Weak Call-to-Action

Never assume your buyer knows what you want them to do next. Without a clear call-to-action, your presentation doesn‘t lead anywhere.

Be explicit about defining next steps. What‘s the one key action you want your audience to take after the meeting? Do you want them to commit to a follow up discussion, schedule a demo, sign a contract? Make sure your desired call-to-action is abundantly clear.

Design Mistakes

6. Poor Visual Design

Like it or not, people do judge a book by its cover – and they‘ll judge your presentation by its design. Unattractive, amateurish-looking slides will reflect poorly on your brand and undermine your credibility.

You don‘t have to be a graphic designer to create professional, polished slides. Stick to simple layouts with lots of white space. Use high-quality images and graphics. Ensure fonts are easy to read. Keep colors and visual elements consistent with your brand guidelines. A well-designed slide deck signals that you put time and effort into the presentation.

7. Chart Junk

While some data visualizations can be very effective, charts and graphs can quickly become overwhelming if not designed well. Avoid the dreaded "chart junk" effect of overly complicated diagrams that take more time to decipher than they‘re worth.

Keep data visualizations clean and simple, emphasizing just the key data points. Cut out any "chart junk" like unnecessary legends, labels, grid lines, and 3D effects. Focus on the data, not the decoration around it.

8. Distracting Animations

Use slide animations and transitions very sparingly, if at all. Flying text, swirling graphics, and flashing effects will only distract the audience from your message. They cheapen your presentation and make it seem gimmicky.

If you do use animations, stick to subtle effects like fading in text and graphics. Apply them consistently, and avoid having every element on every slide zoom around. A little restraint goes a long way.

Delivery Mistakes

9. Reading From Slides

Nothing will bore an audience faster than the presenter reading their slides verbatim. Why should buyers listen to you if you‘re just going to recite exactly what‘s written in front of them?

Your slides are meant to be a visual aid, not a script. Use them to punctuate key points as you speak, but maintain a conversational tone. Make eye contact with the audience, don‘t just stare at the screen. If you must refer to notes, use brief bullet points and practice enough that you can speak without relying on them completely.

10. Lack of Enthusiasm

If you don‘t seem excited about your own presentation, how can you expect your audience to get excited? Projecting low energy, a monotone voice, and disengaged body language will quickly turn buyers off.

Convincing others to get on board with your message starts with conveying passion and enthusiasm in your delivery. Smile. Modulate your vocal inflection to emphasize key points. Use expressive gestures. Make dynamic eye contact with different audience members. Show that you‘re truly invested in the topic and care about how it impacts them.

11. Technical Difficulties

There are few things more cringe-inducing than watching a presenter fumble with A/V equipment or struggle to get their slides to work. Technical glitches happen, but they reflect a lack of preparation.

Always do a dry run before the actual presentation to test that your slides, audio, video, and any screen-sharing are working smoothly. Have a backup plan if the projector fails. Bring extra copies of slides or handouts. Mastering the technical aspects in advance will make you look polished and professional.

12. Poor Time Management

Rambling on and on, running way overtime, or blazing through material and ending 20 minutes early – all are symptoms of poor time management. Not respecting the audience‘s time will frustrate them and make you appear disorganized.

As a rule of thumb, aim to spend about 1 minute per slide. So for a 30 minute presentation, prepare around 25-30 slides and reserve time for questions and discussion. Rehearse extensively to get the pacing down. Set expectations upfront about how much time you‘ll spend and what you‘ll cover. If you find yourself running behind, skip ahead to your key points.

Secrets of Sales Presentation Success

Now that we‘ve covered the major mistakes to avoid, here are a few tips for creating and delivering presentations that persuade:

• Focus on challenges and value. Show that you understand the buyer‘s top priorities and make it crystal clear how your solution uniquely addresses their needs in a way no competitor can.

• Follow the "3-Act Play" structure. Set the scene by describing the current situation, introduce the complication or problem that needs solving, and show how your solution provides the resolution. Classic story structure works for a reason!

• Practice extensively. The best presenters make it look effortless because they put in a ton of work behind the scenes. Rehearse until you know your material backward and forward and can present confidently without relying heavily on notes.

• Engage the audience. Don‘t just lecture to a passive crowd – make your presentation a conversation. Ask questions to understand their perspective and encourage them to share input. Involving the audience creates a sense of ownership of the ideas.

• Provide a next step. Every presentation should end with a clear, specific call-to-action. What‘s the one thing you want the audience to do immediately after the meeting? Make sure you articulate that next step and get commitment.

• Follow up relentlessly. The sales presentation is really just the beginning of the conversation. Continue to nurture and engage your buyer after the meeting with valuable content, insightful discussions, and personalized touchpoints as you guide them to a decision.

With so much riding on sales presentations, it‘s worth investing the time to sharpen your approach and avoid potential pitfalls. Dodging these common mistakes and applying a few key best practices will help you deliver presentations that educate, persuade and – most importantly – close business.