When you try to persuade someone to buy your product or service, you typically launch into an elevator pitch also known as a sales pitch. But it’s not all about the words you say – the visuals matter too.
After all, visuals have been found to stimulate thinking and improve learning environments. Visual explanations can also improve the coherence of an argument.
So chances are, the person receiving your elevator pitch or sales pitch presentation will understand and recall it better with images.
By studying these examples of sales presentations on the web and using well-designed templates, anyone can create winning sales pitch decks. Here’s how.
If you want to start right away, and move beyond a simple elevator pitch to create a successful sales pitch, sign up for a free account on Piktochart to access our pitch deck maker.
No graphic design experience is needed, and you can easily create a successful pitch deck within minutes. Easily choose from various visual formats such as presentations, reports, infographics, posters, brochures, and more by editing a template from here.
Top sales pitch examples
First, let’s take a look at examples of sales presentations created by companies across diverse industries.
Front
This good sales pitch example is pure eye candy, carefully balancing minimalism with playfulness. It points out that Front had a headstart over its competitors in providing solutions to its target market. It also presents graphs and charts, projections, and a roadmap.
Front used this deck to gain its Series A funding round, and it has since been viewed more than two million times across different platforms, including SlideShare and Medium.
Less than two years later, Front posted another pitch deck, this time for raising a Series B funding round of $66 million.
Buffer says it used this slide deck to raise half a million dollars.
Of course, it’s the product and customer base that attract funding money. But in this short 13-slide pitch, Buffer’s pitch included facts, and social trend predictions by experts and focused on how its product solves a problem.
AgriMORE
AgriMORE’s presentation is best viewed as a video, as it comes with an audio explanation of each part of the pitch.
Apart from being visually attractive, agriMORE’s sales pitch presentation has clearly labeled images to help the audience follow along. An icon for one of its stores, for example, comes with a clear ‘shop’ label.
Such visuals work when they improve the audience’s understanding of a sales deck, not distract from it. They enrich the story that the speaker is trying to tell.
How Google Works
Eric Schmidt’s SlideShare sales pitch presentation on Google’s origin story begins like a child’s book. A slide shows an illustration of two people, along with the narration:
“When Jonathan and Eric arrived at Google, we thought we knew all there was to know about running successful businesses.” But they eventually realized just how wrong they had been, which served as a way to pique the reader’s interest to read on.
Aesthetically, this sales pitch example works because of its design consistency, using the same drawing style and Google brand colors throughout.
Navis
Navis offers a way to optimize and automate cargo terminal operations.
It uses visual context, placing slides amidst graphics of containers and freight activity. The overall picture is that of a cargo terminal island, reflecting the environment in which Navis’ solutions are deployed.
This sales pitch example begins by focusing on the company’s key strengths – its long industry experience and the credibility of its team.
Microsoft Dynamics
One part of this sales pitch presentation that truly leaves an impact is the way it provides space for product demonstrations.
Microsoft also clearly discusses customer pain points and presents its solutions. It also mentions the benefits of using their platform, thus allowing the target audience to visualize how easy their work would be if they used Microsoft’s CRM.
SEOmoz
If you work in online marketing, the chances are high that you’ve stumbled upon the SEOmoz blog. The company’s founder, Rand Fishkin, used this pitch deck in July 2011 when raising funds for Moz.
This sales pitch example tells a story, from how Moz started and gained customers to how the digital marketing space has evolved and given rise to new problems for marketers and businesses.
It’s also straightforward and presents information on its balance sheet, business risks, and opportunities transparently.
Elements of a Successful Sales Pitch Presentation
If we take the sales pitches above, we’ll see a few things they share in common. These are elements that tend to contribute to the success of a successful sales pitch presentation.
Thorough research
The slides tend to contain data related to the industry and product, along with research citations.
Navis, for instance, provides information on the number of cargo containers shipped in every continent in 1990, and 2010 and includes a 2020 prediction.
The SEOMoz pitch deck presents data on web marketers’ analytics challenges, industry practices, as well as threats.
Visualizing data
It’s not enough to have good data. Facts should be presented in a way that the audience can easily understand and remember.
You can typically accomplish this with graphs, charts, or infographics.
One sales pitch example that visualizes data well is that of Front. The graphs use contrasting colors for different data sets and highlight the data points the presenter wants to emphasize.
Keep in mind that some charts and graphs work better than others, depending on what information you want to emphasize.
To understand which type works best for your sales deck, check out this guide to data visualization.
Starting with the problem
Consider how agriMORE begins its presentation: “Would you like to know the exact origin of the fruit and vegetables available? And how to distinguish products seemingly looking the same as one another? Whether the packaging is produced sustainably?”
Buffer, on the other hand, asks: ”How do you use social to drive traffic?” That’s a problem many marketers want to solve, especially since the answer keeps changing due to evolving tech trends.
Both sales pitch examples place the presenter in the audience’s shoes. They also use both language and visuals to illustrate the problem.
By establishing the problem early on, these sales pitch examples set the stage for positioning their product, service, or idea as a solution.
To an extent, they also mimic the structure of a short story – beginning with the conflict, offering context, and ending with a potential resolution.
Establishing credibility
Early in their sales pitch presentations, the companies explain to the audience what makes them trustworthy.
They establish their credibility in different ways, such as by noting their decades of experience in the industry, their extensive global clientele, and the praise their products or services have received from industry experts.
What if your company needs no introduction? Your product or service still does.
Microsoft is a global name, but its pitch still aims to establish credibility by showing that its CRM is used by more than 30,000 companies or two million people in more than 80 countries worldwide.
Providing examples
Be it pictures or product demonstrations, examples are a great way to help the target audience envision how the product or service will solve their problems or satisfy their desires.
The agriMORE presentation is a great example of a sales presentation that provides examples based on customers’ daily experiences.
Google’s presentation also gives concrete examples of the company’s culture and employment philosophy.
Visual consistency
Once the sales pitch presenters chose a visual style, they stuck with it.
For Google, it was using pencil-like drawings; for Navis, it was structuring the presentation around a cargo terminal island. For Front, it was a delicate but sufficient balance of playfulness and minimalism.
The presentations also use a consistent color palette throughout. Google, notably, used only its brand colors in its presentation.
Create a winning sales presentation
Now that we’ve looked at some sales pitch examples and considered the elements that make them compelling, let’s walk through how to put a sales presentation together, using the template below.
1. Begin with an interesting title and/or subject line
Don’t just write a title or subject line such as, “Sales Pitch for XXXXXXX.” Depending on your industry, your title can contain a matter of fact, a question, or even an assertion.
For instance, the Streamline presentation is entitled, The New Standard in Blood Tubing.
How Google Works is also an effective title. Because Google is known as one of the top companies to work for, it does not need an attention-grabbing headline.
2. Explain what the sales pitch presentation contains
By starting your sales pitch with the agenda, you let the audience know what to expect.
You also give them an idea of how long the sales pitch will be.
So, if they know the sales pitch deck is roughly 20 slides long, they’ll be prepared to give their full attention to exactly that number of slides.
The last thing you want is for your audience to start wondering – midway through the presentation – whether or not you’re almost done.
3. Describe your business
This ties together with establishing credibility early on in the presentation.
You can tell people about your brand’s origins, the experience of its leadership team, and your clientele.
Research offers a tip for encouraging people to trust you.
First, demonstrate your capability. Then, show them you’re relatable. This technique can work both for people and businesses, and you can apply it in your ‘About Us’ slide.
4. Explain your mission
As the template above suggests, provide mission statements that answer the following questions:
- How are you making your customer’s life better?
- What problem are you solving?
You can also add a third mission statement that’s inspirational. For example, here’s an excerpt from The Atlantic’s mission statement:
“The Atlantic is America’s leading destination for brave thinking and bold ideas that matter.”
Here’s Coca-Cola’s mission:
“To refresh the world in mind, body and spirit. To inspire moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions. To create value and make a difference.”
The inspirational and relatable statements reflect the need to add a personal touch to gain the audience’s trust.
5. Explain the benefits of your product or service
These slides provide a concrete answer to how you can improve your customers’ lives. Illustrate the benefits by providing concrete examples.
Remember to distinguish between product features and benefits. In the Microsoft sales pitch example, the CRM dashboard and the reporting features make data tracking and analysis easier.
This provides the benefit of staying updated on customer and prospect status, as well as gaining new insights and identifying potential target markets based on the data.
In short, features are product- or service-centric.
On the other hand, benefits focus on how the customers will use the product or service, and how their businesses or lives will improve as a result.
6. Introduce the team
Before you buy a product or service, you typically try to know more about the company that’s selling it; through internal investigation, market research or customer stories.
This is especially true with B2B contracts, and even more applicable to those with a larger value proposition.
Therefore, make all of this part of your sales pitch deck brief. The best sales pitch will add a short, professional description and links to social profiles to show potential customers that they are credible.
7. Price
Finally, the price. Never start with this, by the way.
Share the various price options within your sales pitch framework once you’ve convinced your customer you can add clear value (through one key value prop or several) to their business or lives, and solve the prospect’s challenges.
8. Next steps for your sales pitch
What does the audience need to do next? What are the follow-ups? Will you be arranging a demo or negotiating a contract? Will you run a trial? This is where you explain the next steps.
At this point, you want to lower or remove the barriers to closing a deal – so keep the next steps simple for your potential customers.
9. Thank your audience
Maintain goodwill by thanking your audience for reading or listening to your sales pitch presentation. Now is a good time to invite them to ask any questions they may have.
Make your own sales pitch presentation
If you think the template above is a good fit for your company’s sales pitch, you can access it here to edit it.
If you prefer something more formal, try out this sales pitch template:
On the other hand, for a friendlier approach, you can use this other sales pitch presentation template:
Get started with a successful sales pitch today
A sales pitch deck is crucial for any business looking to sell a product or service to potential customers. Here are some reasons why a sales pitch deck is essential:
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Capturing attention:
A well-designed and visually appealing pitch deck can help capture the attention of potential customers and make a lasting impression. By presenting information engagingly and compellingly, a pitch deck can help a business stand out from competitors and increase its chances of making a sale.
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Highlighting key features and benefits:
A pitch deck allows a business to showcase its product or service and highlight its key features and benefits. A pitch deck can help potential customers understand how the product or service can meet their needs and solve their problems by presenting this information clearly and concisely.
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Building credibility:
A pitch deck can help build credibility and establish trust with potential customers. A pitch deck can demonstrate that the business is trustworthy and reliable by presenting customer testimonials, case studies, and data on the product or service’s effectiveness.
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Providing structure and organization:
A pitch deck provides structure and organization to the sales pitch, helping to guide the conversation and ensure that all key points are covered. This can help the sales process run more smoothly and efficiently.
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Facilitating communication:
A pitch deck can facilitate communication between the salesperson and potential customers, making it easier to convey information and answer questions. A pitch deck can also help clarify any confusion and ensure everyone is on the same page by providing a visual representation of the product or service.
Overall, a sales pitch deck is essential for any business looking to sell a product or service. By capturing attention, highlighting key features and benefits, building credibility, providing structure and organization, and facilitating communication, a pitch deck can help increase the chances of making a sale and growing the business.
Start creating your sales pitch presentation or any other slide design with Piktochart now.
Once you’ve finished creating your perfect sales pitch, have your sales team, and additional team members check it to make sure it’s both clear and compelling to grab your audience’s attention for existing or potential clients.