Sales Presentation Skills

"I'll just wing it. I'm good on my feet." A Managing Director said this before walking into a $50M budget approval meeting. He walked out empty-handed. After 25+ years watching high potential executives crash and burn in "the room where it happens," I've learned something most people miss: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. Influence isn't about charm. It's about preparation. Here's an approach you can put into practice today to immediately up your influencing impact. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: 𝟭. 𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 (𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗴 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁) • Who really makes the decision? (Hint: Not always who you think) • What keeps them up at night? • Who do they trust for input? One client discovered the "junior" person in the room was the CEO's former chief of staff. Guess whose opinion mattered most? 𝟮. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝘁 The worst time to make allies? When you need them. Smart executives plant seeds months before the harvest: • Coffee with the skeptics • Informal temperature checks • Strategic information sharing By the time you're pitching, you already know who's with you. 𝟯. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 Match your message to their metrics: • Revenue-focused? Show growth • Cost-conscious? Show savings • Risk-averse? Show mitigation Same idea. Different frame. Completely different outcome. 𝟰. 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 The meeting isn't where you sell. It's where you confirm. If you're introducing new information in the room, you've already lost. The best executives I know follow this rule: 𝗡𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿. That person who always seems to "get lucky" with approvals? They're not lucky. They're doing 10x the advance work you are. While you're perfecting your slides, they're having strategic hallway conversations. While you're rehearsing your pitch, they're addressing objections before they're raised. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲: Your ability to influence has very little to do with your charisma in the moment. It has everything to do with the relationships you've built, the intelligence you've gathered, and the groundwork you've laid. Stop counting on spontaneous charm. Start investing in strategic preparation. Because in the C-suite, there are no successful surprise attacks. 🎯 When was the last time you walked into a crucial conversation truly prepared—not just with data, but with deep insight into every person in that room? Be honest. Your next promotion might depend on it. ------------ ♻️ Share with someone who needs to stop winging it and start winning it ➕ Follow Courtney Intersimone for more truth about what really drives executive success

In 27 months, we grew Retention.com from $1M-$13M ARR with only 1 salesperson (me) doing 1,000's of sales calls. Here are my 10 biggest pieces of advice for any startup who wants to book and close more sales calls: 1. Ask for 15 mins, but book 30 When booking a meeting outbound, you have a better shot at getting a meeting by asking for 15 mins than 30. You may have piqued their interest but with a busy schedule, they are going to weigh learning about your business vs their time. Ask for 15 but send a meeting invite for 30.  If they can’t do the full 30, they will let you know, but from my experience, this rarely happens. 2. Tell your story People remember a story more than a product  Figure out your short story that you can tell prior to getting into the product pitch. How does your story connect to your business / product? 3. 5X5 Pitch Keep your product deck for your initial call to 5 slides / 5 minutes and make sure you answer any of the common questions you get from prospects. You can always book a follow up call to share more detail once you hook their interest. 4. Always Be Pitching Take control of the call and the sales cycle. You will only learn what does and doesn’t work by actually pitching.  5. Tell a customer story Again, people remember stories more than they do stats. Tell a story of a customer before implementing your product and the business outcome after implementing it. Don’t just talk numbers. Talk about how people felt, what they said, etc. 6. Create Urgency Attach an incentive if the deal is done by the end of the week or month.  (Example: 20% more credits or a 15% discount)  This also sets you up well for follow up as it now makes them feel like you are on their team to try and help them get the deal in for their benefit. 7. Land and expand We all want to close the big ACV deals, but the truth is most buyers don’t want to make a big commitment without seeing how your product works. Find a way to get them on for a small $ amount, with the plan to expand if the product meets their expectations. 8. Opt-Out Period Reduce buyer friction by offering a 90 day opt out period if you are trying to close 12 month agreements. It shows confidence that your product will drive the results you say it will. 9. Deck Recap Create a 1-2 pager highlighting the most important parts of your sales deck that you can send via email after every call (even if they don’t ask for it). The prospect won’t remember all details from the call, so this gives them something to look back on and will help sell internally if other stakeholders are involved. 10. Video for FAQs Create short form talking head video answering all FAQs. This will add value in your follow up, show you listened to the questions they had and that you care about making sure they understand the answers. It also helps internally as others will likely have the same questions as the person on the phone. Have questions about how to book/close more calls? AMA anything 👇

Last year, I was speaking with a VP of Sales who confidently asserted: “Our buyers rely heavily on Gartner and Forrester reports, and LinkedIn is just noise.” That claim led us to a deeper look. So we ran a rapid social intelligence audit across their 10+ ideal enterprise target accounts and the reality was revealing: 👉 significant stakeholders actively adding connections in LinkedIn. 👉 a few of those routinely engaged on LinkedIn content. This wasn’t casual scrolling… it was conscious participation and relationship building. Some buyers were raising ‘purchase-intent’ questions as well. All transparently surfaced on LinkedIn - in public threads and peer groups. Data illuminating exactly where the research action happens pre-RFP. We scripted a custom GTM strategy: 👍 Enterprise Signal Posts: Engineered deep-dive, persona-tagged case studies, optimized to get clipped into internal research decks and circulated among architects, PMOs, and senior engineers. 👍 Dark-Social Authority: By engaging in high-value vendor comparison (and likes) threads, our client’s leadership profiles gained credibility and trust inside private channels invisible to traditional analytics. 👍 Decision-Stage Content: Launched proof-backed narrative video for "solution-aware" prospects, resulting in high-conversion SQLs. With consistency. The outcomes? 💪 Significant % of new enterprise meetings originated directly from LinkedIn-driven content touchpoints and network engagement. 💪 RFP win-rate increased, correlated to significant buyers explicitly referencing LinkedIn case materials. 💪 Sales cycles compressed because buyers entered conversations highly informed and confident. Why does this work in enterprise buying cycles? Vendor Validation: B2B procurement is increasingly cross-functional; live peer discussions on LinkedIn serve as a real-time, trusted “research layer” far beyond static analyst reports. Peer Proof: Enterprise decision-makers weight peer-shared insights more heavily than vendor-curated collateral, especially within their own secure collaboration channels. If you’re still dismissing LinkedIn as “just noise,” you’re strategically ceding ground during arguably the most critical phase of buyer evaluation. In 2025, enterprise buying journeys don’t start with vendor meetings… they start with social proof, digital authority, and dark social signals. And the winners are the brands that embed themselves authentically and intelligently in these ecosystems. #SocialSelling #DarkSocial #LinkedIn #RevOps #AIGTM

For my first 16 years in tech sales, I averaged 240K/year W2 income. In my last 4 years, I averaged 720K/year. In order to triple my income, I had to change my sales approach entirely. Here's what I changed: I started using a new approach that I now call Yo-yo selling: 🪀 Yo-yo selling emphasizes starting at the executive level, conducting thorough discovery within the organization, and then returning to the executive with a tailored business case. Like holding a yo-yo, you are constantly in communication with the Executive Sponsor and updating them as you collect information and conduct deep discovery lower down in their organization. You are literally going up and down the organization, but always taking everything back to the Executive Sponsor to surface your findings along the way. Here's a breakdown of the framework: 🎯 𝐈𝐚𝐧 𝐊𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐤’𝐬 “𝐘𝐨-𝐘𝐨 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠” 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 This strategy involves a three-step process: 1. Start at the Top (Executive Engagement) Initiate contact with a senior executive to understand their most pressing challenges, the reasons behind the need for change, and the consequences of inaction. If your solution aligns with their needs, secure their sponsorship for further discovery within their organization. To secure the Executive Meetings, it's essential to create a tailored POV (point of view) on where you think you may be able to help them based on your initial research of their highest level goals and priorities. Chat GPT has made this research a LOT faster now. 2. Conduct In-Depth Discovery (Middle Management) Engage with department heads and key stakeholders to uncover the day-to-day challenges they face. Focus on understanding their processes, pain points, and the implications of current inefficiencies. Gather direct quotes and insights to build a comprehensive view of the organization's needs. 3. Return to the Executive (Present Findings) Compile the insights gathered into an executive summary and business case. Present this to the executive sponsor, highlighting how your solution addresses the identified challenges. Tailor your demonstration to focus solely on relevant aspects that solve their specific problems. 🚀 Why It Works 1. Accelerates Sales Cycles: Engaging executives early ensures alignment and expedites decision-making. 2. Builds Credibility: Demonstrates a deep understanding of the organization's challenges and showcases a tailored solution. 3. Facilitates Internal Buy-In: By involving various stakeholders, you ensure that the solution meets the needs of all parties, increasing the likelihood of adoption. I'm pleased to share that that Yo-yo selling was recently awarded as a Top 15 Sales Tactic of All Time by 30 Minutes to President's Club, and I received a cool plaque for entering the 30MPC Hall of Fame. Since I have no chance of entering the Hall of Fame for my baseball or golf game, this is a nice consolation prize 😁

Your deal just died. But not why you think. A sales rep just lost a $700K deal after four months of perfect execution. Seven stakeholders engaged. Technical requirements mapped. ROI proven at $22,000 per hour saved. The prospect went dark anyway. This wasn't price, features, or timing. It was fear. Their current vendor causes monthly outages. Costs them hundreds of thousands annually. Has terrible support. Everyone knows they need to switch. But switching means risking something worse. This is omission bias. The psychological principle that makes staying with known pain feel safer than risking unknown failure. Here's how the story should have ended: Instead of sending another proposal, the rep offered a free systems audit. No strings attached. Just pure value demonstration using their real environment. Next came a proof of concept. Not a demo. Not a sandbox test. Real work solving their actual problems with their actual data. Then he brought his CEO and head engineer on-site. Arrived two hours early to set up the room. Custom materials with their company branding. Catered the meeting. Drove them to dinner personally. But here's the crucial part: His engineers presented the technical solution. Not him. Awkward technical people explaining complex problems without sales polish. Just raw competence. The buyer's internal calculation shifted: "If they're this meticulous during the sales process, they'll probably be equally meticulous as our vendor." Every detail became evidence of future service quality. The early setup proved they'd be prepared for go-live. The engineer presentations proved they had real technical depth. The CEO's presence proved they'd have executive support when things got tough. They weren't buying software anymore. They were buying certainty. The deal closed three weeks later at full price with a three-year commitment. Most reps think stalled deals need lower prices. Wrong. Stalled deals need lower risk. Your prospects aren't comparing your features to your competitor's features. They're comparing the risk of choosing you to the safety of choosing nothing. When buyers ghost you, they're not rejecting your solution. They're choosing the comfort of familiar problems over the anxiety of unfamiliar solutions. Stop trying to win on merit. Start winning on confidence. The highest-value skill in enterprise sales isn't overcoming objections. It's preventing the fears that create objections. When you eliminate perceived risk from every stage of your sales process, price becomes irrelevant. — Sales Leaders! Need the systematic approach for turning risk-averse prospects into confident buyers? Get the Revenue OS: https://lnkd.in/ghh8VCaf. The framework that transforms your sales process into a trust-building machine.

I got on the phone with a sales rep who asked about my challenges, then told me his product was not for me. This happened in the first five minutes of our call. He went on to offer a few suggestions on what would suit me better. That’s what the buying process should be like, but it’s a rarity that calls go this way. The best salespeople act like advisors. They’re not selling with a sledgehammer, drilling their products into your face, and pushing their agenda. They’re asking questions, figuring out what the problem is, and trying to find a solution, even if they’re not a fit. They show up to calls to solve your problem, not sell their solution. And by doing just that, they either spark a relationship by recommending others that are a better fit, or they end up selling their solution because they actually understand what you’re trying to solve for.

After creating hundreds of thousands of presentations, Nancy Duarte discovered a framework in 2010 that changed her life. She mapped it over Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech and Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone. Both aligned perfectly. She cried in her office - the pattern she'd been desperate to find was real. See, most founder pitches fail the same way. You stack all the customer pain points at the start, then demo your product at the end. By the time you reach your solution, people have already decided if they're interested. They tuned out at slide 8. Duarte's Sparkline does the opposite. You alternate between “what is” and “what could be” throughout the entire pitch. Pain, solution. Pain, solution. The pattern works because contrast commands attention and open loops create psychological discomfort. The brain needs recurring tension to stay engaged: - MLK toggled between injustice now and "I have a dream" repeatedly. - Jobs contrasted clunky smartphone limitations with iPhone capabilities throughout the 80-minute presentation. - JFK alternated between the US’s space limitations and “we choose to go to the Moon in this decade.” Each toggle made staying in the current state unbearable. The execution: 1. Make your customer the hero by using their exact words Interview five target customers or investors before you build slides. When they describe frustrations, use their language verbatim. This proves you understand their reality before pitching your solution. 2. Paint “what could be” with sensory detail Not better accommodations. Instead: a family arrives in Paris, their Airbnb host left fresh croissants and a handwritten neighborhood guide on the kitchen table. They feel like locals, not tourists. Concrete outcomes stick. Abstract benefits are forgotten. 3. Alternative problem/solution throughout - never batch Pain 1, solution 1, pain 2, solution 2, pain 3, solution 3. Never group all problems then all features. Batching lets investors and customers mentally check out before you finish. 4. End with an immediate next step (24-48 hours) For investors: “By Friday, confirm the partner meeting date and three references you want to call.” For customers: “By tomorrow, send three use cases and I'll record a custom demo by Wednesday.” Make the decision immediate and concrete. Watch for these signals mid-pitch: You're losing them when investors lean back, check phones, or pivot to questions about your burn rate and competition. You're winning when customers interrupt to describe their specific use case, ask about implementation timeline, or want to loop in their team immediately. When every startup in your category has similar features, the pitch that creates unbearable tension wins the round, the sale, and the talent.

I’ve analyzed 100s of presentations over the years. The difference between good presentations and great ones often comes down to this… Contrast. Contrast creates the tension between the audience’s present reality and desired future. And, when done right, that tension leads to action. Here are the three most persuasive forms of contrast: #1: Problem-Solution Start by establishing a specific problem your audience faces, then reveal how your solution directly addresses it. This builds urgency before positioning yourself as the cure. In my TED Talk, I used this framework to demonstrate how presentations often fail to move audiences. I first established the problem: many presentations lack emotional impact and fail to inspire action. Then I revealed the solution: a specific structure behind history’s great talks that creates contrast between the audience's present reality and their desired future. The key is spending enough time on the problem before rushing to your solution. Make the pain real. Use specific examples, emotional language, and quantify the impact. #2: Compare-Contrast Structure your content by showing how two approaches differ…the current state vs. the future state. This creates natural tension between where the audience is and where they could be. Here's how this could look with a marketing strategy presentation: The opening half focuses on your current marketing approach. You’d tell stories of what you’ve done and where that got you, showing campaign examples and results to create urgency for change. Then you shift to the new marketing strategy. You’d talk about what's possible if your team pursues this new direction, give compelling data, and connect it back to your company’s mission. This creates a natural contrast between the present state, which no one is satisfied with, and a future state with limitless potential. #3 Cause-Effect Organize your information to demonstrate clear causal relationships and inevitable outcomes. This makes your case feel like natural law rather than opinion. Here's how this could look with a customer service improvement presentation: You establish clear causal chains in your current situation… Long hold times cause customer frustration, which causes negative reviews, which damages your brand, which leads to lost sales. Then show how your solution creates a new chain… Your omnichannel platform causes faster response times, which causes improved satisfaction, which leads to positive reviews and higher retention. Each link builds logically to the next, helping your audience follow the inevitable consequences of both action and inaction. But there’s a secret ingredient you need if you want any of these forms of contrast to truly convince your audience. Story. That’s why I made a FREE multi-media version of my award-winning book, Resonate, that gives you skills in using story in your presentations. You can grab your copy by clicking the link in the comments. #presentationskills

🎯 Don’t just prep for interviews. Map the decision-makers - and tailor your message for each one. This is where strong candidates become the clear choice. Because here’s the truth: Most people prep for the questions. Top performers prep for the audience. 👇 Here’s how: 👤 1. The Recruiter What they care about: → Are you qualified on paper and in person? → Are you aligned with salary and expectations? What to highlight: ✅ Relevant titles, skills, company types ✅ Clear communication and professionalism ✅ No red flags, good culture fit 💬 Example: “I’ve worked in similar fast-paced environments and understand the expectations around stakeholder management and delivery speed.” 👤 2. The Hiring Manager What they care about: → Can you solve their problems? → Will you make their life easier? What to highlight: ✅ Business results tied to your function ✅ Thought process behind decisions ✅ Experience with similar challenges 💬 Example: “When I joined X, we were struggling with [similar pain point]. I led [strategy] which resulted in [outcome] - and freed up my manager to focus on strategic work.” 👤 3. Cross-Functional Peers (Product, Ops, Finance) What they care about: → Will you collaborate well? → Do you understand their world? What to highlight: ✅ Communication style ✅ Experience working across silos ✅ Empathy and clarity 💬 Example: “I partnered closely with Finance to redesign our forecasting model - that alignment helped us prioritize more accurately and cut wasted spend by 18%.” 👤 4. Senior Leadership (VPs, C-level) What they care about: → Do you think like a leader? → Can you represent us externally and internally? What to highlight: ✅ Strategic thinking ✅ Business acumen ✅ Executive presence 💬 Example: “When our team hit a ceiling with user growth, I reframed the goal - shifting from acquisition to retention - and drove a cross-functional initiative that lifted net retention by 12 points.” 🧭 The mindset shift: - Don't prep the same way for every round. - Prep with stakeholder influence in mind. They’re not just evaluating your answers. They’re deciding: Can I see this person leading here, with us? 💬 Which type of stakeholder do you find most challenging to connect with in interviews? Follow me for more advanced job search strategies that help experienced professionals stand out - not burn out.

How I figured out exactly who I can reach on LinkedIn (and built a 2,000-person target list in 20 minutes): Last week I needed to scope a new market for notus: construction companies in DACH. I wanted clarity on who I'm trying to reach, whether they actually spend time on the platform, and how to get more touch points with them through content, ads, network expansion, and DMs So I opened LinkedIn Sales Nav and ran this process: 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 (𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲) Most people go straight to Lead Search. I did the opposite. I filtered for construction companies with €100M+ revenue in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. LinkedIn gave me around 700 relevant companies. I saved them all to an account list. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 I saved that general list first. Then created a second list filtering for companies showing buying indicators: → Department headcount = internal team composition → Growing X team (pick the function) = signal for certain offers → Job postings = active hiring (perfect if you're selling HR/recruitment) → Funding rounds = signals growth (great for selling to SaaS) 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 I took my saved company list, went back to Lead Search, and filtered for people working at those accounts. 12,000 people appeared. I added one more filter: "Posted on LinkedIn" in the last 30 days, which put me at around ±2000 people. It's the only filter we have to get closer to active users. I'd rather have a smaller list than a bunch of inactive accounts. I can always expand from there if needed. This gives me cleaner data to work with. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗦𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 ±2000 was the total. But I focused on decision-makers. So I ran more filters: → 300+ were Director level or above → 700+ sat in operations roles → 60% were based in Germany, 25% Austria, 15% Switzerland This helped me know exactly who I was writing for. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟱: 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 Now comes the actual "outreach". I can do this manually or with a tool. I ran campaigns for the decision makers in Switzerland and decision makers in Austria/Germany, which let me A/B test acceptance rates across audiences. Swiss decision makers hit 27% acceptance rate → Austria and Germany only got 10%. Clear signal that my profile resonates better with Swiss executives. As these campaigns ran and my network grew with these target personas, I sprinkled in some niche-relevant content such as a construction case study with Hubert. Still tied to my core service, but showing I’ve operated in their world. The goal was to make sure they know I exist and start building the relationship. Next up will be running targeted thought leadership ads to this audience. Let's see how it goes. P.S. Want a vid walkthrough? Comment "TAM" and we’ll DM it to you.