It’s go time: You’re about to meet with a top-tier client. You’ve built some great pitch decks in your day, but this might be the best yet. There’s a compelling story you think will land, and it shows how your solution is just what your prospect has been waiting for.
How do you get to this big moment, when you’re ready to deliver an amazing narrative? Let’s talk about how to build the best sales deck ever.
Key takeaways of this article:
- Elements of a great sales deck, like openings, problem statements, solutions, benefits, and calls to action.
- Increase interactivity with your prospects using Mural’s visual templates and tools.
- Tips for delivering an engaging presentation, including how to respond to tricky situations
What is a sales deck?
A sales deck is a visual presentation designed to help sales reps show potential clients the value of their product or service. Combining storytelling with visual elements, sales decks make complex information easy to understand and memorable.
Owen Leonard, Enterprise Account Manager at Mural, shares his approach to pitching enterprise prospects using visual storytelling:
“A picture paints a thousand words, and if that’s true, Mural probably paints ten thousand. I use Mural to visualize relevant content so the customer can tie back our product to their own situation. For example, I’ll include images and text from a great case study to help customers pinpoint the value of our products.”
What should sales decks include?
You have 15 seconds to get your audience interested, and the first three slides are key.
A single, prominent visual can act as a visual hook to get the listener curious. (What’s up with the broccoli?!, you might be thinking.) In this case, the presenter began with a story about small habits, like eating vegetables in their eggs at breakfast. Anecdotes can be powerful ways to prime a seller to position their product as a solution — in this example, a workshop on microhabits.
Here are some elements your enterprise sales deck might include:
- Engaging opening: Grab your audience’s attention with a thought-provoking image, statistic, question, or statement.
- Problem statement: Articulate the specific problem or pain point that your product or service addresses.
- Solution overview: Introduce your offering as the ideal solution, highlighting its unique value proposition.
- Key features and benefits: Detail the main features and benefits of your product or service.
- Social proof: Testimonials, case studies, or big client logos can build your credibility.
- Product demonstration: A visual or interactive demo shows the functionality and user experience.
- Pricing information: Clear and concise pricing options, tailored to the prospect’s needs.
- Call to action: Guide the prospect toward the next steps, like a follow-up meeting or starting a trial.
Related: How to create visually appealing presentations
Creating a great sales deck: A step-by-step guide
Crafting a sales deck that resonates requires you to be intentional. Here’s a step-by-step guide to building a compelling presentation:
1. Start with a simple template
You’ll want to collaborate and interact with your prospect in one single location, so try the simple sales presentation template to get your deck designed quickly. Unlike PowerPoint or Slides, you’ll have collaboration and engagement features like Voting and Private Mode built in, so your prospects feel heard and inspired.
2. Build your sales deck with your target audience in mind
Understanding your audience is huge. Tailor your deck to address the specific concerns and priorities of your prospects. For example, you might segment a retail audience into store managers, regional directors, and procurement officers. Store managers who care about customer engagement? Show a case study that shows a 30% increase in customer satisfaction, then encourage them to sign up for a free trial. Different audience? Different deck.
Owen highlights his strategy for building great pitch decks that resonate with his clients:
“Pitch decks should be fresh and exciting, but also subtly linked back to the customer. Make the pitch deck feel it is already part of their business by incorporating brand colors into the canvas. That way, the client feels like they’re looking at their own material, rather than a sales presentation. It’s a little effort that goes a long way.”
3. Use storytelling every step of the way
Visual storytelling can help to build an emotional connection with your audience. It transforms your presentation from a data dump into a story worth listening to. This text thread graphic contrasts the perspective of two audiences, so the seller can introduce a SaaS technology solution for a common problem at work. Add stories that show how your solution helps real customers in your sales deck, and make the benefits clear and easy to understand.
Related: Visualizing a transformation story: Insights from Jeff Gothelf
4. Showcase the problem (and why it matters)
In this example slide, Mural’s team shows a stat from a research study that emphasizes what many enterprise companies struggle with: ineffective teamwork. Use numbers, stories, or industry information to show how important the issue is. A statistic like “50% of fully remote workers say teamwork is getting worse” underscores an immediate need for a solution, since “getting worse” suggests the audience needs to urgently act.
Charts and graphs can also make problems feel more relatable. Try using an online diagram maker to help your clients understand the problem from point A to point B.
5. Highlight case studies and social proof
Because 69% of consumers say they’d feel more positively about using a business after seeing positive reviews, make sure to show how others have successfully used your solution builds trust in your sales pitch deck.
Real client quotes can make your story come alive, and give you a chance to tell a story about the customer’s experience. If you have specific results, like “increased lead conversion by 15%”, you’ll make the value of your product concrete. Testimonials or even short video clips can also be used.
6. Close with a clear call to action
Don’t leave your audience guessing about what comes next. A good call to action should tell people what to do next. It could be to schedule a follow-up meeting, start a free trial, or look at a proposal.
For this call to action, Mural was used to create a collaborative agreement with the prospect. Instead of asking for a specific time to meet, the customer is encouraged to make a promise, with the sales rep documenting next steps live.
7. Test and refine your sales decks for real-world use
Even the most thoughtfully crafted sales deck needs refinement. After each presentation, collect feedback from prospects and stakeholders. What resonated? Where did the conversation stall? Consider running A/B tests on different versions to see what performs best with specific industries or buyer personas.
Dustin Stiver, a human-centered design expert at Mural, recommends the Critique template for getting feedback from stakeholders:
“Critique is a popular LUMA method designed to spark constructive conversations about new ideas and proposed solutions. For sales teams, it’s an easy way to gather balanced feedback by highlighting what’s resonating with clients, what isn’t, and what has potential. By encouraging open and honest dialogue, Critique helps create a culture of continuous improvement. Most importantly, it empowers your team to refine solutions, better serve your customers, and boost your win rates.”
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5 tips for presenting your sales slides
Designing a great sales deck is only half the battle; delivering it well is what seals the deal. Owen has a few recommendations for engaging presentations:
“Presenting isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you get the customer engaged and start with an icebreaker, everyone relaxes. Another simple tip: Use people’s names when asking questions. That way, someone specific answers the question. It helps gather consensus on whether what was said was also relevant to others on the call."
Here are a few more practical tips to help your team confidently present high-impact sales slides:
1. Present with ease using Mural’s features
When it’s time to present your sales deck, take advantage of the facilitation features built in to Mural that help with customer buy-in:
- Laser pointer helps your highlight important information
- Summon your prospects to a specific spot in the mural
- Presentation mode gives prospects and sellers a familiar screen-sharing experience while driving richer discovery and active conversations.
- Outline helps you jump to the exact place you want to discuss in one click.
2. Run interactive activities with your prospects
Remember to talk with your audience. In this enterprise pitch, the presenter took a pause from lecturing and guided the client to complete a short activity related to their business goals. The more your prospects are engaged, the more likely they are to see your solution as the right fit.
Related: Up your presentation game [Webinar recap]
Mural offers human-centered templates and activities that make it easy for you to dive into visualizing a problem, deep-dive into exploring questions, or a discussion. Here are a few simple ways to get started:
- Explore the causes and effects of an issue with Problem Tree Analysis template
- Dive deep to discover the root cause of a problem with the 5 whys template
- Broadly explore a problem with Statement Starters
Dustin recommends the Cover Story Mock-Up template for making enterprise sales decks more interactive:
“This method encourages teams to envision and articulate their future success. Cover Story Mock-Up demonstrates how a product or experience leads to a more preferred future. This helps sales teams show the power of their proposed approach. Plus, it helps identify the steps required to achieve success together.”
3. Use data points and visuals in your sales deck design
You’ve seen a few examples about how visuals can convey complex ideas quickly and memorably. An oversized graphic of a percentage, in this example, is designed to catch the audience’s attention. Use graphs, product screenshots, infographics, and minimal text to keep your audience focused. When discussing metrics or ROI, accompany the data with visuals that tell a story.
One of my favorite visuals was designed by Doist, visualizes for the audience a better way of working. It’s memorable, meaningful, and instructive. The audience member likely thinks, “Oh yep, I’m definitely on the left” or “I want my calendar to look like that one on the right!” The salesperson is then primed to present a solution that an audience member is ready to listen to.
4. Read the room and adjust quickly
Whether you’re in-person or virtual, body language, tone, and energy give you clues about how your message is landing. A few things to watch for:
- Match the energy: If the meeting is a quiet room of introverts, dial it down. Be a calm, confident guide.
- Spot changes in body language: If someone crosses their arms, frowns, or otherwise looks confused, ask “What’s top of mind for you right now?”
- “Yes, and” objections: If a prospect interrupts with skepticism, don’t shut it down. Try, “Yes, I hear you on that timeline. Here’s how others handled it successfully.”
- Let silence do the work: If the room goes quiet, don’t rush to fill the gap. Pause, then ask: “What’s coming up for you as you hear this?”
- Jump to the ask when the mood shifts: If the group goes from chatty to glazed-over, fast-forward: “Sounds like we’re ready for next steps.”
- Call it when it’s not working: Read the discomfort and say, “If this is not the right time, when should we reconnect?”
The goal is to shift from lecture mode to something more interactive. Give your prospect space and time to offer their concerns, rather than politely listening to a pitch.
5. Prepare for questions
Be ready for objections and tough questions, and prepare your responses in advance. Maybe you’ll rehearse your presentation with teammates, record yourself on video, or run mock Q&A sessions. All of these approaches will help reduce nerves and boost your credibility when you’re in the room.
Related: Objection handling: A roadmap for sales teams
How Mural can help you create sales pitch decks that close more deals
Around 70% of B2B sales take more than a month to close, especially as deal size increases. Innovative tools like Mural can help you get buy-in from prospects faster. Creating the perfect enterprise sales deck is a blend of strategy, storytelling, and smart design. If you’re looking to elevate your sales deck game, Mural helps you design, present, and adapt enterprise decks with ease.
Set up a demo with Mural to start building enterprise sales decks that engage, persuade, and win.
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