Sales people during their sales meetings use computer-based sales presentations, following their companies’ guidelines, which will be then printed in written “sales proposal” documents. These presentations are supposed to serve both as projected visuals and as stand-alone written proposal do actually nothing properly. How would it be possible to do efficient sales presentations and efficient sales proposals?

1. Why do salespeople
kill
their customers
slideumentation
with

2. Many sales people
during their sales meetings…
use computer-based
sales presentations

3. © restricted, Date, topic, slide #, location, vendor, supplier, customer
 uniform PowerPoint guidelines
 with useless and boring bullet points
 ugly layout
 based on the worst of PowerPoint (or Keynote)
 with sub-bullet points to make it clear
 and fonts so small that no one can read
 with 200 words per slide (*)
Doing their best to follow their
companies' PowerPoint guidelines
(*)only 50 in this one !
Don’t forget :
Logo is
mandatory on
every slide !

4. © restricted, Date, topic, slide #, location, vendor, supplier, customer
 uniform PowerPoint guidelines
 with useless and boring bullet points
 ugly layout
 based on the worst of PowerPoint (or Keynote)
 with sub-bullet points to make it clear
 and fonts so small that no one can read
 with 200 words per slide (*)
Doing their best to follow their
companies' PowerPoint guidelines
Don’t forget :
Logo is
mandatory on
every slide !
(*)only 50 in this one !

5. these “standardised
PowerPoints“ will be then
in written
“sales proposal” documents

6. these documents
supposed to serve both
Garr Reynolds, calls
as projected visuals
and as stand-alone
written proposals

7. 1rst key point
 Salespeople tend to put every word they are going to say on their
PowerPoint slides.
Although this
 eliminates the need to memorize their talk,
 ultimately this makes their slides
 crowded, wordy, and boring.
 They loose their customer's attention before they even reach the
bottom of their first slide.
2nd key point
uniform PowerPoint guidelines
supposed to be submitted in advance…
… far in advance of the meeting.
with useless and boring bullet points
Ugly layout
 based on the worst of PowerPoint (or Keynotes)
With sub-bullet points to make it clear
And fonts so small that no one can read
With 200 words per slide (*)
© restricted, Date, topic, slide #, location, vendor, supplier, customer etc…
Slideument makes bad
visual slides

8. bad Key points
Big typeface size as if it were a book for
kids. In this case : an ulgy book for kids.
Too many pages because of big typeface
size
Tiring to read because of landscape
orientation : written documents made to
be read as newspaper are based on a
portait format, with tight columns, so that
your eyes don’t need to go from the
very left hand side of each page
towards its very right hand side
© restricted, Date, topic, slide #, location, customer, supplier, vendor, etc…
Slideument
documentation.
makes

9. No customer likes
slideument
It isn't effective,
it isn't efficient,
and it isn't pretty.

10. use as a
Slides that
most reps
teleprompter

11. Salespeople tend to put every word
they are going to say on their
PowerPoint slides. Although this
eliminates the need to memorize
their talk, ultimately this makes
their slides crowded, wordy, and
boring. They lose their customer's
attention before they even reach
the bottom of their first slide.
their presentations
boring
making

12. …generating
“Deathby PowerPoint”

13. Orientation :
Font size :
Text : as as possible
Max nb. of words / slide :
Text structure : bullet points
Visual : based on
Software : , Keynotes
Same !Can’t be the

14. tools…
… actually do
properly!

15. Salespeople should
Either your
customer
reads…
respect
the way brain works

16. … or your
customer
hears you
respect
the way brain works
Salespeople should

17. Don’t make
do bothyour customer
… or your
customer
hears you
Either your
customer
reads…

18. presentation tools
impactful
Salesreps should use
to make their sales meeting

19. an idealslideshow
Using PowerPoint
and Keynote
Sales Presentation
Tools
displaying
visual
for
information that…

20. their customer’s sight
catch

21. increase
their
impact

22. illuminate
their words

23. inspiretheir customer

24. excited
make
their customer

25. ecstatic
make
their customer

26. an ideal Word
document
readable
written
Written
Sales proposal :

27. PowerPoint
and Keynote
are
tools
not good
making
for
writtendocuments

28. tools
processors
Salespeople
should use
making
for
writtensales
proposals

29. reflects
flawed
Sales beliefs :
"bad
PowerPoints“

30. that
After any sales meeting,
who can
believe
customers are going…

31. full Key points
Big typeface size as if it were a book for
kids. In this case : an ulgy book for kids.
Too many pages because of big typeface
size
Tiring to read because of landscape
orientation : written documents made to
be read as newspaper are based on a
portait format, with tight columns, so that
your eyes don’t need to go from the
very left hand side of each page
towards its very right hand side
© restricted, Date, topic, slide #, location, customer, supplier, vendor, etc…
to attempt to
of PowerPoint
read pages
Slides ?!

32. proposal
Companies
should request
that sales people
instead provide a
a
readable
written

33. depth
A written document
that covers the
main points of their
proposal
with
detail
appropriate
and

34. document
WORD or PDF
that is
writtenin a
readable
fashion

35. document
WORD or PDF
that is
writtenin a
readable
fashion

36. With
consistent

37. effective
would be
far more

38. is always
effective
Using the right tool
to do the right task
far more

39. an
ideal World
an ideal Word
an idealslideshow
Written sales proposal Sales presentation

41. Author : Jean-François MESSIER
Président Cloud Business School :
http://www.cloud-business-school.com/
Acknowledgments
I'd like to thank Garr Reynolds. Thanks for feed-back,
thanks for allowing me to use his word “slideument”.
He did nothing directly and didn’t help… however this
slideshow would not have been possible before 2005,
before discovering Garr Reynolds’s website and
publications.
It’s a long journey to get the best of Garr Reynolds’s
provocative mix of illumination inspiration, education,
and guidance. It may change much more than
presentations : it may change the speaker himself, it
changed myself. Thanks for this, Garr.

42. After 15 years in B2B sales, Jean-François joined Mercuri
International in 1996. Mercuri is the leading training and
consultancy firm in sales efficiency.
• During 20 years, Jean-François has trained more than 7000
sales people and managers in sales and sales management.
• As worldwide new technologies manager, he has traveled
around 25 countries for 8 years, to implement what technology
can bring in terms of commercial development.
• He worked with more than 500 companies of all sizes in
developing their results: the biggest are part of the CAC 40 ( 40
most significant values among the 100 highest market caps on
the Euronext Paris), the smallest have less than 20 employees.
Today President of Cloud Business School, training and
consultancy firm, he shares his methods and experience.
10 000
to conferences
attendees
7 000
Trainees: reps, sales
managers & CEO
500
Companies
trained (*)
120 000
Unique visitors
on Blogs / year
100 000Views on
Slideshare
11 000Followers onTwitter
2 500
Followers on
Linkedin
95/100
SSI Linkedin
(Social Sales Index)
22
countries
(*) …in
Jean-François Messier is proud to be
salesman for 30 years. Consultant, speaker,
author and co-author of several training
programs: Effective Sales Presentations, B2B
social selling, Manager 3.0, Sales reps 3.0, as
well as « Executive Sales Director – ESCP
Europe» co-author and facilitator.
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