We've created a list of startup tips to help all the entrepreneurs out there that may need to present their company in front of potential customers. So we've put together some tips to get you through your first sales presentation.

Everyone is inevitably in the position at one point in time or another of putting together an introductory presentation outlining their business.   Over the last 3 years of helping firms pull together introductory presentations we have become pretty good at delivering a succinct message that can be delivered in under 30 minutes in approximately 10-15 slides.

I often find that many entrepreneurs tend to have too much content, create a deck that is too long and burdensome to get through and go into too much technical detail.  To help avoid this, I have outlined below a basic template to use to build a solid and effective introductory presentation.  Remember, that prior to the presentation, you want to understand who your audience is and tailor the specifics of the presentation to that audience.

• Title slide: 1 slide
• Agenda slide: 1 slide
• Introduction slide: 1 slide
  • Look to get audience engaged – ask them about their goals for the meeting, how their business in going, market conditions that may be applicable
• About Company: 1 – 2 slides
  • Length of time in business
  • Core competencies
  • Short bios of key staff
  • Referencing clients – include logos where applicable
• Trends: 1 – 2 slides
  • Industry – macro or micro industry trends
  • Their competitive environment – what you are they seeing in the market
  • Regulatory – changes that may be happening due to impending legislation
• Products / Services: 1 – 2  slides
• Benefits of Products / Services: 1 – 2 slides
• Case Study: 1 – 2 slides (1 per slide) – be sure to cover the basics including:
  • Situation – What is the current situation at ABC company?  What business pain do they have?
  • Challenge – Identifying the best and most viable solution for them taking into account their geographic location, and return on investment criteria.
  • Answer – Your solution.
  • Result – Solution delivered successfully (on-time & on-budget) and meeting customer expectations.  Mention any additional business that spun out of the initial work.
• Potential demo:  live or screen shots
• Next steps: 1 slide

Also, if the environment permits, ask questions or answer them while the presentation is underway. This is a great way to keep people engaged and better understand the situation they are in and business pain they have.

The goal at the end of the day is to leave them with something that they will remember you by and stimulate interest and discussion.  A presentation that is too long and technical will oftentimes bore your audience and they will tune you out.  Keeping a presentation short and simple is the best route to success.  I find that people resonate best with the case studies as this gives them a real picture of the sort of product / service you can deliver and they can see themselves, a colleague or someone they know using it – so if at all possible, include one or two case studies.

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