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#99 - 25 ways your First Meeting Deck is missing the mark

#99 - 25 ways your First Meeting Deck is missing the mark

25 ways your First Meeting Sales Deck sucks

January 20, 2023

Reading time: ~4 min

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25 First Meeting Deck Mistakes

I've created or worked on more sales decks than I remember. And I've seen (or been forced to endure) many more.

A great sales deck will significantly increase the chance of a first meeting turning into a sales cycle. A poor one will leave you and your prospect frustrated and confused.

Here are 25 mistakes to avoid:

1. Centered around us, not the prospect

If your deck focuses on you, your company, and your product, you will miss the chance to connect with your prospect. Start every slide with a connection to the prospect and their problems.

2. Starts with the logo and founders' slide

You are definitely starting off wrong if your first slide is the one where you show your logos, investors, and founders. No one cares yet about you, yet! Put it at the end.

3. Does not clearly outline the problems you solve

Your prospects want to know what problems you solve for them. This needs to be clear and at the start of the deck. If your prospect believes you clearly get their problems, they are much more likely to think you have the solution.

4. Does not have customer stories

Does not have points in it where you can tell great customer stories. Humans remember stories much more than they remember facts and figures.

5. Does not answer "why?"

Many prospects are wondering if this is something they even want to tackle. They are not short of things to do, so help them realize it should be prioritized.

6. Does not answer "why now?"

Then they wonder if they should do it now or wait a year or two. Help them understand why they might want to tackle this now.

7. Does not explicitly state why you are different ("Why us?")

Too often, we think the prospect will understand the things we do differently. They will, but only if you explicitly tell them! Don't leave this to chance.

8. Does not talk big enough

Many decks are too much in the here and now. The details. But senior executives think about long-term partnerships and transformations. Give them big-picture stuff so they can be inspired to go on a journey with you.

9. Does not have a unique point of view

“Yeah, I’ve heard all this before…” is a common complaint from prospects. Challenge yourself to be different. Have a unique point of view (and don’t be afraid to tell them)!

10. It is too long

No one ever said, "I wish that pitch deck was longer!" Be impactful in as few slides as you can!

11. It takes too long to get to the point - dessert first!

Similarly, don't waste valuable time with fluff and build-up. Get to the point! Give them dessert first.

12. It tries to educate prospects who know more than you

Don't try and have a 3-year seller try to "educate" a prospect who has been doing the job for 20 years!

13. Its a pitch, not a conversation

No one likes to be talked at or lectured for 20 minutes. Design your deck so it will drive a deeper conversation with your prospect.

14. It does not have the correct information for the audience

It gives too much detail for a senior executive audience or too little for when you meet with people lower down in the organization. It should be designed for the persona you meet with and be flexible to pull in backup slides for others when needed.

15. Does not have a WOW moment that your audience will remember

You will know what you are truly great at. Someone that gives you an unfair advantage in the market. Make that a big thing in the deck. Make sure your prospects remember it!

16. It tries to say too much for people to take in and remember

Humans will only take away 3-5 things from your presentation. Don't give them 25 things and hope they remember the points you want them to. Your odds are not good! Narrow down your deck to take control of what they remember.

17. It looks terrible

Your deck looks like it was designed in 2001! You can find free templates online these days. You can hire a designer for a few hundred dollars. There is no excuse for having a crappy-looking deck.

18. Too many words on slides

People will switch off if you put too many words on a slide. Or worse, they might actually try and read them! If they are reading the words, they are not listening to you.

19. Makes your solution seem complicated

There is elegance in simplicity. Figure out how to make your offer sound and look as simple to understand as possible.

20. Makes your solution seem hard to implement and get value

Time to value is so important these days. Your deck should address the question your prospect will have "what's it going to take to get this up and running and give me results that make me look good?"

21. Makes your solution seem hard for a team to use

If your prospect thinks their team will struggle to use what you have, you are doing it wrong!

22. It is entirely logical and does not feed your prospects' emotional side

Humans buy with emotion and justify with logic. Suppose your deck is full of facts and figures, speeds and feeds, architectures and workflows. In that case, you are missing an opportunity to inspire someone to want to do business with you.

23. It is not opinionated

If you and/or your company have strong views on the market, other approaches, or what is needed, state them! Don't be scared of scaring your prospect. The people who agree with you will be more on board than ever. And the people who disagree with you were probably not going to buy anyway.

24. You are forced to deliver it from start to finish, no matter the prospect's situation

Trust your sellers to make the right call. They will know what to show a prospect based on what they have learned about them already. Unless there are regulatory reasons, a deck should not be a one size fits all!

25. You ask lame questions.

Don't waste all the effort of creating a great deck and then ask your prospect, "Does this make sense?" "Does this resonate?" "Feedback?"

Instead, get in the habit of asking questions that will drive a conversation. For example, "How does this compare to what you're doing now?" or "I remember you said you were struggling with X; how do you think this will help you with that?" or "If you had these capabilities, how might it impact your team / the business?"

ACTION FOR YOU:

Run your deck through this list of mistakes and see how many you make. And be honest with yourself!

Identify the top 3 to fix, and go do it!

BTW, If you're looking for additional support, here are some ways I can help you grow:

LEARNING: I go in-depth on hot GTM topics and interview great cybersecurity company leaders on the Sales Bluebird podcast. Subscribe in your favorite podcast player.
CONVERT MORE FIRST MEETINGS: Do you feel like the sales deck you use on early-stage sales calls is missing the mark? Get me to review it and provide actionable, in-depth recommendations to help you convert more first meetings. Take a look at First Meeting Deck >>>.
GROW SALES FASTER: Want to build a repeatable sales process based on proven frameworks? Which have worked for other cybersecurity companies? Find out more about Unstoppable >>>

Time for a dad joke break...

Q: Why did the scarecrow win an award?

A: Because he was outstanding in his field.

Tracy Irvine, Accenture

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