I don’t believe there is such a thing as “right” or “wrong” number of slides in a sales presentation. That being said, never have a sales presentation that is over 10 slides, including opening and closing slides. If you need more than that to convey your value and benefits, something is wrong. Limit yourself to a number of slides and challenge yourself to get to main points faster. You don’t have luxury of time with a prospect; you need to lock their interest early.

An interesting exercise is to make a presentation from customer’s perspective, addressing information way they are likely processing your conversation with them. Use following titles for each slide and compare this presentation to whatever you have today. Which is more meaningful to your prospect?

1. Opening Slide 2. “Who Are You?” 3. “What Do You Do for Me?” 4. “How Do You Do It?” 5. “How Are You Different?” 6. “Why Should I Believe You?” 7. “What Does It Cost?” 8. “Do You Offer a Guarantee?” 9. “How Do We Start Doing Business Together?” 10. Closing Slide

I recall this sales person telling me about a prospect he hadn’t been able to connect with for two weeks, we owed prospect a proposal and were to schedule a demo as part of delivery. My sales person had called probably 10 times in two weeks, never leaving a message for about 7 of those calls and only leaving a message of “Call me when you get a chance.” for remain 3 calls. Guess what? The prospect never got chance to return call.

I’m not an expert on use of voicemail. I just know that you need to communicate with people if you need something to happen. People are on move and some people are never at their desk. Leave a message that is meaningful if you call someone and get their voicemail. If you need something, ask for it. If it’s not urgent, say so. If it’s urgent, make it clear. If you need to speak directly, state why and ask for best time to call. Voicemail is a reality of business. I’m still not sure if I like it or not.