As a busy entrepreneur, I receive dozens of emails in my inbox daily, mostly from people who are trying to pitch me on their products or services. I move the majority of them into the trash without even giving them a second glance. But every once in a while, I get a gem of an email that is able to catch and retain my attention. Below, I shed some light on what I believe to be key factors in creating an effective sales presentation.

Do Your Homework

I don’t enjoy receiving generic emails that were so clearly created using a template. It’s a waste of my time, your time, and kills any chance of us possibly doing business together in the future. Instead of taking the easy route, be clever in your approach by investing time into researching who I am, understanding the services my company provides and how your product or service will be able to bring value to myself and my business. By putting forth this effort, you will be able to connect with me on an emotional level, which is a great opportunity to show me that you understand who I am and what my situation is. I am more likely to invest my time into listening to what type of service or product you are providing.  

Keep It Short and Sweet

During the day, I tend to deal with a lot of moving parts, so the last thing that I want to add to my list of things to do is to read a long-winded email that is trying to sell me right off the bat. An effective email should be short and to the point, and educate the reader on how you can provide added value to that prospective lead. It should look something like this:

Subject: Why Video Content Is King
“Brian, By 2018, 79 percent of all web traffic will be video, according to leading experts. If you want to learn more why you should implement a video content strategy, click here. I’ve also included a mockup video strategy for company XYZ, so you can see how video can help XYZ grow in the future. — Stan”

This email is effective because it educates the reader right away with an eye-opening statistic. It also gives them a chance to better understand how they can utilize what I’m selling, and I’ve included a mockup video strategy that shows how my company provides value right away.

Go the Extra Mile

I recommend creating engaging visual presentations based on all of the research you have done. Use the research to show how you are able to help the company in areas of weakness. The more you are able to show me that you put time and effort into your presentation, the more I am going to be willing to listen to what you have to say. At True Film Production, we put our presentations on custom designed flash drives with our logo on them. This way, when a company sees the flash drive, they will remember both us and our pitch.

Follow Up

The one thing that you can’t control or manufacture is being in the right place at the right time. If you are able to follow the guidelines above and the timing is off, you are more likely to be asked to follow up at a later date. So it’s key to stay relevant and to maintain the already established lines of communication. Find the right balance of staying on top of their inbox without becoming overly eager. If you become too much of a bother, all of the goodwill you previously created will disappear.

Just because you sealed the deal doesn’t mean that your job is finished and then forgotten. You should be looking for ways to build upon this newfound business relationship by following up and see how things are going. You can even send a small gift that shows your token of appreciation for the new business you’ve just received. It’s an easy way to make your new client feel like they are special and made the right choice.