How to Make a Sales Presentation in PowerPoint [An expert guide]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Jun 12
- 8 min read
Updated: Jun 16
A few weeks ago, our client Jonathan leaned back in his chair during a Zoom call and asked,
“How do I make a sales presentation in PowerPoint that doesn’t look like a school project?”
Our Creative Director answered without missing a beat. She said,
“Treat PowerPoint like a pitch stage, not a storage box.”
That landed perfectly.
As a presentation design agency, we work on dozens of sales presentations in PowerPoint every quarter. And we’ve noticed one consistent challenge, regardless of industry or team size: People use PowerPoint like a document, not a selling tool.
They cram too much. They explain too little. They forget that design is not decoration.
In this blog, we’ll show you how to turn your next sales presentation in PowerPoint into a tool that actually helps you sell, not just show slides.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
Why Choose PowerPoint for Your Sales Presentation
PowerPoint gets a lot of eye-rolls. People love to say it’s outdated, boring, or clunky. And sure, it’s not flashy like Keynote or hip like Canva. But here’s the truth no one likes to admit:
PowerPoint still wins in real-world sales situations.
Not because it’s trendy. Because it works where it matters — in the boardroom, in the browser, on a screen share, on a plane. In the actual, messy, fast-moving world of business.
Let’s break this down.
1. PowerPoint is built for business
Sales presentations aren’t made for art school. They’re made for selling complex ideas in high-stakes meetings. And that’s where PowerPoint shines.
It was designed for clarity and compatibility. That’s why every enterprise, Fortune 500, or B2B startup still relies on it. You can send a .pptx file to your client’s procurement head without wondering if it’ll open. You can plug into a projector without asking what app the venue supports.
There’s no guessing. PowerPoint just works.
2. It’s insanely flexible
Want to build a simple pitch with five slides? Done. Want to create a fully interactive deck with clickable sections, transitions, charts, videos, and live embeds? Also doable.
PowerPoint lets you go wide or deep depending on your story. And more importantly, you don’t need a design degree to make it happen. You can wireframe slides, add speaker notes, review comments, and fine-tune animations — all in one place.
There’s a reason professional presentation agencies (including us) still prefer PowerPoint for high-impact sales work. It gives you control without chaos.
3. It supports real-time collaboration
Selling is a team sport. Which means your deck often passes through multiple hands — salespeople, product leads, designers, sometimes legal.
PowerPoint integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365, allowing real-time collaboration on cloud versions. You can co-edit with your team, leave comments, track changes, and even rehearse together — all without breaking the file or losing formatting.
When time is tight, and you’re prepping for a pitch at 11 PM with your team across three time zones, these details matter.
4. It’s customizable to your brand
Let’s get honest. Templates are great for inspiration, but real sales decks need to match your brand, not Canva’s best guess.
PowerPoint lets you build and save brand-compliant templates, font libraries, master layouts, icon sets, and more. You can lock elements, create reusable frameworks, and ensure every slide looks like it came from the same place — no matter who built it.
Consistency builds trust. And trust is what converts leads.
5. It travels well
Whether you’re pitching on a call, presenting in person, or emailing the deck afterward — PowerPoint gives you options. You can export to PDF, save as video, or run the whole thing offline without breaking anything.
In sales, flexibility is survival. You can’t always count on strong Wi-Fi or a fancy setup. PowerPoint handles low-tech situations better than most tools in the market. We’ve seen clients close six-figure deals in airports, cafes, and even hospital waiting rooms — all with a working .pptx file on a flash drive.
6. Everyone already has it
This may sound boring, but it’s actually a huge win: almost every decision-maker you’re presenting to already has PowerPoint on their device.
You don’t need to train them to use a new platform. You don’t need to send them a viewer link or explain what software it was built in. You just send the file, and they open it.
When you’re trying to speed up a sales cycle, this matters more than people think.
How to Make a Sales Presentation in PowerPoint
First, let’s get one thing clear. PowerPoint isn’t the star of the show. You are. Your team is. Your offer is. PowerPoint is just the stage — and if that stage is cluttered, confusing or dull, your pitch doesn’t stand a chance. So, building a great sales presentation in PowerPoint is less about the software and more about clarity, control, and intention.
Step 1: Structure before slides
Don’t touch PowerPoint until your story makes sense.
This is where most people go wrong. They open a blank deck and start designing slide by slide, thinking the story will emerge along the way. That’s like trying to write a novel by designing the book cover first.
Start with structure. Your deck should follow a persuasive arc, not a product manual. Here's a simple structure we use internally for most sales decks:
Context: What’s happening in the buyer’s world right now? What's the tension or shift they’re already aware of?
Problem: What’s broken or inefficient? What’s costing them time, money or opportunities?
Vision: What does a better future look like?
Solution: Here’s what we do. Here’s how it works. Here’s why it matters.
Proof: Case studies, metrics, testimonials — show them it works.
Next Step: What exactly should they do now?
That’s it. Six parts. If your slides follow that flow, your message will feel coherent, confident and directed.
Step 2: One idea per slide, no exceptions
This isn’t a newspaper. You’re not printing all the facts in one go.
Each slide should carry one message. Not two. Not three. Just one. Why? Because your audience can only absorb one thing at a time. If your slide says five things, they’ll remember none of them. Worse, they’ll tune out.
So, be ruthless. Ask yourself, “What is this slide really trying to say?” Then design around that one thing. Kill the rest.
A great sales presentation in PowerPoint isn’t about dumping more information. It’s about helping your buyer make sense of what matters.
Step 3: Design like a minimalist with a purpose
PowerPoint gets a bad rap because people abuse it. Fonts from five families, ten colors fighting for attention, animations that belong in a kids' YouTube channel — we’ve seen it all.
Good design doesn’t scream. It directs.
Here's what we recommend, based on years of building decks for real clients under real pressure:
Use large fonts. If you need less than 24 pt font to fit your text, you have too much text.
Stick to 2-3 colors. Let one color be your “action” color. Use it to emphasize.
Be generous with white space. Breathing room makes everything feel more premium.
Align everything. Nothing makes a deck look amateur faster than sloppy alignment.
Replace paragraphs with visuals. Diagrams. Icons. Photos. Even simple shapes. Anything that communicates faster than text.
And skip the transitions and sound effects. They don’t make you look smarter. They make you look like you're trying too hard.
Step 4: Build visual hierarchy
Every slide needs a hero. One thing that stands out first and guides the eye.
This is called visual hierarchy — the idea that not everything on the slide is equally important. If everything shouts, nothing speaks.
Use size, color, and position to lead the eye. Make the key message pop. If there’s a number that matters, make it big. If there’s a phrase that sells the point, isolate it.
This isn’t decoration. It’s psychology.
People process visuals faster than text. They make snap judgments about your professionalism and clarity based on the layout alone. A well-designed slide builds credibility before you even start talking.
Step 5: Talk to buyers, not browsers
This one’s big.
Most teams write slides like they’re writing a company brochure. It’s all about “we do this” and “our product is that.” But in a sales meeting, your deck is a dialogue tool — not a static document.
So instead of saying:
“Our platform has best-in-class security protocols and advanced AI capabilities.”
Try this:
“What would it mean for your team if your customer data was never at risk again — and your workflows were powered by AI, without needing to hire a data scientist?”
Speak to the buyer. Use the word “you” more than “we.” Show that you understand their world. Echo their language. Paint the picture they care about.
A good PowerPoint deck helps you do that by keeping the slides clean enough to spark conversation, not shut it down.
Step 6: Build modular slides for different scenarios
Not every sales meeting is the same. Some are with decision-makers. Others are with users or procurement teams. If you try to create a “one deck fits all” presentation, you’ll end up with a Frankenstein deck that does nothing well.
What we do — and recommend — is build a modular PowerPoint. That means each section or slide group is self-contained and can be pulled in or out depending on the situation.
Have a few versions of your value slide. Build optional deep-dive slides for technical buyers. Keep the core story tight, and expand only when needed.
This approach doesn’t just make your presentation smarter. It saves your sales team hours every week.
Step 7: Make your numbers feel real
Here’s the problem with metrics: people throw them in without context.
Saying “we increased ROI by 48 percent” is nice, but so what? Compared to what baseline? In what time frame? What changed?
Instead of flooding your slide with statistics, pick the one or two numbers that make the biggest impact, and wrap them in a short narrative:
“In just three months, our client saw a 48 percent ROI lift — not through a full system overhaul, but by tweaking just one workflow.”
Now it means something.
If you’re going to include charts or graphs, simplify them. Strip them to the core message. One trend per chart. Highlight what matters. And always add a headline that tells the reader what they’re looking at — without making them guess.
Step 8: End with a next step, not a thank you
This one gets ignored constantly.
Ending a sales deck with “Thank you” is a missed opportunity. It’s polite, sure. But it’s also passive. Instead, use your last slide to drive action. Remind them why you’re there.
Examples:
“Ready to cut churn by 30 percent? Let’s talk implementation.”
“We’re available next week to run a short pilot for your team.”
“Let’s schedule a 30-minute strategy call to go deeper.”
Be direct. Be confident. Assume momentum.
A great ending slide reinforces your message and sets up what happens next. It shouldn’t just say goodbye. It should say, “Here’s where we go from here.”
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.