How to Create a Sales Update Presentation [Highlight & Inform]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 7 hours ago
Our client, James, from Boston, asked us an interesting question while we were working on his sales update presentation:
“How do you keep a sales update from sounding like a snooze-fest, but still cover all the important points?”
Our Creative Director answered, dead-on:
“You don’t shove numbers on slides and call it a day. You tell the story behind the numbers.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on many sales update presentations throughout the year and in the process, we’ve observed one common challenge: most teams treat these updates like boring data dumps, forgetting the human side of selling.
So in this blog, we’ll talk about how to create and deliver a sales update presentation that actually matters, gets people to listen, and drives action — not yawns!
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 Sales Update Presentations Matter (More Than You Think)
Let’s be honest. Most sales update presentations suck.
You’ve probably sat through one. Hell, you’ve probably delivered one. Slide after slide packed with pipelines, quarterly targets, close rates, customer churn. Endless graphs that look like they were slapped together 10 minutes before the meeting. You throw up the numbers, everyone nods, maybe someone asks a question, then everyone leaves the room and goes back to doing whatever they were doing before.
That’s the problem.
We’ve seen this over and over: companies treat sales update presentations like some boring reporting chore. They check the box because the calendar says “update meeting,” not because they actually want to communicate anything meaningful.
But here’s the thing — when done right, a sales update presentation isn’t just about reporting numbers. It’s about narrative. It’s about giving your team, your leaders, and sometimes even your investors a clear picture of what’s really going on. Not just what the revenue spreadsheet says, but why it says that.
You’re answering questions like:
What’s working in the field?
Where are the bottlenecks?
Who’s crushing it, and why?
What market shifts are hitting us right now?
How do we need to adjust before we get smacked by next quarter’s challenges?
When you approach it this way, the sales update presentation becomes a leadership tool, not a data dump. It shapes focus. It drives better decisions. It keeps the team sharp, aligned, and motivated.
And yeah, it makes you look like you actually know what the hell you’re doing — which, let’s be real, matters a lot when you’re standing in front of your boss or the board.
How To Build a Sales Update Presentation That Actually Works
Now that we’ve set the stage, let’s dive into the how.
We’ve worked on dozens of sales update presentations every year, and we’ve seen firsthand what separates the ones people remember from the ones people forget five minutes after the meeting.
Here’s the hard truth: most people approach their update presentation like an accountant, not like a salesperson.
But you? You’re not here to only report numbers. You’re here to sell the numbers. You’re here to explain why they matter, what they mean, and what comes next.
So here’s what we tell every client when we help them shape a kickass sales update presentation.
1. Lead With The Headlines (Not The Spreadsheet)
Too many sales leaders think they have to “warm up” the audience before delivering the key points.
So they walk through the numbers slide by slide, slowly building toward their conclusions.
No. Don’t do that.
Your team doesn’t have time for you to tiptoe around. Your leadership doesn’t either. They want the headlines first.
You open the presentation with:
This is where we stand. (Clear and short summary of current performance.)
This is why. (One or two major drivers behind those numbers.)
This is what we’re doing next. (Key actions or decisions ahead.)
Think like a journalist, not like a data analyst. Punch them in the face (in a good way) with the most important news right at the start.
Then, once they’re hooked, you can walk them through the details.
2. Don’t Show All The Numbers — Show The Right Ones
Here’s where most sales update presentations crash and burn.
The presenter feels obligated to include every metric, every target, every performance breakdown, every little data point from the CRM. You know, “just in case” someone asks.
This is a rookie move.
You need to curate. Ruthlessly.
You should only show the numbers that do one of three things:
Explain what’s working.
Explain what’s not working.
Highlight where decisions or changes are needed.
If a metric doesn’t change the course of the conversation, leave it out. You can always have the full data set ready as a backup or appendix, but your core deck should focus on the story, not the database.
Remember, less is more. You’re not here to prove you worked hard gathering data. You’re here to make the data work for you.
3. Make The Narrative Crystal Clear
Let’s talk about the story.
A strong sales update presentation always has a narrative. Not in a “once upon a time” sense, but in a “here’s the cause and effect” sense.
Your narrative has to connect three pieces:
Where we’ve been.
Where we are now.
Where we’re going.
And it needs to answer why each stage looks the way it does.
Example:
We missed last quarter’s target because X happened.
We fixed X, and now we’re seeing early gains in Y.
But to hit next quarter, we need to double down on Z.
See the flow? Cause, effect, and next steps.
What you don’t want is a random scatterplot of updates with no connective tissue. That’s where you lose the room. People can’t follow along. They check out. They start scrolling their phones under the table.
We’ve helped clients turn dry sales updates into sharp, engaging stories — and every time, it comes down to stripping away clutter and sharpening the through-line.
4. Use Visuals To Punch, Not To Decorate
Design matters. But not in the way most people think.
A lot of sales teams dump raw data into PowerPoint, slap on some charts, maybe throw in a stock photo or two, and call it a day.
That’s not design. That’s decoration.
Good design in a sales update presentation does one thing: it amplifies your message.
Here’s what we recommend (and yeah, we do this for clients every damn day):
Use charts sparingly. One strong chart per point is better than five half-baked ones.
Highlight key figures. Make the numbers you want people to remember jump off the slide.
Keep slides clean. No clutter. No tiny fonts. No walls of text.
Use color and emphasis intentionally. Red = danger, green = growth, yellow = caution. Make it obvious.
Remember, your audience can only take in one big idea per slide. Design with that in mind.
5. Prepare For The Conversation, Not Just The Presentation
Here’s something we see a lot: a sales leader spends all their prep time working on the slides, and zero time prepping for the actual conversation.
Bad move.
Your slides are just the starting point. The real value happens when the room starts asking questions, challenging assumptions, brainstorming solutions. That’s where leadership happens.
So you need to:
Anticipate tough questions.
Know your backup data.
Be ready to pivot the conversation when needed.
We always tell clients: don’t fall in love with your slides. Be ready to go off-script if the moment calls for it. The best sales update presentations are dynamic, not rigid.
6. Deliver With Confidence (Even If The Numbers Suck)
Here’s a little secret: your delivery matters more when the news is bad.
Anyone can stand up and present great numbers with a smile. But when things aren’t going well?
That’s when your team, your leaders, and maybe even your investors are watching closely.
We’ve coached clients through rough updates — missed quotas, lost deals, underperforming reps — and here’s what works every time: own the story.
Don’t dance around the bad news. Don’t sugarcoat it. Lay it out clearly, explain why it happened, and most importantly, explain what’s being done to fix it.
People can handle bad news if they trust the person delivering it. But they won’t trust you if you look nervous, defensive, or like you’re dodging accountability.
So stand tall. Speak clearly. And remember, your job isn’t to have all the answers — it’s to lead the conversation toward solutions.
7. Always Close With Clear Next Steps
A sales update presentation without action points is just noise.
You need to end your update by telling people exactly what happens next:
What do you need from your team?
What do you need from leadership?
What changes are being made?
What should everyone focus on over the next cycle?
Don’t assume people will figure this out on their own. Spell it out. Make it explicit. This is how you turn updates into momentum.
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.