Why Voice-Over-Dependent Presentations Are Slowing Sales and What to Build Instead
A New Reality
Enterprise sales no longer happens only in boardrooms or conference rooms. It increasingly unfolds across virtual links, asynchronous reviews, and dispersed decision cycles—structural shifts that have taken root over the past several years, defining the rhythm of how enterprise decisions are made and showing no signs of reversing. No matter where and how the engagement unfolds—live, hybrid, or remote—what survives is the material that circulates afterward. The leave-behind often matters more than the live meeting itself.
That shift changes the burden.
Today, the content, not the sales executive, shoulders the burden of the decision cycle. And unless the pitch decks have been updated— or ‘vaccinated’—since the structural shifts, it risks slowing the motion instead of advancing it.
A C-Suite based sales motion creates dozens of ‘leave-behind’ moments as business cases move stakeholder-to stakeholder, across corporate functions – like the enterprise version of ‘The Telephone Game’. This is where the concept of a ‘vaccinated’ deck becomes critical: one built to thrive independently, immune to a transformed selling experience.
“Unvaccinated” decks are one of the most overlooked culprits of slow sales cycles.
What Works: ‘CXO-Friendly’ Artifacts
‘Vaccinated’ materials need to demonstrate five key traits. These are the ‘CXO-Friendly’ characteristics that help your deck advocate for the deal when live narration isn’t possible.
- Purposeful Packaging: Structure the presentation around an ultra-specific outcome, not just an agenda. This approach guides both live and offline audiences through a logical flow, eliminating filler and making it easy to connect the dots.
- ‘Mic-On-Mute’ Design: Visualize delivering a presentation with the mic off. Then, ensure each slide should communicate a single idea, supported by a headline that answers “So what?”
- Flipbook Flow: Strong decks unfold like a flipbook. Top-line copy should raise a question that the following slide answers. When done well, a reader can skim only the headlines and still grasp the full arc of the storyline.
- Choose Understanding Over Brevity: CXOs are short on time, but fewer slides aren’t always better if they overload content and sacrifice clarity. Instead, structure for comprehension— even if it means more slides. CXOs don’t buy what they don’t understand, so prioritize clarity over artificial efficiency.
- Engineer for Scrutiny: CXOs are trained to challenge assumptions. Rather than avoiding pushback, anticipate it. A deck that acknowledges challenges is more credible than one that ignores them. Include a supplemental section that explores alternative perspectives.
Bottom Line
The days of “walking the halls” to close a deal are long gone. Yet most decks remain unvaccinated — built for an era that no longer exists. Updating them isn’t optional. It’s overdue.
http://www.magis-trustedcatalyst.com