Product presentations are an important part of selling your product to prospective customers. In many cases, this will be the customer's first introduction to your company and potentially your product. First impressions are critical. There are also times when it is important to sell your product to the people inside your company as well as investors. Proper preparation is vital to presenting your product in the best light possible.

The objective of the product presentation is different depending upon the target audience and the presentation should be adjusted accordingly. It is important to know your audience and why they are interested enough to hear your presentation.

Outline of the Product Presentation

The following is a basic outline for a product presentation. You will note that the maximum number of slides is twenty. Most sales calls allow 30 minutes for the formal presentation, at two minutes a slide, fifteen slides is the appropriate number. It is important to keep your presentation precise otherwise your point will be drowned out in detail.

1)      Introduction - This is normally just a title slide where the speaker introduces themselves, and the point of the product presentation.  This is where you want to hook your audience and tell them what is in it for them. If you are not going to be giving the presentation you may want to have a note slide with the point on it. (1-2 slides)

2)      Agenda - An agenda is optional, but provides you with an your opportunity to tell your audience what you are going to cover in your presentation. It avoids people asking questions early in the presentation about material you will be covering later. (1 slide)

3)      Company Information - This is a way to establish credibility and to make the audience feel comfortable with your company. Ways to do this include customer lists, high-profile executives or advisors, information on funding (if a private company), awards and major milestones. Don't spend too much time on this, you don't want your audience falling asleep. In fact, in my more recent presentations I have moved this to the back, after I have the audience's attention.

4)      Positioning - Successful products have a unique technology or positioning that sets them apart from other products on the market.  You want to introduce this aspect of your product up front to let your audience know how your product is different and why they should listen to the rest of your presentation. Use this as an attention getter.  This should be done in terms of the problem that they have and that you are solving with your product. Be sure to present this in terms of your audience and their pain. Performing a positioning exercise prior to building your presentation is very helpful. This part of your presentation must be very crisp and to the point. (1-5 slides)

5)      Product description - Clearly describe your product in terms that your audience will understand.   It may be helpful to have a chart with the product components.  You want to give the audience a frame of reference for the features and benefits that they are going to see.  You also want them to know how your product fits into their existing environment. Show how the product interfaces with other products or systems they may be using. (1-2 slides)

6)      Clearly articulated benefits as they relate to your target audience - You can use a features and benefits list or just walk through the features and benefits.  Whatever you do, do not forget the benefits!  They may be obvious to you because you live and breath the product, but your audience should have them clearly called out and they must relate to their needs.  (1- 5 slides)

7)      Examples/successes - At this point in the presentation your audience should be familiar with your product and why it is different and better. In order to drive this point home use examples of how your product is being used and how customers have benefited from the product. (1-3 slides)

8)      Closing argument - This is your opportunity for a 'call to action'. You want summarize your product presentation, reiterate the point of the presentation, and ask your audience to do something, if that is the point of your presentation.

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