Have you ever been at a networking event and met someone you really hit it off with, but there was just something off-putting about them that made you hesitant to work together? They had the connections, the skills, the product, the charisma…but man, their breath just stank?

Now, the nice, reasonable guy in me would say “yeah, ok, but surely you can look past something superficial like bad breath to work with the right person.” And that’s true—appearances can be deceiving and all. But, there’s also a little bit of wisdom in this kind of half-second hesitation: if they are careless with their hygiene, what other little details do they tend to forget? If they aren’t taking care of their personal needs, can they really take care of my business needs?

Your Pitch Deck Needs to Brush and Floss

Here’s an ugly truth: No matter how compelling your pitch is, or how premium your product is, if you’re packaging it with ugly, unprofessional, or stale “coffee breath” materials, you’re creating a hurdle to conversion. Sure, you might make a sale, if your prospect is “a nice, reasonable gal” who is willing to look past the funk and crud to see the pearly whites you’ve got buried underneath. But do you really want to trust your prospects to do that? I don’t. In fact, when I’m truly confident in the product I sell, I put in even more work to make sure my sales materials are top notch. Because I want the perfect prospect to see that I’m serious about the value of what I have to offer. In short—these teeth are minty fresh and squeaky clean.

Your Smile is Your First Impression…

At Converse Digital, we know a little bit about all of the “invisible” factors to driving home a sale—after all, we wrote the book on it. Everything in your pitch is either working for you or against you, including the impression of your pitch. We wrote recently about the power of the “Red Thread” approach to message design, and how the best conversions come from pitches where the client arrives at your solution on their own. So if your sales materials are subpar, you probably aren’t doing yourself any favors in the “first impressions” department.

…and Your Key Differentiator

But here’s the kicker—”par” doesn’t have to be your goal. Your sales materials are one of the lowest hanging fruits to get the leg up on your competition. With minimal investment, your one pagers, pitch decks, and Keynotes can quickly move your business to top of mind preference, especially if your competitors aren’t investing in professional design.

Our clients at Converse Digital have shown a proven track record of standing out from the crowd with clean, professional sales materials that rise above the industry standard. One of our most recent examples of this is Sexton Biotechnologies. From their brand identity, to their website through to their sales decks and even their charts and graphs in those decks, Sexton chose to focus heavily on creating clean, attractive, well-designed sales & marketing materials in an industry that isn’t exactly known for unique sales materials. Sexton’s gambit leveraged their unique sales materials and brand identity to rise above the chaff and get noticed by companies who could invest funding into the company. And the strategy paid off. Last month, Sexton Biotechnologies was acquired by BioLife Solutions to the tune of $30 million.

Is it Time for a Dental Cleaning?

 If after reading this article, you found yourself thinking:

1. My competitor’s sales materials are cleaner and more professional than mine, and I need to catch up before I’m left behind. OR
2. My competitor’s sales materials are lackluster, and I see a real opportunity to become the top preference of my preferred customers. OR
3. I know that my pitch is top-notch, but I may be setting a bad first impression with the quality of my sales materials

 …then it may be time to schedule your annual checkup! Converse Digital’s team of dental hygienists…err…highly capable marketing professionals are here to help you cleanup your presentations and leave-behinds, to ensure you close your pitch every time with a winning smile.